Council breaches covenant and builds on another green space
03/08/2020 20:52:00.......Posted by Helen Pollard

This is the covenant that Croydon's Labour Council breached on Thursday.

Labour Councillors on Croydon's Planning Committee voted to allow their own developer, Brick by Brick, to build on one of the borough's precious green spaces.  A green space that is regularly used by residents for community events. 

Not one of the local councillors (all Labour) supported their residents by objecting to the proposed development.   They ignored the pleas of the people who live in their own ward, and allowed the development to go through.

Another green space has been lost to current residents and future generations who will live in Croydon. 

How can anyone trust a Council that pays no regard to a legal agreement that was made in good faith when the land was passed to the Council?

Explore Selsdon with the Selsdon Neighbourhood Walk
12/07/2020 06:53:00.......Posted by Robert Ward

A walk in the woods is an uplifting experience, good for both physical and mental health. The new Selsdon Neighbourhood Walk adds in some fun and learning about history and nature. It is now available on the Council web site.

Starting at the clock outside Sainsburys, the walk, which takes about an hour, takes you along the High Street, up through the path by the Baptist Church, through Littleheath Woods and back through some of the historical sites of Selsdon. Why not end with refreshments or a meal at one of our High Street coffee shops or restaurants?

There is also the Addington Village Heritage Walk available on the same web site. We hope to add more in the near future.

Support your local businesses and keep our High Streets clean
11/07/2020 22:31:00.......Posted by Robert Ward

Thanks to the team who collected these bags of litter this morning. As life returns to our High Street it is great to have clean, litter-free pavements and grass verges to welcome back customers.

Let’s try and keep it that way. Here’s what you can do to help:-

• The “big belly” bin next to the seat in the patch of grass outside Sainsburys is not working. I am hoping that the defective bin will be replaced shortly but, in the meantime, would everyone please use the similar bin a few yards away at the bus stop.
• The largest single item of litter is cigarette butts. Would smokers please use the bins wherever possible.
• When flytips occur, report them to the Council using the LoveCleanStreets App. Flytips should be picked up within a couple of working days. If that does not happen, please get in touch with your local Councillor.
• If your area has a litter problem, the Council can help by supplying the equipment for residents to organise a litter pick.

Times were already tough for our local High Street businesses even before the pandemic. As restrictions are relaxed we have an opportunity to make sure the damage caused by the virus is only temporary. Keeping our streets clean is one small part of that.

219 Farley Road
06/06/2020 12:06:00.......Posted by Helen Pollard

I have put in a formal objection to a planning application at 219 Farley Road. Big, out of character and overlooking neighbours. One of the worst I have seen.  

PPE for businesses - advice, procurement and tips
03/06/2020 18:45:00.......Posted by Robert Ward

Guidance on the usage and procurement of PPE for businesses is available on the Value Croydon website including advice on how to source PPE, tips for purchasing PPE and key things to look out for and avoid http://valuecroydon.com/ppe-for-non-health-care-settings. It is really important people read the guidance before they buy any PPE to ensure they get what they need in relation to the type of business they operate.

You may also be aware that Croydon Council owns a company called YourCare which was set up to provide an equipment retail service. YourCare also stocks a range of PPE items and details of how to access YourCare is on the Value Croydon page.

The Council's own experience of sourcing PPE for Council staff showed how difficult and resource intensive it can be in such a volatile market, hence establishing a supply through YourCare should individual businesses find it difficult to source directly even with the guidance provided. The yourcare team can be contacted to discuss requirements on 0808 1962231 and at: wecare@yourcare.org.uk Please note that there are many other suppliers in the marketplace as well as yourcare.

Conservative Councillors in Croydon donate £9,200 to nurses in Croydon.
27/05/2020 22:30:00.......Posted by Robert Ward

Many will recall that nurse Dawn Bilbrough in York was brought to tears when she found herself unable to buy food and basic items in her local shop. Cllr. Bains was moved by this and contacted Chief Nurse, Elaine Clancy, of Croydon University Hospital to see how he might make a donation that would directly help nurses in this predicament. Nurse Clancy suggested that funding could be used to provide a kettle/coffee machine and refreshments for each clinical area in order to ensure that nurses can have drinks and snacks on the wards and clinical areas.

Following the initial donation of £4,100 from Cllr. Bains, he decided to coordinate a joint donation from other Conservative Councillors in Croydon. The donation is now being used to:

·Support NHS staff with hot meals and drinks, as well as supermarket essentials – this allows them to provide lunch, dinner, hot drinks and essentials for medical staff to take home at the end of their shifts i.e. pasta, tinned food, fresh fruit and veg, toilet rolls.

·Treat nursing teams to a little luxury to help them relax after a busy shift - including hand creams, spa treatments and toiletry packs for staff staying in accommodation away from home.

·Help to keep medical staff healthy, happy and safe – for example, through counselling drop ins, staff wellbeing and chillout areas.

Nurse Clancy continued: “Thank you again for your incredible donations and supporting nursing colleagues and their own health and wellbeing during this pandemic. Your donation has helped us to support the health and wellbeing of our staff, as well as helping to keep them well fed, energised and ready to respond to the challenges that COVID-19 has brought us.”

Cllr. Jeet Bains said “In this time of national and global crisis, we all need to play our part to help the vulnerable and those who are on the front line. I am pleased that we have been able to make these donations, and it’s great to see that nurses are benefiting directly.”

Selsdon Gazette update
15/05/2020 18:17:00.......Posted by Robert Ward

The Selsdon Gazette has been a regular feature of life in Selsdon for decades. Like everything else the Covid19 pandemic has meant the Gazette has had to adapt so this month's edition is not being delivered to resident's in paper form.

However a pdf version is available, attached here, and there is also the Selsdon Residents Association Gazette web page You can also find them on Facebook.

Click here to download

Open Days for Golf Courses?
03/05/2020 15:35:00.......Posted by Helen Pollard

During lockdown the only exercise many people can take is to go for a walk in their local area.  We are fortunate in Croydon to have many green spaces and these include parks, woods, commons, greens and sports grounds. 

As people venture into their local area they have discovered green spaces that had not visited before.  Residents near golf courses have seen these large, beautifully maintained areas without any one using them.  Now people have found these spaces, and observed how beautiful they are, it would be wonderful if they were allowed to visit them even if they are not golfers. 

Croydon's golf course owners should consider having regular open days for the public.  They could open, perhaps once a month, so people can walk round and see these secret green oases and observe the wildlife that reside in them.  To minimise damage to the course, there could be clearly marked paths.  Who knows, once people see these spaces, they might decide to join a golf club.

As one of London's greenest boroughs, Croydon has many golf clubs and it would be great for more people to have access to these green spaces.  

Museum of Croydon VE Day Celebrations
03/05/2020 13:54:00.......Posted by Helen Pollard

A trove of films, photographs, art and artefacts revealed from the borough’s archive and museum collections will be available to view online and on social media from next Friday under the Museum of Croydon’s 75th anniversary celebration of VE Day.

After almost six years of war with Germany, Victory in Europe was declared on 8 May 1945, and the borough archivist and staff from the Museum of Croydon will celebrate 75 years

The online event, which will run from 11am to 1pm on Friday 8 May, includes:

• Two films charting Croydon’s wartime life in general and VE Day itself

• An exhibition including works from Croydon Art Collection by artists such as Norman Partridge’s Croydon Courageous, a war memorial from the Second World War and illustrations by John Harris Valda 

• A question and answer session on Twitter where residents can find out about what Croydon people did, ate and even wore on VE Day 1945

• An online handling session of wartime artefacts

• A recording of events in 1945 from the official history of the Second World War edited by the-then chief librarian W.C. Berwick Sayers, which included a VE Day thanksgiving event on the Croydon town hall steps

The Museum of Croydon has been a partner in the National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Home Front project which has remastered historic footage of Croydon during the Second World War and recorded wartime childhood memories narrated by Croydon residents to create a nine-minute feature called Home Front Croydon. This film includes scenes of recognisable Croydon backdrops such as Surrey Street market, trams in North End and the town hall.

The online event will end with the première of a new five-minute film focussing on VE Day itself.

More info on the Council website:  https://museumofcroydon.com/events/vedaycelebrations

Covid-19 mobile testing unit coming to Croydon 
30/04/2020 10:47:00.......Posted by Robert Ward

A government mobile testing unit will be in Croydon for the next three days for key workers, members of their families and over-65s, to be tested for Covid-19.

Appointments must be made to attend and are only available to key workers - those who have to leave home to go to work - members of their household, and anyone aged over 65.

Members of these groups must have symptoms of coronavirus to be eligible to be tested at the mobile unit.

The unit, which will be staffed by members of the Army, will be located in the car park behind Fairfield Halls in the town centre. It does not provide a walk-in service open to the general public.

The site will be open on the following dates between 10.30 and 15.30 for booked appointments only:
•    Thursday 30 April 2020
•    Friday 1 May 2020
•    Saturday 2 May 2020

Appointment times will be available when choosing a time slot using the booking portal. To book an appointment visit:- https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-getting-tested