Aladdin Pantomime - Ticket proceeds raised for Spring Park Neighbourhood Watch
09/01/2019 23:34:00.......Posted by Scott Roche

I have just come back from a very enjoyable evening watching an Aladdin Pantomime, at Wickham Hall, Sussex Road!

Dianna Fraser, who is the chair of the Spring Park Neighbourhood Watch, kindly invited me, together with Shirley North colleague Gareth Streeter, and Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Croydon Central Mario Creatura, for a very fun evening of pantomime! 

I never need an excuse to go and watch some panto, and the 'West Wickham Pantomime Society' did not disappoint! They brilliantly showcased some of the amazing local talent, am-dram at its finest! This organisation has been bringing pleasure and laughter to the local community through pantomime for over 70 years, I cannot wait to see what they have installed for us next year! 

#WWPanto2020

You still have a chance to go and watch them perform 'Aladdin', at Wickham Hall, but only until the 12th January 2019, you will need to hurry, tickets are selling fast…

You can book your seats at: 

www.westwickhampanto.org

They support local charities with the ticket proceeds, which is an excellent way of raising funds for good causes, in addition giving some of the very talented local community an opportunity to shine in the spotlight, and all whilst you’re having a fun evening!

Thanks to the kindness of the 'West Wickham Pantomime Society', half of this evenings ticket proceeds, went to support the brilliant work the team undertake at Spring Park Neighbourhood watch! Over 90 members of our amazing Shirley community came this evening to support Dianna Fraser, and all the hard work she and her team do within the Spring Park Neighbourhood Watch, all whilst having a lovely fun evening!

Once again, thank you Dianna for inviting me to attend this evening, and of course well done to the team at ‘West Wickham Pantomime Society’, for putting on such a good show!

See you next year!

Reclaim the Wilderness Project - MHA Wilderness, Shirley Church Road
02/01/2019 16:36:00.......Posted by Scott Roche

Today I was kindly invited by Alice Henry, Head Gardner for MHA Wilderness, to attend and view the site of the very exciting upcoming 'Reclaim the Wilderness' Project. The beautiful wilderness site is located behind the MHA Hall Grange Residential & Dementia Care Home on Shirley Church Road and was created by Rev Wilks on his retirement.  

Through a Heritage Lottery funding grant, MHA have managed to secure 3 years of funding, to enable the group to transform one of our very important heritage green spaces within Shirley. As a National Trust and English Heritage member, I am naturally very excited about this project!

It was brilliant to learn about the ambitious plans for the site, this project will not only transform the lives of the Dementia care patients within the care home, but also give the residents of Shirley and beyond even more reasons to be proud of our wonderful borough, as this heritage wilderness site will be open to the public from Summer 2019!

This heritage site is steeped with history and is of course the location where the iconic 'Shirley Poppy' was created by Reverend William Wilks around 1880. For full details about the project please visit link: 

https://www.mha.org.uk/news-and-views/latest-news/news_archive/reclaiming-wilderness/

Alternatively, you can also follow the team on Twitter: @MHA_Wilderness

If you're interested in reading further history associated with the Shirley Poppy, you might want to visit this link also: 

https://plewsgardendesign.co.uk/shirley-poppies/

Alice and the team will soon be looking for volunteers, to help transform this beautiful heritage wilderness site, with a tentative date opening to the public in July 2019! I for one will most definitely be putting my name forward to assist however I can, I hope you will be as well!

If you would like to be involved and help with this exciting project, please contact Alice Henry at MHA Wilderness directly:  

Email: thewilderness@mha.org.uk

or call 07966 232359

Merry Christmas from the Shirley South Team!
19/12/2018 15:23:00.......Posted by Scott Roche

As Christmas is fast approaching, I wanted to take the opportuntiy to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and Prosperous New Year, from the Shirley South Team!

I hope you all enjoy the festive period, and take time to relax, and enjoy time with loved ones! 

Shirley South Ward Councillors Surgery - West Wickham Shirley Baptist Church
01/12/2018 10:08:00.......Posted by Scott Roche

The Shirley South ward Councillor team are here this morning to hear any concerns and offer our assistance, at the West Wickham Shirley Baptist Church, Wickham Rd, Croydon CR0 8EB, we will be here until 11:00 this morning. 

If you need help with anything, but you're unable to attend this morning, please contact us directly by email: 

Cllr Scott Roche - scott.roche@croydon.gov.uk

Cllr Jason Cummings - jason.cummings@croydon.gov.uk

Our next ward surgery will be taking place on the 2nd February 2019, 10:00 at: West Wickham Shirley Baptist Church, Wickham Rd, Croydon CR0 8EB. 

Residents Association SPD2 Engagement Meeting
13/11/2018 22:45:00.......Posted by Scott Roche

This evening I attended the Residents Association Engagement meeting, which was held by the Planning team in the council, regarding feedback on the SPD2 for Croydon. With such an important topic, it was no surprise that the meeting was attended by such huge numbers, the room was at near capacity, with extra chairs needed to accommodate everyone. 

The general feeling within the room, was unfortunately the labour lead council was not listening to Resident association’s real concerns. The council claimed to be in listening mode, but it was very clear from sitting in this meeting, this is most certainly not the case! 

There was a Question and Answer session,

Q: Are the Residents of Croydon concerned with the proposed building/planning intensification within our community?

A: Yes they most certainly are!

The Shirley South ward Councillor Team will be keeping a very close eye on the planning applications being proposed within our community. Shirley has been earmarked as one of the intensification zones within the borough, but rest assured we will stand up for the residents of Shirley throughout. 

If you have any questions please do contact us directly: 

Cllr Scott Roche - scott.roche@croydon.gov.uk

Cllr Jason Cummings - jason.cummings@croydon.gov.uk

Remembrance Sunday Service - 100 Years since end of WW1
11/11/2018 15:24:00.......Posted by Scott Roche

This morning I attended the very moving service held at Croydon Minster, together with council colleagues, ex services personnel, and various community organisations. 

It was a very beautiful, and humbling service, with a procession taking place outside the Croydon Town hall after the minister service had finished, marking 100 years since the end of World War One. 

We are forever in their debt, they will never be forgotten!

#CroydonRemembers

Friends of Millers Pond Committee Meeting
06/11/2018 22:14:00.......Posted by Scott Roche

I was invited to attend the 'Friends of Millers Pond' committee meeting this evening. 

This is another example of passionate residents standing up for their community, giving up their free time to help protect some of the very precious green and wildlife spaces we have within Shirley. 

The team were planning the priorities for the next cleaning morning session, taking place on Saturday 24th November 2018 at 10:00, hopefully I will see some of you there! They hold regular cleaning sessions, usually on the last Saturday of each month.

If you wish to assist the team, or join the Friends of Millers Pond committee, please do let me know, and I will forward you the full list of scheduled dates which are in the diary for 2019, or the details of how to join the committee. 

scott.roche@croydon.gov.uk

Shirley South Ward Councillors Surgery - Shrublands Advice and Coffee Shop
03/11/2018 10:16:00.......Posted by Scott Roche

The Shirley South ward Councillor team are here this morning to hear any concerns and offer our assistance, at the Shrublands Advice and Coffee Shop, 7 Broom Road, CR0 8NG, we will be here until 11:00 this morning. 

If you need help with anything, but you're unable to attend this morning, please contact us directly by email: 

Cllr Scott Roche - scott.roche@croydon.gov.uk

Cllr Jason Cummings - jason.cummings@croydon.gov.uk

Our next ward surgery will be taking place on the 1st December 2018, 10:00 at: West Wickham Shirley Baptist Church, Wickham Rd, Croydon CR0 8EB. 

Shrublands Walkabout
30/10/2018 16:50:00.......Posted by Jason Cummings

Just finished a walkabout around the Shrublands estate with Cllr Alison Butler, Cabinet Member for Homes and Gateway Services and Beverley Warner, Chair of Shrublands Residents Association.

We looked at flooding issues across the estate, particularly where they relate to the new build sites on Shrublands Avenue. Also a number of places where the sewerage system is backing up and overflowing. I will monitor developments in this area and hopefully we will see some improvements.

We also looked at some issues being experienced by residents with damp in their flats and this has been reported to maintenance to sort out.

Several fly tips have been reported and these are due to be collected.

A number of other maintenance issues were spotted and reported so overall a very worthwhile walk around.

Please do get in touch with any other problems.

Shirley Neighbourhood Care AGM
23/10/2018 22:38:00.......Posted by Scott Roche

The Shirley North and South ward Councillors were invited to attend the 'Shirley Neighbourhood Care AGM' that took place this evening. 

Shirley Neighbourhood Care is a true representation and example of the hard working, kind, and of course caring community that we have within Shirley. They continuously stand up and represent some of the most vulnerable members of our community when they need the support most! 

Both Shirley North and South Councillors have allocated some of the Community Ward Budget to purchase media equipment, which will allow Shirley Neighbourhood Care to hold regular film evenings in the very near future!

Often it is the most mundane days out, and trips that we take for granted. With this allocation of funds to allow Shirley Neighbourhood Care to hold exciting easy access film evenings for their patrons, is a very worthy cause indeed! Further details of when these evenings are taking place, will be confirmed soon!