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Tag Archives: Hamida Ali
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
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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
15 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
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‘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
Vote swings to Tories could see Labour lose 15 council seats
NOT-SO-SPECIAL ELECTION SPECIAL: The toxic legacy of Tony Newman and his cabal at the Town Hall could see the ex-leader’s former party wiped out if this week’s by-election results are repeated in 2022. By WALTER CRONXITE, political editor If Croydon … Continue reading
Posted in Alisa Flemming, Andrew Pelling, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jade Appleton, Joy Prince, Kenley, Kola Agboola, Louis Carserides, New Addington North, Ola Kolade, Park Hill and Whitgift, South Norwood, Tony Newman, Waddon, Woodside
Tagged Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jade Appleton, Kenley, Kola Agboola, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Louis Carserides, Mike Bonello, New Addington, Ola Kolade, Park Hill and Whitgift, Simon Hall, South Norwood, Steve Reed OBE, Tony Newman, Tory, Woodside
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Regina Road residents look at legal action for compensation
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Pressure is mounting on the council’s leadership for a firm response to the highly critical housing report published yesterday. By STEVEN DOWNES There have been renewed calls for the resignation of Hamida Ali as leader of Croydon … Continue reading
Croydon in crisis: Investigation into housing scandal finds systemic failure and incompetence in council
Independent consultants confirm that housing officials treated tenants with ‘a lack of respect’, and even lied to the local MP over repairs to damp and mouldy flats in South Norwood. By STEVEN DOWNES A “relatively routine” building failure, a water … Continue reading
Official accused of bullying Regina Road tenants over meeting
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Did the council leader lie to a parliamentary committee when she promised to release the investigation findings into the ‘appalling’ state of council flats in South Norwood ‘as soon as we have them’? EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES … Continue reading
Scott in power cut as he is ‘purged’ from planning committee
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The best mate of discredited council leader Tony Newman spent seven years dominating and domineering the planning committee – and never once did he declare an interest over colleague architects or Brick by Brick. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Chris Philp MP, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Housing, Jo Negrini, London-wide issues, Paul Scott, Planning, Toni Letts, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Chris Philp MP, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon South, DEMOC, Hamida Ali, Jason Perry, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Paul Scott, Planning Committee, Toni Letts, Tony Newman, Tory
14 Comments
Regina Road families left waiting for council leader meeting
CROYDON IN CRISIS: ‘Do not insult us any longer’ say residents after Hamida Ali breaks her promises to hold an ‘urgent’ meeting and to publish a report from investigation into the ‘appalling’ disrepair of South Norwood flats. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN … Continue reading
Town Hall meeting brought forward to dodge roadmap changes
KEN LEE reports on a very slow return to ‘normality’ over council business The council has brought forward its 2021 annual meeting by a fortnight – so that the borough’s councillors can avoid having a potential covid super-spreader event at … Continue reading
