Tag Archives: Greenwich

Labour’s new ‘Lord Len’ might yet play role in 445-flat scheme

Political Editor, WALTER CRONXITE, on the revolving door between City Hall, south London councils and lobbying firms, and how that might play a part in this week’s big residential scheme at Croydon’s planning committee Len Duvall, the longest-serving London Assembly … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Croydon Council, Croydon Park Hotel, Fairfield, Housing, Lewisham, London Assembly, London-wide issues, Lord Len Duvall, Planning, Property, Southwark Council, Woburn Court and Bedford Court | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Police seize counterfeit goods and cash from Croydon shops

Shops in Croydon and in Brixton have been among 30 sites raided by the Metropolitan Police, seizing hundreds of thousands of pounds-worth of counterfeit goods and suspected illegal cash as part of an operation to disrupt money laundering and the … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Crime, Knife crime, London-wide issues, Policing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Now Kerswell’s deputy CEO joins the rush for council exits

EXCLUSIVE: To lose one of her trusted inner circle might be unfortunate for Croydon chief exec Katherine Kerswell, but to lose two is beginning to look like an exodus. By STEVEN DOWNES Elaine Jackson, the senior council executive who Croydon … Continue reading

Posted in Abi Brown, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Elaine Jackson, Ged Curran, Improvement Board, Jackie Belton, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Go West! Cash-strapped council’s finance chief is set to quit

EXCLUSIVE: Councillors were kept in the dark about departure of council’s S151 officer, as her exit is linked to the government’s appointment of Commissioners. By STEVEN DOWNES Jane West, Croydon’s finance director since 2022, is to stand down from her … Continue reading

Posted in Abi Brown, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Ged Curran, Improvement Board, Jackie Belton, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

McArdle’s reward for Croydon failure: £1,200 per day in Brum

Having delivered no appreciable improvement in Croydon after more than four years, the council’s ‘improvement’ panel left south London last week, to be replaced by Commissioners. But the panel members’ ride on the gravy train does not end there. By … Continue reading

Posted in Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Ged Curran, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Robert Ward, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Tory improvement panel ‘clearly failed’, says Tory councillor

In the first break with the omerta adopted by Mayor Jason Perry and council CEO Katherine Kerswell over the so-called ‘improvement panel’, a senior Tory councillor says that the appointees of the Conservative government ‘failed’. By WALTER CONXITE, Political Editor … Continue reading

Posted in 'Future Croydon', Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Ged Curran, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Robert Ward, Section 114 notice, Selsdon and Addington Village, Stabilisation Plan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

£642,000: the annual cost of government’s four Commissioners

The government might have decided to send in Commissioners, but it will be Croydon’s Council Tax-payers who will be picking up the bill. Yet again. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Croydon’s long-suffering residents will be expected to pay the generous daily … Continue reading

Posted in 'Future Croydon', Abi Brown, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Ged Curran, Improvement Board, Jackie Belton, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Minister McMahon orders in Commissioners to run council

STEVEN DOWNES reports on another day of shame for Croydon’s Tory Mayor and his £204,000 chief executive, as government minister orders ‘a short and sharp reset, with fast action… to shift the dial on the council’s recovery’ The government today … Continue reading

Posted in 'Future Croydon', Abi Brown, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Ged Curran, Improvement Board, Jackie Belton, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

Meet the Commissioners: council experts sent to save Croydon

Just who are the Commissioners named today by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to have been appointed with the task of steering Croydon Council off the rocks of toxic debt and crass mismanagement? Last month, local government … Continue reading

Posted in 'Future Croydon', Abi Brown, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Ged Curran, Improvement Board, Jackie Belton, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Thameslink disruption could impact London Marathon runners

Runners and spectators travelling into the city for this Sunday’s London Marathon face disruption and possible crowding on Thameslink services from East Croydon, as Network Rail is conducting engineering works on the day of the world’s biggest 26.2-mile road race. … Continue reading

Posted in Activities, Athletics, East Croydon, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Ghost of Brick by Brick comes to haunt London Mayor Khan

BARRATT HOLMES, housing correspondent, identifies some troubling similarities between the collapse of Croydon’s failed housing company and recent auditors’ warnings over a GLA-owned development firm A housing company established by the Greater London Authority which has received £300million in loans … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Housing, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, Tom Copley | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Council places homeless in closed pub that was cannabis farm

CROYDON IN CRISIS: From the council that brought us housing scandals Brick by Brick and Regina Road, now we have temporary accommodation being provided 10 miles away in an abandoned pub which last year was being used as an illegal … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Greenwich Council, Housing, Local media, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Outside Croydon, The Greenwich Wire | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

‘Appalling’ GLL is facing strike by library workers in Bromley

Library workers in Bromley are to take strike action over “low pay and shoddy working practices”, according to their union, Unite. Bromley operates 14 public libraries (more than in bigger borough Croydon), plus a volunteer-run mobile library service, all managed … Continue reading

Posted in Bromley Council, GLL - Better, Greenwich Leisure, Libraries, Outside Croydon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Podcast: What do other Londoners think about Croydon?

How do other Londoners see Croydon? In the latest episode of our Croydon Insider podcast, we branch out a bit, in a quest to discover what people around the capital perceive of Croydon and the financial crisis our politicians and … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Insider, Inside Croydon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Monument planned for man behind monumental disaster

Our housing correspondent, BARRATT HOLMES, has found proposals for a piece of public art which proves that some involved in the Brick by Brick scandal and Fairfield Halls fiasco really have no shame A firm of developers wants to place … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Colm Lacey, Jo Negrini, Martyn Evans | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Ten miles off-road to Greenwich by bike: what a Breeze

An initiative to encourage women back to cycling is gathering speed, and has seen four locals test a 10-mile off-road route from Croydon all the way to Greenwich last Saturday. They found the journey a breeze. The cyclists are all … Continue reading

Posted in Activities, Cycling, Sport, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment