Tag Archives: Fisher’s Folly

Labour’s Town Hall leader files complaint over Perry’s spending

Council’s top lawyer questioned over the public funds used to distribute a propaganda freesheet worthy of something from the regime of dictator Kim Jong-un. WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor, reports Jason Perry has been accused of abusing his position as Croydon … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Stephen Lawrence-Orumwense, Stuart King | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Council’s closed doors, Selhurst security, Bridge to Nowhere

Here’s more of the most significant or best-read news stories of 2025, as we delve behind the headlines with Inside Croydon reports from the past 12 months  MARCH No Access Croydon: Kerswell closes off Fisher’s Folly to public The increasingly … Continue reading

Posted in Inside Croydon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Commissioners switch email in effort to protect whistleblowers

CROYDON IN CRISIS: After complaints that staff could not trust that their messages to the government-appointed Commissioners would be secure from their council bosses, a MHCLG official has set up an independent channel. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Three months after … Continue reading

Posted in Abi Brown, Commissioners, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Elaine Jackson, Ged Curran, Improvement Board, Jackie Belton, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Nathan Elvery, Section 114 notice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Council facing High Court challenge over ‘No Access Croydon’

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The Public Interest Law Centre is bringing a Judicial Review against the council claiming it is failing to meet its statutory responsibilities and is acting in a discriminatory manner EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Tory Mayor Jason Perry … Continue reading

Posted in Bernard Weatherill House, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Housing, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Kerswell fails to reply to complaint about costly ‘Our Croydon’

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The borough’s increasingly remote and unaccountable Mayor and chief executive won’t even answer Council Tax-payers’ correspondence that challenges their abuse of tens of thousands of pounds of public money. By KEN LEE, Town Hall reporter Katherine Kerswell, … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Perry repeats lie as he calls meeting over No Access Croydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Delayed replies, giving short-notice of an appointment and a divide-and-rule approach betray Mayor’s struggle to justify the closure of the authority’s public area, as librarians are now providing advice to the homeless. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Jason … Continue reading

Posted in Andrew Brown, Bernard Weatherill House, Charity, Community associations, Council Tax, Crisis Skylight Centre, Croydon BME Forum, Croydon Council, Croydon Nightwatch, Housing, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, South Norwood Community Kitchen, South West London Law Centres | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Mayor Perry lied over access to services at other councils

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Claims made by the chief executive and executive Mayor over how other London boroughs manage their appointments systems have been found to be exaggerated and simply untrue EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Jason Perry has deliberately misled residents … Continue reading

Posted in 'Future Croydon', Bernard Weatherill House, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Housing, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

No Access Croydon: council moves to Bernard Wetherill House

Your Council Tax goes up next week, to record levels, and chief exec Katherine Kerswell’s salary has now risen to £204,000 at the cash-strapped council. But as Kerswell wields the axe to more jobs in her drive for a “Digital … Continue reading

Posted in 'Future Croydon', Bernard Weatherill House, Croydon Council, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

No Access Croydon: 30 voluntary groups demand reopening

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Mayor Jason Perry and CEO Katherine Kerswell’s decision to make access to the council’s offices appointment-only may be in breach of the council’s legal responsibilities EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Letters have landed on the desks of Mayor … Continue reading

Posted in Bernard Weatherill House, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Housing, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Kerswell issues warning to staff over ‘verbal abuse’ at council

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Flashpoints between security guards and council staff after just two days of the new appointments-only system at Fisher’s Folly have seen workers told ‘we will not tolerate abuse of any form’. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Within two … Continue reading

Posted in 'Future Croydon', Bernard Weatherill House, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Housing, Katherine Kerswell | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

By appointment only: council’s been breaking the law for years

CROYDON COMMENTARY: The council made its public ‘access’ area at Fisher’s Folly appointment-only today. But as DON WHITE found out, even before the covid pandemic, our local authority has been most selective about how it fulfils its legal responsibilitiess at … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Environment, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Steve Reed MP | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

No Access Croydon: Kerswell closes off Fisher’s Folly to public

CROYDON IN CRISIS: At short notice, the council has announced that there will be no public access to the its offices without an appointment, in the latest cut in services under Mayor Jason Perry. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES The council’s … Continue reading

Posted in 'Future Croydon', Bernard Weatherill House, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Housing, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Cash-strapped council recruits £80,000 head of press office

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Council spend by its communications department has increased by 50% since Jason Perry became Mayor of Croydon, official figures confirm. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Croydon Mayor Jason Perry knows where his priorities are: despite presiding over a … Continue reading

Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Ofsted comes calling: will Kerswell’s council pass the tests?

Staff at Fisher’s Folly have been warned to be on their best behaviour, as septuagenarian corporate director Debbie Jones makes her last hurrah, and evermore ridiculous CEO Katherine Kerswell declares: ‘Let them eat cake!’ The last-but-one time there was a … Continue reading

Posted in Children's Services, Croydon Council, Debbie Jones, Education, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Schools | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Perry backs down from legal threats against homeless charity

CROYDON IN CRISIS: 87% of our readers said Croydon’s Mayor should not be threatening Nightwatch with an injunction for feeding the hungry in Queen’s Gardens. Now the council has announced there will be no legal action. By STEVEN DOWNES Croydon … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Charity, Croydon Council, Croydon Nightwatch, Croydon parks, Housing, Jad Adams, Lynne Hale, Mayor Jason Perry, Queens Gardens | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Majority of councillors sign letter of support for Nightwatch

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Open letter to Mayor Perry describes the ‘shocking way’ the council has treated one of the borough’s most-respected charities. By STEVEN DOWNES More than half of the borough’s elected councillors have signed an open letter to Mayor … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Charity, Croydon Council, Croydon Nightwatch, Croydon parks, Housing, Jad Adams, Mayor Jason Perry, Queens Gardens, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Perry’s council threatens legal action against homeless charity

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Tory Mayor ignored call for his council to act with ‘respect and compassion’ after they issued threats of legal action against one of the borough’s leading volunteer groups. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Croydon Nightwatch, the charity which … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Charity, Croydon Council, Croydon Nightwatch, Croydon parks, Housing, Jad Adams, Mayor Jason Perry, Queens Gardens, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

Kerswell opts to go ‘in-house’ and stage count at Fisher’s Folly

The count for three of Croydon’s parliamentary constituencies after voting closes in the General Election on July 4 will take place in the council’s offices at Fisher’s Folly, it has been decided. It will be the first time since the … Continue reading

Posted in 2024 General Election, Croydon Council, Croydon East, Croydon South, Croydon West, Katherine Kerswell, Streatham and Croydon North | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Mayor Perry forced to issue apology for PCNs ‘software error’

EXCLUSIVE: Council looks like backing down over potentially hundreds of driving penalties that it issued without sending drivers the required, initial Penalty Charge Notice – and all thanks to readers of Inside Croydon “Has our wonderful Tory Mayor Perry employed … Continue reading

Posted in Commuting, Croydon Council, Mayor Jason Perry, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Bureaucrat decides to kick credit union out of council offices

Croydon’s credit union, a community finance organisation that provides low-cost loans to thousands of residents in and around the borough, is being kicked out of the council offices on Monday because, officials say, the local authority needs the space for … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Community associations, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Council offices’ public area closed after ‘very serious incidents’

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Following the alleged serious assault of a vulnerable woman refugee, the council has shut its Access Croydon walk-in area, making the local authority even more remote from the people it is supposed to serve. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Housing, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Perry slow to stop cars parking in town centre pedestrian zone

Our transport correspondent, JEREMY CLACKSON, on the belated end to a free parking wheeze in a kids’ playground It has taken Tory Mayor Jason Perry nearly two whole months to get around to issuing parking tickets on cars parked illegally … Continue reading

Posted in Crime, Croydon Council, Croydon parks, Fairfield, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Queens Gardens, Steve Iles, Taberner House | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Nightwatch blocked from feeding homeless by council building

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The volunteers from an award-winning charity have been kicked off the steps of the council’s office building, in case they put off prospective business tenants of the cash-strapped authority. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Croydon’s £82,000 per year … Continue reading

Posted in Charity, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Croydon Nightwatch, Croydon parks, Housing, Jad Adams, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Queens Gardens, Sarah Jones MP | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Mayor Perry: ‘It’s going to get worse before it gets better’

CROYDON IN CRISIS: It didn’t take very long once he became Croydon’s first executive Mayor after telling the electorate that he had a plan, that Jason Perry was forced to admit that he never had a plan at all. By … Continue reading

Posted in Bernard Weatherill House, Brick by Brick, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Mike Fisher, Section 114 notice, URV | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Mayor condemned for ‘cruel’ treatment of street homeless

When other local authorities are looking to provide ‘warm banks’ for the poor and winter shelters for the homeless, Croydon’s cash-strapped council is seizing vulnerable people’s possessions in their effort to tidy up their swanky offices. By STEVEN DOWNES Tory … Continue reading

Posted in Bernard Weatherill House, Charity, Community associations, Croydon Council, Croydon Nightwatch, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Property, South Norwood Community Kitchen, Stuart King | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments