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Tag Archives: Nicola Townsend
Planning control has got worse under developers’ friend Perry
STEVE WHITESIDE has compiled dossiers of evidence that show that nothing much has changed in the council planning department since 2022. In some cases, for the residents living next to some developments that have gone ahead, things have actually got … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Environment, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Nicola Townsend, Planning, Property, Sanderstead
Tagged 12 The Ridgeway, Chris Philp MP, Cllr Michael Neal, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon planners, Croydon South, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Nicola Townsend, Planning, Planning enforcement, Purley, Sanderstead, SPD2, Steve Whiteside, Suburban Design Guide, Tory
4 Comments
Stink from Arkwright Road flats smells of council failures
Jason Perry boasts that he halted the overdevelopment of parts of Croydon, caused by SPD2, the hugely unpopular ‘Suburban Design Guide. STEVE WHITESIDE has compiled dossiers of evidence that show that nothing much has changed in the council planning department … Continue reading
Posted in Community associations, Croydon Council, Environment, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Nicola Townsend, Planning, Property, Purley, Sanderstead, Venetia Reid-Baptiste
Tagged 12 The Ridgeway, 54A Arkwright Road, Cllr Ian Parker, Cllr Michael Neal, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon planners, Jan Slominski, John Penn, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Nicola Townsend, Planning, Planning enforcement, Purley, Sanderstead, Sewers, SPD2, Steve Whiteside, Suburban Design Guide, Thames Water, Tory, Venetia Reid-Baptiste
7 Comments
Council bosses need to answer for Cheesbrough’s toxic legacy
CROYDON COMMENTARY: The announcement of the departure from the council of its long-standing planning director has been widely welcomed by many residents. But as WAYNE MULLEN explains, after his four-year battle with the council over planners’ misconduct, some of those … Continue reading
Posted in Chris Clark, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Nicola Townsend, Park Hill and Whitgift, Planning, Shifa Mustafa
Tagged Alison Butler, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Nicola Townsend, Park Hill, Paul Scott, Planning, Ross Gentry, Steve Whiteside, Tory, Wayne Mullen
15 Comments
The Masterplan has just one aim, to make money for Westfield
CROYDON COMMENTARY: The Town Hall planners handing over Masterplan responsibilities for the town centre to Westfield, as Inside Croydon reported this week, has left reader CARL LUCAS angry that our council will be missing a significant opportunity for a sustainable … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Centrale, Croydon Council, Environment, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Neal, Nicola Townsend, North End Quarter, Planning, Property, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Carl Lucas, Croydon, Croydon Council, East Croydon station, Hammersfield, London Borough of Croydon, Michael Neal, NEQ, Nicola Townsend, North End Quarter, Tory, Unibail Rodamco Westfield, URW, Westfield, Whitgift Centre
25 Comments
Councillor accuses Perry of broken pledge on affordable homes
Mayor Jason Perry’s council has been accused of yet another broken promise, and of wasting hundreds of thousands of pounds of tax-payers’ money, this time after rejecting a planning application for seven affordable homes in Upper Norwood, in a scheme … Continue reading
Posted in Claire Bonham, Community associations, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Environment, Heather Cheesbrough, Housing, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Nicola Townsend, Planning
Tagged Brick by Brick, Claire Bonham, Council planning, Croydon, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Crystal Palace Community Land Trust, Crystal Palace Transition Town, GLA, Greater London Authority, Heather Cheesbrough, Housing, London Borough of Croydon, Nicola Townsend, Upper Norwood
6 Comments
Planning battle over The Lawns after council official’s threats
Five years’ work has been wasted after Croydon Council planners rejected a planning application from a community group in Upper Norwood to build seven not-for-profit flats in a scheme instigated by… Croydon Council. BARRATT HOLMES, housing correspondent, reports An enterprising … Continue reading
Posted in Community associations, Croydon Council, Environment, Heather Cheesbrough, Housing, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Nicola Townsend, Planning, Tom Copley
Tagged Brick by Brick, Council planning, Croydon, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Crystal Palace Community Land Trust, Crystal Palace Transition Town, GLA, Greater London Authority, Heather Cheesbrough, Housing, London Borough of Croydon, Nicola Townsend, Tom Copley, Upper Norwood
10 Comments
Key document withheld from planning scrutiny for 21 months
STEVE WHITESIDE with an update on how the council’s planners and planning enforcement teams continue to fail the borough’s residents, while turning a blind eye to developers ignoring conditions Last month, I wrote about the sad saga of 158 Purley … Continue reading
Demolition shows how council’s planners have no ‘red lines’
STEVE WHITESIDE on the developing (geddit?) saga of a house-builder who manages to ignore planning conditions laid down by elected councillors, thanks to some considerable assistance being provided by council staff The sad saga of 158 Purley Downs Road, where … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Community associations, Croydon Council, Environment, Heather Cheesbrough, Housing, Leila Ben-Hassel, Lynne Hale, Nicola Townsend, Planning, Property, Sanderstead, South Croydon, Yvette Hopley
Tagged 158 Purley Downs Road, Chris Philp MP, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Demetri Prevatt, Heather Cheesbrough, Labour, Leila Ben-Hassel, London Borough of Croydon, Lynne Hale, Nicola Townsend, Richard Freeman, Sanderstead, Sanderstead Residents' Association, South Croydon, Steve Whiteside, Tory, Yvette Hopley
17 Comments
Council’s planners lose multiple cases at appeal and in court
Independent inspectors and judges at the High Court continue to rule against decisions made by Croydon’s planning department. Yet those making these dubious, developer-friendly decisions remain in place Research for Inside Croydon has found at least another 11 planning cases … Continue reading
Posted in Aventier, Business, Community associations, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Housing, Lynne Hale, Maria Gatland, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Neal, Nicola Townsend, Paul Scott, Planning, Sanderstead, Yvette Hopley
Tagged Aventier, Church Hill Holdings, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, David Sullivan, Heather Cheesbrough, Labour, Lynne Hale, Mayor Jason Perry, New Place Associates, Nicola Townsend, Paul Scott, Planning, Planning Committee, Planning Inspectorate, Sanderstead, Steve Whiteside, Tory, West Ham United
29 Comments
Home owner’s victory after four-year battle with planners
The planning department at Croydon’s dysfunctional council has been caught out yet again after the collapse of a developer’s appeal – but only after incurring huge and avoidable costs. Our housing correspondent, BARRATT HOLMES, unravels a saga of deceits and … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Chris Clark, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Housing, Jade Appleton, Katherine Kerswell, Nicola Townsend, Park Hill and Whitgift, Parking, Paul Scott, Planning, Property
Tagged Brownlow Road, Chris Clark, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jade Appleton, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Nicola Townsend, Paul Scott, Planning, Planning Committee, Ross Gentry, Silverleaf Developments Ltd, Steve Whiteside
17 Comments
Old Coulsdon residents angry at developer badgering wildlife
Croydon’s planners are accused of working together with developers to allow the destruction of an ancient badger sett in Old Coulsdon. Residents have been collating evidence for two years of deliberate vandalism to the sett, despite the protected species status … Continue reading
Planning chief’s position untenable as developers’ charter axed
Town Hall correspondent PEARL LEE on the seismic shift going on in the council’s planning department Croydon’s part-time Mayor, Jason Perry, will deliver on one of his key promises tonight when, at his first council cabinet meeting since his election … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Chris Philp MP, Coulsdon, Croydon Council, Croydon South, Heather Cheesbrough, Housing, Kenley, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Neal, Paul Scott, Planning, Property, Sanderstead, Shifa Mustafa
Tagged Conservative, Coulsdon, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon Local Plan, Heather Cheesbrough, Jan Slominski, Kenley, Labour, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Neal, Nicola Townsend, Paul Scott, Planning, Sanderstead, SPD2, Tory
13 Comments
The enforcers: residents making plans for council court action
Is something shifting in the Town Hall planning department? Amid news of the exit of a senior manager, and of director Heather Cheesbrough correcting her false claims on her online CV, and now a High Court ruling against the council’s … Continue reading
Buyers beware: High Court judge puts planners in the dock
A High Court judge has ruled against Croydon’s planning department, quashing the decision of a senior council official to grant permission for a block of flats in Sanderstead. Here, former council planner STEVE WHITESIDE explains how the court ruling could … Continue reading
Posted in Aventier, Business, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Housing, Nicola Townsend, Planning, Property, Purley, Purley Oaks and Riddlesdown, Sanderstead, Selsdon & Ballards, Selsdon and Addington Village
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, London Borough of Croydon, Nicola Townsend, Planning, Planning Committee, Planning enforcement, Purley, Riddlesdown, Sanderstead, Selsdon, Steve Whiteside
19 Comments
Director of planning’s bogus claim over Institute membership
Planning officers routinely ignoring the requirements of local plans, little or no enforcement of conditions applied when permission has been granted and the courts throwing out decisions of the council. STEVE WHITESIDE on a litany of shortcomings, and worse, at … Continue reading
Kenley developer seeking an up-lift, but not in accessibility
EXCLUSIVE: Our Town Hall correspondent, KEN LEE, has discovered a not-for-profit developer whose only aim, it appears from documents submitted to the planning department, is to benefit society – thought to be the first such case in Croydon since records … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Housing, Kenley, Nicola Townsend, Planning
Tagged Croydon Council, Kenley, Nicola Townsend
6 Comments
Council planners’ 3-month delay over Sanderstead complaint
When senior officials in Croydon’s planning department refuse to acknowledge their own serious errors, can residents rely on the council’s complaints system? Not if the latest development fiasco in Riddlesdown is anything to go by, says STEVE WHITESIDE Deliberate delays … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Community associations, Croydon Council, Environment, Heather Cheesbrough, Lynne Hale, Nicola Townsend, Planning, Sanderstead
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Hyde Road, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Nicola Townsend, Riddlesdown Residents Association, Sanderstead, Steve Whiteside
14 Comments
Institute member Townsend promoted as new chief planner
Nicola Townsend is the council’s new chief planner. Except she’s not. She’s been appointed as something which is described in council papers as Croydon’s “director of homes and social investment”. The council opted for an internal promotion to replace the … Continue reading
