Tag Archives: Chris Clark

Davis’s big launch might have been good, if only I could hear it

POLITICAL SKETCH: Ever been invited to a party when you’ve been expected to pay for your food? Or a launch event which is set up so you can neither see nor hear clearly the speakers on stage? KEN TOWL has, … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Chris Clark, Chris Philp MP, Croydon East, Croydon South, Croydon West, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Fairfield, Ken Towl, Natasha Irons, Rowenna Davis, Sarah Jones MP, South Croydon, South Norwood, Steve Reed MP, Streatham and Croydon North, Tamar Barrett (was Nwafor), Thornton Heath | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Labour deputy leaders Young and Collins to stand down in 2026

At least 15% of Croydon’s sitting councillors won’t be seeking election in 2026, while some are doing the ‘chicken run’ to stay on the council gravy train. EXCLUSIVE by WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor Nearly a dozen of Croydon’s current 70 … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Addiscombe West, Brigitte Graham, Broad Green, Callton Young, Chris Clark, Claire Bonham, Clive Fraser, Coulsdon Town, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Fairfield, Louis Carserides, Maria Gatland, Mario Creatura, Old Coulsdon, Patricia Hay-Justice, Paul Ainscough, Purley, Ria Patel, Richard Chatterjee, Rowenna Davis, Shirley North, Simon Brew, Simon Fox, South Croydon, South Norwood, Stuart Collins, Sue Bennett, Thornton Heath, Waddon, Woodside | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

‘Hypocrite’ Tory voted for proposal to destroy heritage home

Town Hall reporter KEN LEE on a planning committee meeting where Conservative councillors backed a private developer’s bid to drastically alter a listed family home in a conservation area So much for Tory Mayor Jason Perry protecting family homes in … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Chris Clark, Chris Philp MP, Coulsdon, Coulsdon Town, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon South, Esther Sutton, Fairfield, Ian Parker, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Ria Patel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Auction has a twist in the sale over Coombe Road plot-boiler

BARRATT HOLMES, housing correspondent, on the latest non-developments in the saga of a scrap of town centre open space without planning permission Croydon Mayor Jason Perry might have another half-million-pound hole in his overspent, unbalanced council budget, after a property … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Croydon Council, Fairfield, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Neal, Planning, Property | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Controversial Brick by Brick site to be auctioned for £550k

BARRATT HOLMES, housing correspondent, reports on the latest planning mystery at the cash-strapped council The scrap of open space at the junction of Edridge Road and Coombe Road, next to heritage-listed building Ruskin House, is set to be auctioned off … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Chris Clark, Croydon Council, Esther Sutton, Fairfield, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Neal, Planning, Property, Ria Patel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Conservative Mayor Perry loses 3 votes at Town Hall meeting

ANDREW PELLING reports from the Press Gallery on success for Labour, Green and LibDem councillors in opposing Tory moves to cut Council Tax benefits to old age pensioners and the poor Jason Perry, the Conservative Mayor of Croydon, lost three … Continue reading

Posted in Alisa Flemming, Amy Foster, Andrew Pelling, Callton Young, Chris Clark, Claire Bonham, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Jason Cummings, Jeet Bains, London-wide issues, Mario Creatura, Mayor Jason Perry, Nina Degrads, Rowenna Davis, Sherwan Chowdhury, Stuart King, ULEZ expansion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Home owner’s victory after four-year battle with planners

The planning department at Croydon’s dysfunctional council has been caught out yet again after the collapse of a developer’s appeal – but only after incurring huge and avoidable costs. Our housing correspondent, BARRATT HOLMES, unravels a saga of deceits and … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Chris Clark, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Housing, Jade Appleton, Katherine Kerswell, Nicola Townsend, Park Hill and Whitgift, Parking, Paul Scott, Planning, Property | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Local Labour out of step as Streeting calls for outsourcing

Labour councillors in Croydon joined a union-organised march calling for Mayday Hospital’s ancillary jobs – porters, cleaners and food staff – to be brought back in-house and taken out of the hands of private outsourcing giant G4S, just as Keir … Continue reading

Posted in Callton Young, Chris Clark, Croydon NHS Trust, Health, Mayday Hospital, Sarah Jones MP, Stuart King | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Part-time Perry and Labour in playground squabble over park

After a decade of Town Hall squabbles, the legacy of Newman and Butler’s years in charge of the council is a playground for the children of tower block half-millionaires. WALTER CRONXITE on another late, costly and incomplete town centre project … Continue reading

Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Business, Chris Clark, Croydon Council, Environment, Housing, Lynne Hale, Mayor Jason Perry, Paul Scott, Planning, Property, Queens Gardens, Taberner House, Tony Newman, URV | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

All the King’s men (and women): meet Labour’s shadow cabinet

Last week, we provided the low-down on the new council cabinet under £81,000 per year Tory executive Mayor Jason Perry. Now our Town Hall reporter KEN LEE provides a briefing on the newly unveiled shadow team Some are born great, … Continue reading

Posted in 2022 council elections, Alisa Flemming, Bensham Manor, Brigitte Graham, Callton Young, Chris Clark, Chrishni Reshekaron, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Enid Mollyneaux, Fairfield, Jamie Audsley, Janet Campbell, Mayor Jason Perry, Mike Bonello, New Addington South, Nina Degrads, Rowenna Davis, Stuart King, Thornton Heath, Waddon, West Thornton, Woodside | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

King ends front-bench sinecures for most Newman numpties

CROYDON LABOUR IN CRISIS: Starmer and Evans are using this borough as an experiment in central party control over rogue councils. By our political editor, WALTER CRONXITE And there you have it. The 2022 local government definition of a non-job, … Continue reading

Posted in Alisa Flemming, Brigitte Graham, Callton Young, Chris Clark, Chrishni Reshekaron, Enid Mollyneaux, Janet Campbell, Maddie Henson, Manju Shahul Hameed, Mayor Jason Perry, Mike Bonello, Nina Degrads, Patricia Hay-Justice, Patsy Cummings, Paul Scott, Planning, Steve Reed MP, Stuart King, Tony Newman, West Thornton | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Election results leave Labour supporters angry and dismayed

With the final declaration in, WALTER CRONXITE reports on the state of the council after the 2022 elections By the end, the emotions on show at the Croydon Council election count at Trinity School were less those of shock, disappointment … Continue reading

Posted in 2022 council elections, 2022 Croydon Mayor election, Andrew Pelling, Broad Green, Chris Clark, Claire Bonham, Coulsdon, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Esther Sutton, Fairfield, Jade Appleton, Jason Perry, Katherine Kerswell, Kola Agboola, Louisa Woodley, New Addington North, New Addington South, Oliver Lewis, Park Hill and Whitgift, Paul Scott, Peter Underwood, Planning, Robert Canning, Sanderstead, Selhurst, South Croydon, Steve Reed MP, Tony Pearson, Val Shawcross, Waddon, Yvette Hopley | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Job cuts see council’s business close to breaking point

CROYDON IN CRISIS: So many staff have been made redundant at Fisher’s Folly that they now don’t have time even to draft meeting minutes of the Town Hall’s £1.5bn pension fund. By STEVEN DOWNES When the council’s planning committee convened … Continue reading

Posted in Chris Clark, Croydon Council, Gareth Streeter, Heather Cheesbrough, Katherine Kerswell, Paul Scott, Planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

New Addington block of flats dropped from planning meeting

EXCLUSIVE: With barely six hours’ notice ahead of today’s planning meeting, two controversial building schemes from Brick by Brick have been withdrawn. By STEVEN DOWNES Planning applications for two controversial schemes from Brick by Brick, the council’s loss-making house-builders, were … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Chris Clark, Colm Lacey, Martyn Evans, New Addington South, Planning, South Croydon | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Woman assaulted by Labour councillor: I want to reopen case

The woman who was subjected to vicious domestic violence by a sitting Croydon Labour councillor has spoken out publicly for the first time since her ordeal. The violent attack, which took place last September, led to the resignation of Niro … Continue reading

Posted in Chris Clark, Fairfield, Niro Sirisena, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Brick by Brick could be blocked by rare butterfly’s tiny egg

The chair of the council’s planning committee has given a public undertaking that the application by Brick by Brick to build an ugly four-storey block of flats next to a wildlife reserve in New Addington has been shelved until a … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Chris Clark, Colm Lacey, Environment, Hutchinson's Bank, Paul Scott, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

It is time for some difficult conversations, not virtue signalling

KEN TOWL on a tale of two (or is it three? Or four?) online petitions “What, another one?” is my default reaction these days to online petitions. There seem to be more of them than ever, perhaps a symptom of … Continue reading

Posted in Chris Clark, Fairfield, Ken Towl, Niro Sirisena | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Call to remove Churchill mural puts Labour council on spot

Council leader Tony Newman doesn’t tend to enjoy having his judgement called into question, but a councillor-backed petition to remove the image of the wartime leader from the side of a town centre building appears to do just that, as … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Business, Chris Clark, Croydon Council, Fairfield, Gavin Barwell, History, Rise Gallery, Sarah Jones MP, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Newman fails to gag website over councillor’s resignation

By STEVEN DOWNES Tony Newman, the leader of the Labour group on Croydon Council, has tried to have news reports removed from this website with a threat of a libel action which has been robustly rejected by Inside Croydon. It … Continue reading

Posted in Chris Clark, Inside Croydon, Niro Sirisena, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Where’s the step-free access to East Croydon? Or aesthetics?

CROYDON COMMENTARY: The buildings granted planning permission on Thursday night, between the Fairfield Halls and the railway line, are architecturally disappointing and the scheme fails to deliver on one of the requirements in the local plan, says SEBASTIAN TILLINGER Having … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Chris Clark, College Green, Croydon Council, Fairfield, Paul Scott, Planning | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Putting Mr Blobby in charge is Newman’s latest blunder

TOWN HALL SKETCH: If a council’s planning deliberations have to be seen and heard to meet the requirements for democracy laid down by law, then Croydon could be in a spot of trouble, writes WALTER CRONXITE Well, that was a … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Chris Clark, College Green, Croydon Council, East Croydon, Fairfield, Fairfield Homes, Housing, Mayor of London, Paul Scott, Planning, Property, Toni Letts | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Newman switches planning chair before remote meeting

Political editor WALTER CRONXITE on the latest behind-the-scenes shenanigans going on at the Town Hall The fix is in. Two days before the Croydon planning committee is due to meet for the foregone conclusion of approving a Brick by Brick … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Caragh Skipper, Chris Clark, Croydon Council, Fairfield, Fairfield Homes, Housing, Niro Sirisena, Paul Scott, Planning, Property, Toni Letts, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Newman stifles report which alleges conspiracy over selection

WALTER CRONXITE, our political editor, on a leaked report over the rumbling row in Croydon Labour over a selection stitch-up that saw Tony Newman’s favoured candidate put forward for last November’s Fairfield council by-election A internal party report, leaked to … Continue reading

Posted in Caragh Skipper, Chris Clark, Croydon Central, David White, Fairfield, Jose Joseph, Niro Sirisena, Sarah Jones MP, Tony Newman, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

After £41m+ spend: art centre has no gallery space for art

An arts society formed in the borough 150 years ago faces an uncertain future as it has emerged that after spending more than £41m on refurbishing the Fairfield Halls, in a display of incompetence stunning even by Croydon’s usual standards, … Continue reading

Posted in Arnhem Gallery, Art, BH Live, Chris Clark, Community associations, Croydon Art Society, Croydon Council, Fairfield, Fairfield Halls, Jo Negrini, Paula Murray | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Council leader delayed reporting violent incident to police

Croydon’s council leader Tony Newman has admitted that he failed to report, immediately, allegations of serious violence against a young woman. Instead of going to the police straight away, Newman spent more than 24 hours working on a cover-up of … Continue reading

Posted in Chris Clark, Crime, Croydon Council, Fairfield, Niro Sirisena, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment