Tag Archives: Robert Jenrick

Truss’s new housing minister has his eyes on the Green Belt

Posted on September 17, 2022 by insidecroydon

Our housing correspondent, BARRATT HOLMES, on how changes at the Department for Levelling Up could signal a change in attitude to areas protected from development After years of Tory councillors, their friends running residents’ associations in the south of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Community associations, Croydon Council, Environment, Housing, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Tory government delays finance reports to help Mayor Perry

Posted on August 24, 2022 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: It’s almost nine months since Whitehall released the last quarterly report from its Improvement Panel on the state of the cash-strapped council’s finances, prompting accusations of political favours for the Conservatives. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES It’s not … Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Jason Cummings, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tenants’ despair and politicians’ disdain: Britain’s slum crisis

Posted on September 10, 2021 by insidecroydon

STEVEN DOWNES on the television documentary being broadcast on Sunday night which seems certain to shock the nation and pour shame on Croydon Council all over again You might think you couldn’t be shocked any more. But you’d be wrong. … Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Housing, Lambeth Council, London-wide issues, Merton, Regina Road Residents' Support Group, South Norwood, Southwark Council | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Jenrick ministry defends choice of all-white improvement panel

Posted on August 31, 2021 by insidecroydon

The government has been forced to defend its decision to appoint an all-white “improvement and assurance panel” to oversee Croydon Council’s efforts to recover from its financial collapse last year. In January, Robert Jenrick’s Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local … Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Improvement Board, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

£700,000: Croydon counting the costs of council failures

Posted on August 26, 2021 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The Town Hall has been hit with ‘penalty fines’ of its own since its financial collapse 12 months ago. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES £697,300 And rising… That’s how much Croydon Council says it has paid so far, … Continue reading →

Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Improvement Board, Report in the Public Interest, Robert Canning, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Government orders councils to close covid emergency hotels

Posted on July 7, 2021 by insidecroydon

Local authorities across England, including Croydon Council, have been ordered by the government that they must close the hotels they used to house the homeless during the covid-19 pandemic, as a condition of the latest round of rough-sleeper funding. Inside … Continue reading →

Posted in Charity, Croydon Nightwatch, Housing | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Government inspector’s concerns over BxB sweetheart deal

Posted on June 18, 2021 by insidecroydon

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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Ali’s latest gaffe attracts ridicule over landlord licensing

Posted on June 14, 2021 by insidecroydon

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 →

Posted in Hamida Ali, Housing, Katherine Kerswell, Landlord licensing, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Jenrick rejects Croydon’s landlord licence scheme application

Posted on June 11, 2021 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The government has binned an application to extend the borough’s landlord licensing scheme, saying that the council failed to provide any housing strategy. EXCLUSIVE By STEVEN DOWNES Robert Jenrick, the Secretary of State for Housing, has rejected … Continue reading →

Posted in Alison Butler, Alison Knight, Business, Chris Buss, Croydon Council, Landlord licensing, Paul Scott, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

‘Appalled’ Jenrick seeks ‘urgent answers’ over Croydon flats

Posted on March 23, 2021 by insidecroydon

Croydon Council has been roundly criticised for its failures to act over the chronic and dangerous water leaks and long-term damp in its block of flats in South Norwood. The appalling conditions – described as “the worst I have ever … Continue reading →

Posted in Chris Philp MP, Clive Fraser, Croydon Council, Croydon North, Hamida Ali, Housing, Jane Avis, Mayor of London, Patsy Cummings, Sadiq Khan, South Norwood, Steve Reed MP | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

‘There is no alternative’: £25m council bail-out given green light

Posted on February 1, 2021 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Council reports rewritten, lack of commercial experience in key positions and a ‘very controlling’ former leader and his inner circle. The rapid review of Croydon Council paints a picture that will be very familiar to readers of … Continue reading →

Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Improvement Board, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Section 114 notice, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

‘This must end now’: Jenrick issues final warning to Croydon

Posted on February 1, 2021 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The council has been issued a final warning today, with the threat of commissioners being sent in to take over the running of the borough Robert Jenrick, the Local Government Secretary, has today announced measures to address … Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Croydon In Crisis: Government to take charge of council

Posted on January 18, 2021 by insidecroydon

EXCLUSIVE: Tory minister expected to appoint an ‘improvement board’ to oversee the running of the borough. By STEVEN DOWNES The hopes of senior Croydon politicians to retain some control as they try to manage the council out of its financial … Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Katherine Kerswell, Section 114 notice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Jenrick issues ‘strongly-worded’ warning over property deals

Posted on January 8, 2021 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Government minister targets bankrupt borough when he tells LGA conference ‘Councils shouldn’t make investments for which they are not well-equipped’. By WALTER CRONXITE It seems increasingly likely that Whitehall will insist on Croydon flogging off many of … Continue reading →

Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Colonnades, Croydon Council, Croydon Park Hotel, Section 114 notice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Council hands Jenrick a begging letter asking for £150m

Posted on December 16, 2020 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The council’s old-new leader faces an agonising wait – and probably another Section 114 notice by December 23 – as Whitehall ponders over a multi-million-pound loan. By KEN LEE, our Town Hall reporter Croydon’s Labour-run Council confirmed … Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Section 114 notice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Clues to Whitehall plan in leaked report from Nottingham

Posted on December 14, 2020 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Might there be clues into what Whitehall has planned for this borough from a ‘rapid review’ conducted on another cash-strapped local authority? By our Town Hall reporter, KEN LEE A “rapid review” by government inspectors into a … Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon Council, Katherine Kerswell, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The billionaire ex-porn baron, the antisemitic trope and the MP

Posted on November 3, 2020 by insidecroydon

The publication of the report on antisemitism in the Labour Party saw Jeremy Corbyn suspended for his response. But it has also led to calls for further punishments – including for Croydon North’s Steve Reed, as KEN TOWL, very carefully, … Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon North, Steve Reed MP | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Wood comes knocking with brief to investigate Brick by Brick

Posted on October 29, 2020 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Can it really just be coincidence that the troubleshooter appointed to conduct an urgent review of the council also has extensive experience working at one of Jo Negrini’s former boroughs? WALTER CRONXITE reports It seems almost certain … Continue reading →

Posted in Brick by Brick, Colonnades, Croydon Council, Croydon Park Hotel, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Property, Report in the Public Interest, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Jenrick orders urgent inquiry into ‘unacceptable’ council

Posted on October 29, 2020 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Government minister steps in to deal with the ‘dysfunctional governance’ at the council, ‘who have been entirely irresponsible with their spending and investments’. By STEVEN DOWNES The politics have started, with the Tory government now coming after … Continue reading →

Posted in Alison Butler, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, Stuart Collins, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Anti-London Tories install Gilligan as they plot a takeover

Posted on August 21, 2020 by insidecroydon

Political editor WALTER CRONXITE reports on the existential crisis facing not only the Mayor, but the whole London regional tier of government The news that the Tory government is to impose a 2.6 per cent fare hike on the capital’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Boris Johnson, Commuting, Cycling, Housing, London Assembly, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Planning, Purley Way, Sadiq Khan, Shaun Bailey, TfL, Tramlink, Transport, Waddon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Croydon in crisis: Minister’s approval required for cuts plan

Posted on August 7, 2020 by insidecroydon

The council’s £220,000 per year chief executive has ‘Whitehall looking over her shoulder’, reports KEN LEE The grumblings of discontent around Fisher’s Folly among the hundreds of council staff who face redundancy have been partially relieved with the discovery that … Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon Council, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Tony Newman, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Whitehall has waived finance rules to save councils from S114

Posted on July 20, 2020 by insidecroydon

Only now is it beginning to emerge how Croydon escaped the ignominy of becoming the first London borough this century to issue a Section 114 notice and admit that they were broke: there was a deal done quietly with Whitehall … Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon Council, Jo Negrini | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Residents’ associations angrily reject Scott’s concrete plans

Posted on July 17, 2020 by insidecroydon

Croydon’s housing targets are out-of-step with the Mayor’s London Plan, and residents are on the warpath against the Town Hall’s planning chief, reports BARRATT HOLMES, our housing correspondent When Paul Scott, the architect behind Croydon’s disastrous planning and housing policies, … Continue reading →

Posted in Chris Philp MP, Community associations, Croydon Council, Geoff James, HADRA, Housing, Kenley, Mayor of London, Old Coulsdon, Old Coulsdon Residents' Association, Paul Scott, Planning, Purley, Purley Oaks and Riddlesdown, Purley Way, Sadiq Khan, Sanderstead | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

Croydon in crisis: Government cash is only ‘a sticking plaster’

Posted on July 2, 2020 by insidecroydon

A government coronavirus bail-out for councils is “no more than a sticking plaster”, and represents only a small fraction of the £10billion black hole confronting local authorities, as today’s announcement of an extra £500million leaves many Town Halls short-changed. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon Council, Jo Negrini | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Croydon Tories in call for public inquiry into Brick by Brick

Posted on January 28, 2020 by insidecroydon

Croydon Tories have appealed to a government minister to hold an urgent inquiry into the running of Brick by Brick, the council’s in-house house-builders. The call was made public at last night’s meeting of the full council by Tim Pollard, … Continue reading →

Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Chris Philp MP, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Croydon South, Jo Negrini, Lynne Hale, Planning, Sanderstead, Tim Pollard | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments