Tag Archives: Regina Road
No tears shed by council or tenants as Axis makes its exit
Without any fanfare, and conspicuously no statement of great achievements by Croydon’s Mayor, the borough’s £21m per year repairs contractor that was mired at the centre of the Regina Road scandal has been quietly replaced It was perhaps a surprise … Continue reading
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
Greens and LibDems to be given seats at scrutiny committees
Tonight’s scrutiny committee meeting will also see significant changes in approach, and a small crack appearing in the granite-like control of power held by Croydon’s political duopoly, reports WALTER CRONXITE More than two years after the slum-like conditions in Croydon … Continue reading
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
88% Regina Road residents vote in favour of demolition
In a poll result that will surprise no one, the long-suffering residents of Regina Road in South Norwood, who have endured some of the worst housing conditions ever seen in 21st Century Britain, have voted overwhelmingly in favour of the … Continue reading
Regina Road residents to be balloted over estate demolition
The 100-or-so households living in council tower blocks and surrounding properties on Regina Road are to be balloted in the next month over whether the damp and mould-blighted buildings should be demolished. The decision to go-ahead with the estate ballot … Continue reading
Croydon put in special measures: ‘Worst of all possible worlds’
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Announcements from Westminster and Whitehall today put the borough under the control of unelected bureaucrats who are answerable only to a Tory Government minister – in a scheme that the Mayor has helped plot for months. By … Continue reading
Housing board’s report warns of ‘years of hard work’ ahead
Nearly two years since the Regina Road council homes scandal broke, an independent panel appointed to oversee the Town Hall’s housing efforts has noted the beginnings of improvement Getting Croydon’s housing service to an acceptable standard “will take several years … Continue reading
‘I had to put my kids on inhalers because of the black mould’
EMMA GARDINER reports that the findings of a Coroner’s court in Rochdale over the cause of death of a toddler needs to lead to profound changes in the way social housing stock is managed The shocking announcement this week from … Continue reading
Council opts to demolish blocks at centre of squalor scandal
The South Norwood flats which were so badly maintained that they caused a national scandal ‘are no longer fit for purpose’ according to a report from the cash-strapped council. By STEVEN DOWNES Croydon Council wants to demolish the three tower … Continue reading
‘Listening’ council gives two hours notice of housing workshop
Part-time Mayor Jason Perry’s half-arsed commitment to “listening” to locals was exposed yet again today when the council’s propaganda unit got round to issuing a press release about housing workshops less than two hours before the first session was due … Continue reading
Regina Road repairs are falling short of required standards
CROYDON IN CRISIS: An estimated £100,000 has been spent so far repairing council flats in South Norwood. But tenants and their representatives are concerned about the poor standard of the works. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Nearly 18 months since the … Continue reading
Council asks tenants: what do you want from repairs service?
Council tenants and leaseholders, together with members of the housing improvement board, have cautiously welcomed the latest Town Hall engagement exercise, intended to improve the pace and standards of the repairs service provided for the borough’s properties. The housing improvement … Continue reading
Perry opts to keep poor performing Axis for another year
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Despite reports of ‘shocking rudeness and inhumanity’, repairs contractors implicated in a national housing scandal have been given £20m worth of work by the borough’s part-time Mayor. By STEVEN DOWNES Jason Perry, the £81,000 per year part-time … Continue reading
Residents’ Charter sets standards for council’s housing
This Wednesday, the council cabinet will be asked to rubber-stamp a proposal that the Town Hall adopts the Croydon Residents’ Charter, drawn up by Yaw John Boateng, Les Parry and Kim Wakeley of the Croydon Council tenants and leaseholders panel. … Continue reading
Time’s running out for Axis as new Mayor comes under scrutiny
The honeymoon period is over for Jason Perry, as the first reports of his administration are due to be published this week, reports KEN LEE, our Town Hall correspondent Jason Perry this week faces his first real tests as Croydon’s … Continue reading
‘Disgrace’ as £110m of Brick by Brick homes stand empty
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Research conducted by a residents’ group has confirmed that more than 200 new homes, built with public cash by the council-owned company, remain vacant, in some cases for more than a year. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES and … Continue reading
Select committee MPs promise swift action at Regina Road
CROYDON IN CRISIS: More than a year since the ‘appalling’ state of flats in Regina Road caused a national scandal, MPs from a Commons select committee visited South Norwood and Upper Norwood this week. They were shocked at what they … Continue reading
This is the stark human cost of the borough going bankrupt
CROYDON IN CRISIS: A mum of six children is facing destitution after the council has made her family more than £200 per month worse off by cutting her Council Tax Support and failing to provide its promised hardship scheme. EXCLUSIVE … Continue reading
One year on, Hamida Ali’s latest apologies on Regina Road
‘To improve the conditions in people’s homes, the tenants have to pay for it… How is that fair?’ ITV News’ DANIEL HEWITT last night broadcast a follow-up to the investigation into conditions in council flats in South Norwood which caused … Continue reading
Council’s Ministry of Truth forced to pull housing press release
CROYDON IN CRISIS: On the first anniversary of the broadcast of the TV news report that shocked the nation, the council has been forced to pull a press release which tried to misrepresent the findings of the independent housing improvement … Continue reading
Labour council’s ‘slumlords’ can’t face Regina Road tenants
The difference between the realities of life for council tenants in Croydon and the public statements from the Labour-controlled council demonstrate that the lessons of the Regina Road housing scandal have not been learned by those in power. By STEVEN … Continue reading
‘Council must freeze its unnecessary 4.1% rent increase’
CROYDON COMMENTARY: Ahead of a protest on Monday night, EMMA GARDINER, pictured right, calls on Town Hall leaders to abandon their proposed council rent hike until all their properties meet the habitable homes standard A long-awaited independent survey recently published … Continue reading
One year on from housing shame: ‘not enough has been done’
A report from the improvement committee appointed in the aftermath of the council homes scandal has found that Croydon’s tenants continue to be treated with ‘shocking rudeness and inhumanity’, while many in Regina Road blocks ‘are still living in very … Continue reading
