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Tag Archives: Jo Negrini
Auckland Rise residents suffer the ‘curse’ of Brick by Brick
Our housing correspondent, BARRATT HOLMES, reports on how some of the warnings about the council house-builders’ ‘affordable’ homes are becoming an costly reality in Crystal Palace Residents in supposedly “affordable” shared ownership homes built in Crystal Palace by the council-owned … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Claire Bonham, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Housing, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning
Tagged Alison Butler, Auckland Rise, Brick by Brick, Claire Bonham, Colm Lacey, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Jo Negrini, Labour, Liberal Democrats, London, London Borough of Croydon, Tory
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£603,000: the soaring costs of Croydon’s ‘improvement’ panel
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Three years since Tony McArdle and his government-appointed team of troubleshooters were parachuted into the council, there are mounting questions about what they have achieved. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES The Government-appointed chair of Croydon Council’s “improvement and … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Libraries, Section 114 notice, SEND, Tony McArdle
Tagged Bankrupt, Chrildren's Services, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Eleanor Brazil, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Levelling, LGC, Local Government Chronicle, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Phil Brookes, S114, S114 notice, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tony McArdle, Tory
12 Comments
Council chief Kerswell has doubled up on £140,000+ executives
CROYDON IN CRISIS: While more than 400 frontline jobs have been axed since 2020, the executive suite in Fisher’s Folly has barely been touched. But the council CEO is spending even more on ‘cost-cutting’ consultants. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Katherine … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Conservative, Corporate directors, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Executive directors, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Regina Road, Tony Newman, Tory
6 Comments
Farewell but no thanks: troubleshooters leave BxB’s board
Step by tiny step, the winding up of failed developer Brick by Brick is coming to an end, reports BARRATT HOLMES, housing correspondent The deckchairs are being re-arranged on the deck of Brick by Brick, seemingly for one final time. … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Colm Lacey, Coulsdon, Croydon Council, David Courcoux, Jo Negrini, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman
Tagged affordable housing, Andrew Percival, Brick by Brick, Companies House, Croydon, Croydon Council, David Corcoux, Duncan Whitfield, Griff Marshalsay, Griffith McCallum Marshalsay, Homes for Lambeth, Housing, Ian O'Donnell, Jo Negrini, Labour, Lambeth, London Borough of Croydon, Southwark Council, Stephen Hopkins, Tony Newman
8 Comments
Perry’s promotional tour sees Mayor say more than he meant
CROYDON COMMENTARY: Fewer than 30 people turned up this week for the latest stage in Jason Perry’s council-funded grand tour of the borough. And five of them were police. Season ticket-holder ANDREW PELLING, left, was in South Norwood to see … Continue reading
Posted in Andrew Pelling, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Refuse collection, Regina Road redevelopment, South Norwood, Woodside
Tagged Andrew Pelling, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Labour, Mayor Jason Perry, South Norwood, Tory
7 Comments
Wanted: ‘storyteller’ to spin CEO Kerswell’s recruitment binge
CROYDON IN CRISIS: ‘History,’ said Marx (Karl, not Groucho), ‘repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce.’ At our cash-strapped council, we appear to have arrived at the farcical stage. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES How good is your “story-telling”? £50,000 … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Housing, Improvement Board, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Conservative, Corporate directors, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Executive directors, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Regina Road, Tony Newman, Tory
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£68m: final cost of Brick by Brick, as agreed by Mayor Perry
£68m This is what a “solvent liquidation” looks like, according to Croydon’s elected Mayor Jason Perry. That’s the latest final estimate of the exit costs of winding down and closing Brick by Brick, the failed housing company set up by … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Business, Colm Lacey, Coulsdon, Croydon Council, Housing, Improvement Board, Jo Negrini, Mayor Jason Perry, Paul Scott, Planning, Simon Hall, Tony McArdle, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Conservative, Coulsdon, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Paul Scott, Tony Newman, Tory
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Brick by Brick posts £7.6m loss in latest annual trading report
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Yet more bad news finally emerging into the public record. By BARRATT HOLMES, our house building correspondent Even when it is no longer paying above the odds to build new homes, Brick by Brick continues to lose … Continue reading
Kerswell keeps councillors waiting for her tribunal feedback
CROYDON IN CRISIS: How will the borough’s £192,474 per year chief executive explain the suggestion that she lied under oath when defending herself against allegations of racism? By KEN LEE, Town Hall reporter Almost a month has passed since the … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Richard Simpson, The Penn Report, Tony McArdle
Tagged #PennReport, Appointments and disciplinary committee, Croydon, Croydon Council, Employment Tribunal, Hazel Simmonds, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Penn Report, Richard Penn, Section 114, The Penn Report
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Accountancy body launches investigation of ex-finance chief
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Thurrock, in Essex, gave our own council a two-year head start in the bankruptcy stakes, but now they are taking the kind of action which was recommended here long ago. By our Town Hall reporter, KEN LEE … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Outside Croydon, Richard Simpson, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa, The Penn Report
Tagged Bureau of Investigative Journalism, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Essex, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Liam Kavanagh, Lisa Taylor, London Borough of Croydon, Richard Simpson, Sean Clark, Shifa Mustafa, Thurrock, Thurrock Council, Tory
7 Comments
Tribunal judge finds no evidence of racism or unfair dismissal
CROYDON IN CRISIS: A landmark judgement, handed down today, determined that the council did not act in a racist, prejudicial or harrassing manner towards one of its former senior staff members. By STEVEN DOWNES This was one battle that David … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Hazel Simmonds, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Section 114 notice, The Penn Report
Tagged Browne Jacobson, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Employment Tribunal, Hazel Simmonds, Jo Negrini, Judge Adam Leith, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Patricia Leonard, S114, S114 notice, Section 114, To encourage the others
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CEO Kerswell could face crucial cross-examination at Tribunal
CROYDON IN CRISIS: A hearing for an employment dispute alleging unfair dismissal and racism brought by one of the council’s senior members of staff at the time of its financial collapse has done more to expose bullying and cover-ups at … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Hazel Simmonds, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Section 114 notice, The Penn Report
Tagged Admiral Byng, Browne Jacobson, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Employment Tribunal, Hazel Simmonds, Jo Negrini, Judge Adam Leith, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Lynne Hale, Patricia Leonard, S114, S114 notice, Section 114, To encourage the others, Voltaire
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Mayor Perry is told to wait for £18.5m Levelling Up boost
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Business interests in the town centre will benefit from Government cash for cycling and walking schemes. But doubts surround whether Mayor Perry will manage to deliver a six-year-old Labour plan to open up College Green. By our … Continue reading
Posted in Business, College Green, Croydon BID, Croydon Council, Cycling, East Croydon, Environment, Fairfield Halls, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Waddon, West Croydon, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Conservative, Croydon, Croydon BID, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, Fairfield Halls, Jo Negrini, Levelling Up Fund, Matthew Sims, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Paul Scott, Tory, Waddon, Westfield, Whitgift Centre
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Mayor Perry: we’ve reported no one for bankrupting borough
Tory Mayor now blames police for slow investigation – after having submitted complaint over former council leaders more than two years after the council received recommendations that it should do so. By KEN LEE, Town Hall reporter In an extraordinary … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Mayor Jason Perry, Policing, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, The Penn Report
Tagged #PennReport, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Mayor Jason Perry, Penn Report, Richard Penn, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman, Tory
4 Comments
Millionaire pulls plug on Mayor Perry’s ‘big idea’ for Allders
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The businessman behind Secret Cinema folded five companies in August, as ambitious plans for the ‘turning point for the future of entertainment’ in Croydon’s dilapidated town centre are abandoned. By STEVEN DOWNES Jason Perry put on his … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Business, Centrale, Croydon BID, Croydon Council, Mayor Jason Perry, Secret Cinema, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Conservative, Croydon, Croydon BID, Croydon Council, Develop Croydon, Fabien Riggall, Hammersfield, Hammerson, Jo Negrini, Labour, Mayor Jason Perry, Secret Cinema, Tory, Unibail Rodamco Westfield, URW, Westfield, Whitgift Centre
16 Comments
Mayor Perry’s spending cuts should begin with his own cabinet
CROYDON COMMENTARY: Why is our cash-strapped council wasting £1.4m over four years on extra allowances for cabinet members who have little power? Or spending another £400,000 over the same period on ‘support staff’ for councillors at a time it is … Continue reading
Tory Mayor Perry admits to another broken election promise
No more ‘rewards for failure’ was the Tory promise before last year’s local elections. Now the council’s executive Mayor has conceded that he cannot act against Newman, Negrini or others accused of bankrupting the borough. By our Town Hall reporter, … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman
Tagged #PennReport, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Penn Report, Simon Hall, The Municipal Journal, The Penn Report, Tony Newman, Tory
4 Comments
Defiant squatters are ordered to leave Brick by Brick’s offices
While security guards peered from the windows of the empty Croydon Park Hotel on Altyre Road, squatters and their supporters were erecting banners in the forecourt of Croydon County Court this morning. The group of squatters calling themselves Reclaim Croydon … Continue reading
Didn’t I do well?! Kerswell gives herself a pat on the back
CROYDON IN CRISIS: It is three years to the week since the emergency committee meeting, attended by Jason Perry, that decided in secret to give £437,000 to Jo Negrini to leave her job as council CEO. Today, Negreedy’s replacement, Katherine … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Hazel Simmonds, Improvement Board, Jane West, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle
Tagged #PennReport, 15% Council Tax hike, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, DLUHC, Electoral Commission, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Information Commissioners Office, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, LGA, LGC, Local Government Association, Local Government Chronicle, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Penn Report, The Penn Report, Tory
21 Comments
Perry’s council refuses to name its design review panellists
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Mayor decided to re-boot Negrini’s Place Review Panel, but after almost a year’s delay, the identities of the ‘experts’ assembled remain closely guarded secrets. By WALTER CRONXITE “Just what are they trying to hide?” a Katharine Street … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Croydon Council, Design Review Panel, Environment, Jo Negrini, Mayor Jason Perry, Place Review Panel, Planning, Whitgift Centre
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Brick by Brick, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Design Review Panel, Hawkins Brown, Hugh Pearman, Jo Negrini, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Place Review Panel, Royal Institute of British Architects, Victoria and Albert Museum, Wayne Hemingway, We Made This, Westfield, Whitgift Centre
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Cost of failure: report says Negrini’s lined up new pay-off
Might Jo Negrini – “Negreedy” as she was less-than-fondly known by colleagues when she was chief executive at Croydon Council – be heading for a second overly generous pay-off in just three years? Next month will see the anniversary of … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Tony Newman
Tagged Arup, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Private Eye, Tony Newman
4 Comments
Perry to hand key Regina Road contract to Negrini’s employers
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Having said he would begin legal proceedings to recover some of the former CEO’s £437,000 ‘Golden Handshake’, the Tory Mayor is now hiring the company that has appointed the self-acclaimed regeneration expert as a director. EXCLUSIVE by … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Community associations, Croydon Council, Housing, Jo Negrini, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Property, Regina Road redevelopment, Regina Road Residents' Support Group, South Norwood
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Arup, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Mayor Jason Perry, Regina Road, Regina Road redevelopment, Tory
6 Comments
Brick by Brick’s unsold homes are costing Croydon a fortune
Despite there being a ‘housing crisis’, the council’s failed development company is struggling to sell dozens of its homes. As housing correspondent BARRATT HOLMES reports, £440,000 for a two-bed shared-ownership flat is putting off buyers There’s good reason that loss-making … Continue reading
From part-time to powerless: Perry’s first year under scrutiny
WALTER CRONXITE, political editor, on how the public are already seeing through Croydon’s failing Tory Mayor Jason Perry, Croydon’s £82,000 per year elected Mayor, is likely to be given a “Must Do Better” rating when he presents his report on … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Panel, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Scrutiny and Overview Committee, Scrutiny committee, Tony McArdle, Tory
12 Comments
Homes report warns of ‘unsustainable’ shared ownership deals
Shared ownership risks becoming “financially unsustainable” for lower-income buyers, warns a report published this week. The report, Shared ownership: the consumer perspective, reveals how more than one-third of shared owners display indicators of financial vulnerability, with lower financial resilience and … Continue reading
