Top Posts & Pages
-
Recent Comments
Nick Davies on Judge Bean orders retrial over… Arfur Towcrate on Judge Bean orders retrial over… Lancaster on Regina Road fire alarms failed… Beverley on Millions of questions for BHLi… SASIG May Newsletter… on Biggin Hill suffers delayed ta… John Morgan on Council chiefs accused by MP o…
Tag Archives: Hamida Ali
Former health director suing council for constructive dismissal
CROYDON IN CRISIS: ‘Kerswell’s cull’ of the council’s executive directors appointed or promoted by her predecessor, Jo Negrini, is not going as smoothly as might have been hoped. And it appears that most will escape any disciplinary action. By STEVEN … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hamida Ali, Hazel Simmonds, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Shifa Mustafa, Tony Newman
3 Comments
Months after Regina Road scandal, council conducts a survey
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Council is accused of ‘bureaucratic bullshit’, as promises to meet distressed residents have still not been honoured. By STEVEN DOWNES Only now, four months after the scandal of its sub-standard housing in South Norwood was exposed on … Continue reading
Mystery of the ‘lost’ £600,000 expert report into Fairfield Halls
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Suspicions mount over the business of Brick by Brick and the scandal surrounding the Fairfield Halls refurbishment. But even members of the Town Hall’s scrutiny committee are being denied vital information by council directors. By STEVEN DOWNES … Continue reading
Posted in Asmat Hussain, Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Robert Ward, Sarah Hayward, Sean Fitzsimons
Tagged Asmat Hussain, Brick by Brick, Conservative, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Hamida Ali, Labour, Robert Ward, Sarah Hayward, Scrutiny and Overview Committee, Sean Fitzsimons, Tony Newman, Tory
23 Comments
Croydon Labour spread the word – and a risk of the virus
Croydon’s group of inept Labour councillors is back doing what they do best: being inept. Political editor WALTER CRONXITE reports As a third wave of covid lets rip (nearly 1,200 new cases of infection in the last seven days in … Continue reading
Posted in 2022 council elections, Addiscombe East, Addiscombe West, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Maddie Henson, Sean Fitzsimons, Stuart Collins
Tagged Addiscombe, Addiscombe East, Addiscombe West, coronavirus, Covid-19, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Labour, Maddie Henson, Stuart Collins, Tony Newman
2 Comments
Reports on Fairfield Halls and BxB missing from audit meeting
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Tonight’s meeting of the council’s GPAC – General Purposes and Audit Committee – will mark the end of a error, as Labour councillors risk handing even more control to council executives. By STEVEN DOWNES Karen Jewitt, the … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Chris Buss, Fairfield Halls, Hamida Ali, Karen Jewitt, Katherine Kerswell, Tim Pollard, Tony Newman
Tagged Chris Buss, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, General Purposes and Audit Committee, GPAC, Hamida Ali, Karen Jewitt, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Rapid Review, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI, Scrutiny and Overview Committee, Tim Pollard, Tony Newman, Tory
6 Comments
‘Shoddy’ botched repairs as council housing scandal deepens
CROYDON IN CRISIS: ‘Nothing has changed’: Regina Road residents are planning a protest march next week over the continuing neglect and mismanagement of their council homes. By STEVEN DOWNES Despite solemn apologies and promises made on national television by council … Continue reading
Government-appointed advisers pulled plug on BxB sale
CROYDON IN CRISIS: ‘Improvement Panel’ ordered council to abandon its poor-value deal to sell Brick by Brick, and instead to pay Wates Construction £1.12m to oversee the loss-making builders’ work on 23 sites. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Hamida Ali, the … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Chris Buss, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Housing, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Planning, Tony McArdle
Tagged Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Improvement Panel, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Phil Brookes, Tony McArdle
11 Comments
‘Apologetic Ali’ fails once again as BxB sends in the builders
Council leader tells community meeting she is powerless to act against the council-owned development company, as New Addington residents’ five-year campaign to save a communal space comes to a sad end. By STEVEN DOWNES Not for the first time, Croydon … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Louisa Woodley, New Addington, Oliver Lewis, Planning, Sarah Jones MP, Scott Ainsworth-Payne
Tagged Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Labour, Louisa Woodley, New Addington, Oliver Lewis, Warbank Crescent
6 Comments
Council abandons its £100m discount sale of Brick by Brick
A deal to off-load the loss-making housing firm at a massive loss to tax-payers has been dropped. By STEVEN DOWNES Croydon Council has been forced to abandon plans to flog-off loss-making builders Brick by Brick. The council’s interim head of … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Chris Buss, Colm Lacey, Hamida Ali, Planning
Tagged Brick by Brick, Chris Buss, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Tony McArdle
8 Comments
Ali apologises to New Addington residents after BxB ‘raid’
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Earlier this month council figures offered to let residents have the publicly-owned community space at Warbank Crescent – provided they coughed up £180,000 to Brick by Brick. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Never let it be said that … Continue reading
Croydon In Crisis: Now council wants to charge kids to play
CROYDON COMMENTARY: Our cash-strapped council is so hard-up, they want to charge kids hundreds of pounds for the simple pleasure of playing in the street outside their homes. EMMA HOPE-FITCH explains Back in 2015, I had the pleasure of organising … Continue reading
The fix is in: Labour leaders endorse status quo on 14% turnout
CROYDON IN CRISIS: After overseeing the failure of the borough’s children’s services, setting up the loss-making Brick by Brick, presiding over slum-like conditions in council flats and bankrupting the borough, some of Tony Newman’s closest colleagues are claiming ‘victory’ over … Continue reading
Posted in 2021 Mayor Referendum, 2022 council elections, Alison Butler, Croydon Central, Croydon North, Croydon South, Hamida Ali, Jamie Audsley, Paul Scott, Sarah Jones MP, Sean Fitzsimons, Steve Reed MP, Stuart Collins, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Croydon, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Croydon North, Croydon South, DEMOC, Democratically Elected Mayor for Croydon, Hamida Ali, Jamie Audsley, Labour, Paul Scott, Sarah Jones MP, Steve Reed OBE, Stuart Collins, Tony Newman
7 Comments
Government inspector’s concerns over BxB sweetheart deal
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Jenrick’s improvement board raises serious questions over whether the quick sale of the council’s failed development company could end up costing tax-payers many millions of pounds, while its latest report criticises borough officials’ ‘lack of self-awareness’. By … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Brick by Brick, Chris Buss, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Improvement Board, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Tony McArdle
Tagged Brick by Brick, Chris Buss, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Improvement Panel, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Robert Jenrick, Tony McArdle, Urban Splash
6 Comments
Ali’s latest gaffe attracts ridicule over landlord licensing
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Council leader reacts with dismay at loss of £20m in licence fees, as Labour councillors question lack of support from their new chief executive. By STEVEN DOWNES Hamida Ali, the council leader, opened herself up again to … Continue reading
Residents’ group pledges to keep up the fight for decent homes
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Three months after a TV news report shocked the nation, tenants in South Norwood council flats say they are still being let down by the council The residents’ group that was set up in South Norwood as … Continue reading
Commissioner says Croydon can recover – with another £30m
CROYDON IN CRISIS: A report from commissioners overseeing another local authority that went bankrupt offers troubling parallels closer to home. STEVEN DOWNES reports Croydon Council can get itself out of financial trouble – but only if Whitehall stumps up another … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle, Tony Newman
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Northamptonshire, Tony McArdle, Tony Newman
6 Comments
£50m shortfall in Home Office payments for asylum children
The council says that the government has underpaid it by around £50million, money which it says is owed for taking care of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children who arrive in the UK in Croydon. The council claims that over the past decade … Continue reading
Kerswell was only interviewee for £192,000 council top job
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Council announces chief exec appointment – after the only alternative candidate dropped out. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES The council this afternoon announced that the £192,474 per year job of chief executive has been offered to Katherine Kerswell, … Continue reading
Brick by Brick and the 18 documents officers want kept secret
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Not for the first time, elected councillors have been denied vital information about Town Hall deals. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Croydon Conservatives have “called in” for extra scrutiny three multi-million-pound deals intended to off-load the council’s loss-making … Continue reading
Government regulator steps in over ‘appalling’ council flats
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The squalid conditions of homes in South Norwood has seen the council found to be in breach of 15-year-old regulations introduced to prevent people having to endure slum conditions. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES The council has been … Continue reading
‘None of the tenants in Croydon trust anybody in the council’
By STEVEN DOWNES The council took the unusual step last night of inviting one of the people it is supposed to serve, a resident, a council tenant, to speak at its Town Hall cabinet meeting. What Fransoy Hewitt said, her … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Knight, Clive Fraser, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Housing, Katherine Kerswell, Patricia Hay-Justice, Sarah Hayward, South Norwood
Tagged Clive Fraser, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fransoy Hewitt, Hamida Ali, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Patricia Hay-Justice, Regina Road, Regina Road Residents' Support Group, South Norwood
14 Comments
Renters Union calls on its members to join Regina Road demo
The London Renters Union has called on all its members and supporters from across the capital to join a protest outside Croydon Town Hall this evening to show solidarity for the long-ignored council tenants at Regina Road. The flooded, mouldy … Continue reading
£104,000: astronomical pay deal for housing troubleshooter
Town Hall reporter KEN LEE says that the controversy surrounding the squalid conditions in council homes in South Norwood seems likely to be stoked further tonight over disputed claims that the council leader, Hamida Ali, has met with residents in … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Knight, Community associations, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Housing, Katherine Kerswell, Sarah Hayward, South Norwood, South Norwood Tourist Board, Steve Reed MP
Tagged Alison Knight, Croydon North, Hamida Ali, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Regina Road, Regina Road Residents' Support Group, Sarah Hayward, South Norwood, Steve Reed OBE
Leave a comment
‘Some days you’re the pigeon, some days you’re the statue’
Over-worked, under-valued and long-suffering members of council staff are regarding Monday’s council business with some trepidation. Because as well as Monday evening’s cabinet, earlier in the day there is a meeting of the council’s appointments committee to decide the short-list … Continue reading
New councillor Bonello quick to meet with discredited Newman
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The former leader of the council appears to continue his interest, and possibly influence, over Labour councillors. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES. Photo: DANNIE LIEBOVITZ Less than 72 hours after being elected as a ward councillor for Woodside … Continue reading
