Tag Archives: Fairfield Halls

Mozart Players seek new CEO as Le Brocq leaves for Rutland

The London Mozart Players, the classical orchestra notionally based at Croydon’s Fairfield Halls, is seeking a new chief executive. The orchestra has announced that Flynn Le Brocq, who has been CEO since 2021, is to leave in August, having accepted … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Fairfield Halls, London Mozart Players, Music | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

10% off Croydon book that Captain Sensible says is ‘stonking’

The paperback edition of Croydonopolis has just been released, and Inside Croydon subscribers can purchase it with a special discount code “A Journey to the Greatest City That Never Was” proclaims the cover of Will Noble’s Croydonopolis, which traces the … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Croydon Airport, Education, History, Inside Croydon | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

‘More buckets than businesses’: readers quiz Labour’s Davis

‘What are you going to do about the Whitgift Centre?’ one of our readers asked Councillor Rowenna Davis, Labour’s recently selected candidate to stand for election as Croydon Mayor in May 2026. ‘At the moment, there’s more buckets than businesses.’ … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Council Tax, Croydon Business Association, Croydon Council, Croydon Insider, Crystal Palace FC, Fairfield Halls, Inside Croydon, Ken Towl, Mayor Jason Perry, Neil Bennett, Rowenna Davis, Under The Flyover, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Fairfield panto star Mia Overfield picks up national stage award

Mia Overfield, star of the Fairfield Halls’ 2024-2025 panto, Snow White and the Five Dwarves, has been named as the winner of the Barbara Windsor Award for Best Principal Lead at this year’s National Pantomime Awards. Overfield, who has a … Continue reading →

Posted in Ashcroft Theatre, Comedy, Fairfield Halls, Theatre | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

From Dolly Parton to Haydn: Whitgift concert jazzed things up

DAVID MORGAN reports from an event which saw one of the Fairfield Halls’ biggest audiences for a while – and certainly one of its most enthusiastic The excitement and expectation of more than a thousand primary school children from across … Continue reading →

Posted in Activities, Art, David Morgan, Education, Fairfield Halls, Music, Schools, Whitgift School | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

When people talk, things happen and they get things done

CROYDON COMMENTARY: Businessman TIM WATES believes that even a small shift in engagement with each other can make a big difference to the borough’s future Across Croydon, many community groups, volunteers and businesses are rolling up their sleeves to make … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Charity, Community associations, Croydon Commitment, Crystal Palace FC, Education, Knife crime, Lives Not Knives, Serious About Youth, Tim Wates, Wates Group | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Council planning chief Cheesbrough set to take ‘career break’

EXCLUSIVE: After nearly a decade in charge of Croydon’s planning department, one of Jo Negrini’s closest colleagues is to leave Fisher’s Folly. By our Town Hall correspondent, KEN LEE Heather Cheesbrough, Croydon Council’s “director of planning and sustainable regeneration” (try … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Brick by Brick, Business, CPO, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Jo Negrini, Planning, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 28 Comments

Top Tory admits Fairfield Halls could be sold for the right deal

CROYDON IN CRISIS: ‘Come on down! The price is right!’ The cabinet member for finance has said that the arts and conference centre could yet be sold if the cash-strapped council is ordered to do so. By STEVEN DOWNES Jason … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Ashcroft Theatre, Business, Croydon Council, Fairfield, Fairfield Halls, Jason Cummings, Mayor Jason Perry, Music, Ria Patel, Section 114 notice, Theatre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Site sold by council for £20m might now be worth £200m

Proposals to build 676 flats in tall towers overshadowing the Fairfield Halls are out for public consultation until the end of this week, from developers who nabbed a multi-million bargain in the cash-strapped council’s fire-sale Croydon’s long-suffering residents will be … Continue reading →

Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, College Green, Croydon Council, Delta Properties, Delta Properties Ltd, Fairfield, Housing, Planning, Property, Tapestry Croydon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

LMP’s Changing Seasons concert put a real spring in my step

Three lucky Inside Croydon subscribers each won a pair of tickets to enjoy the London Mozart Players’ Vivaldi-inspired Changing Seasons concert at the Fairfield Halls on Saturday. One of them, PAUL AINSCOUGH, shares his thoughts on the evening I was … Continue reading →

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‘The improvement panel’s general position is to sell everything’

CROYDON COMMENTARY:  This website’s editor, STEVEN DOWNES, on why a Mayor who keeps getting caught out in untruths really needs to start being more honest with the borough’s residents If ever there was an example of Mayor Jason Perry “being … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Ashcroft Theatre, Brick by Brick, Business, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Mayor Jason Perry, Music, Ria Patel, Section 114 notice, Theatre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Accountancy watchdog moves in on officials from Woking

After almost five years, not a single person in Croydon has ever been held responsible for their parts in the council’s financial collapse, the scandal of Brick by Brick or the Fairfield Halls refurbishment fiasco. But in Surrey, two former … Continue reading →

Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Colm Lacey, Crime, Croydon Council, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Government panel wants Croydon to flog off the Fairfield Halls

CROYDON IN CRISIS:  With the council’s annual overspend reaching £100m, Whitehall-appointed commissioners could force the sale of the arts centre, which the C20 Society describes as an ‘underappreciated South Bank Centre of the suburbs’. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Croydon could … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Ashcroft Theatre, BH Live, Borough of Culture 2023, Brick by Brick, Business, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Jo Negrini, Music, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, Theatre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 33 Comments

Join iC’s 3 lucky winners at Mozart Players’ Changing Seasons

Congratulations to loyal readers Paul Ainscough, Ian Anderson and David White: all three have won a pair of tickets – worth £65 – for the London Mozart Players’ Changing Seasons concert at the Fairfield Halls on Saturday, February 15. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Fairfield Halls, Inside Croydon, London Mozart Players, Music | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

In-depth and informed: our podcast questions the councillor

Just how does Croydon’s cash-strapped council function? Is Westfield deliberately driving traders out of the Whitgift Centre? Why won’t Mayor Perry allow some councillors to speak at council meetings? Which Newman Numpty is today the chair of a key council … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Cockneys of Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon Insider, Fairfield, Inside Croydon, Katherine Kerswell, Ken Towl, Mayor Jason Perry, Ria Patel, Surrey Street, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

WIN!!! 3 pairs of tickets for Changing Seasons at Fairfield Halls

Inside Croydon is delighted to team up with the London Mozart Players to offer three lucky subscribers each a pair of tickets – worth £65 – for their Changing Seasons concert at the Fairfield Halls on Saturday, February 15. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Fairfield Halls, Inside Croydon, London Mozart Players, Music | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Mozart Players return to Fairfield with community-style Vivaldi

The London Mozart Players are to make a rare concert appearance at the Fairfield Halls next month, with what they call “a new cross-genre performance” of Changing Seasons. Changing Seasons is “a multi-genre spectacular”, London Mozart Players say, “that reimagines … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Dance, Fairfield Halls, London Mozart Players, Music | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Only in Croydon: Fairfield stages Snow White and the 5 Dwarfs

What was it that David Bowie said about Croydon? Festive fun-seekers turning up at the council-owned Fairfield Halls earlier this week having paid as much as £37 for their ticket to see a seasonal pantomime probably felt a bit short-changed … Continue reading →

Posted in Fairfield Halls, Theatre | Tagged , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

MP Reed claims those who left borough broke ‘have now gone’

WALTER CRONXITE, political editor, checks the ‘facts’ where other local news outlets dare not look Steve Reed OBE, the MP who was Labour’s front bench spokesperson on local government at the time that the council for the area he is … Continue reading →

Posted in Alisa Flemming, Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Callton Young, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon North, David Evans, Environment, Fairfield Halls, Lambeth Council, Manju Shahul Hameed, Mayor Jason Perry, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Sean Fitzsimons, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, Steve Reed MP, Streatham and Croydon North, Stuart Collins, Stuart King, The Penn Report, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

The Jase and Kathy Show – a Christmas Special for Croydon!

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Inside Croydon has obtained a leaked video from an internal council webinar earlier this month, where the Mayor fails to mention the £83m overspend predicted in a recent report to government, and council CEO seems to blame … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's Services, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Debbie Jones, Improvement Board, Inside Croydon, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Libraries, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, The Penn Report | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Councillor complains over legal failings: ‘It feels morally wrong’

CROYDON IN CRISIS: No one will face legal action for their part in the council’s financial collapse, despite Town Hall bosses spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on special reports and advice from high-powered barristers. Yet one of Mayor Perry’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Jason Cummings, Jo Negrini, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Shirley South, The Penn Report | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Negrini doctored specialist reports and withheld finance details

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Investigators from Kroll never had investigatory powers to check people’s bank accounts in the search for possible fraud over the £73m refurbishment of the Fairfield Halls. But there was evidence in the public domain of ‘direct personal … Continue reading →

Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Business, College Green, Colm Lacey, Crime, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Mott MacDonald, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa, The Penn Report, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Pressure mounts on Sutton finance chief over Fairfield fiasco

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The Kroll Report, which this week had its release delayed because of legal threats on behalf of a former council director, might be seen as a waste of another £310,000 of public money. But for former director … Continue reading →

Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, The Penn Report | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Kroll Report provides no answers to £73m Fairfield fiasco

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Jo Negrini refused to be interviewed, all Colm Lacey’s emails got wiped and former cabinet members Newman, Scott, Butler and Hall were never spoken to in person as part of the £310,000 investigation. By STEVEN DOWNES Late … Continue reading →

Posted in Alisa Flemming, Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Business, College Green, Colm Lacey, Crime, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Mott MacDonald, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa, The Penn Report, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

After his latest failure, Mayor Perry claims he is powerless

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Although he was a member of the committee that handed a £437,000 ‘golden handshake’ to Jo Negrini, the borough’s elected Mayor is now blaming the law for his own broken promises. By STEVEN DOWNES Almost a week … Continue reading →

Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Croydon Park Hotel, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, The Penn Report | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments