Dear All, Following campaigning by local councillors, local residents including ECRA and me, I have just received some fantastic news I wanted to pass on right away. More details are below, but we will be holding a public meeting with…
Dear All, I thought it would be helpful to share the details of some proposed changes to parking charges in Croydon, which are currently out to consultation. Full details are in the link below, but the main proposed change is that…
Dear All – This Thursday, London votes for a new Mayor and Assembly members. I will be supporting Susan Hall for Mayor. She is the only candidate who can beat Sadiq Khan. Knife crime has rocketed in the last two years under Khan (by…
Croydon Council is continuing with a programme of workshops as part of ‘The Croydon Urban Room’ to inform the future regeneration of the town centre, offering residents, businesses and partners the opportunity to get involved. The Croydon…
Dear All, With the new tax year starting today (6th April), I thought it would be worth summarising the various changes which are happening. People in Employment The headline rate of employees’ National Insurance is being cut by another 2%…
Dear All, RE: Planning Application News – 79 Riddlesdown Road I am pleased to report that a shocking plan to demolish a family home at 79 Riddlesdown Road, Purley and replace it with a large and ugly bock of flats, has been refused. This…
Dear All, I thought you would appreciate an update on progress with the planned new Coulsdon Medical Centre. As per my previous message, the local NHS won the bidding to buy the site on Malcolm Road from the council. In principle agreement…
Dear All, Some news just in which I wanted to pass on: Croydon Council has now received the long-awaited planning application to build a new pool and leisure centre on the old Purley Pool site, with regeneration of the surrounding area too…
Given how many animal lovers there are in Croydon South, I thought you might be interested to know Parliament has just banned importing puppies and other very young animals, to safeguard their welfare. I supported the Animal Welfare …
Dear All, We know that many new homes are needed, especially for younger people trying to get on the property ladder for the first time. However, for far too long in Croydon, family homes in our green suburb have made way for flats that…
We know that many new homes are needed, especially for younger people trying to get on the property ladder for the first time. However, for far too long in Croydon, family homes in our green suburbs have made way for over-intensive schemes…
I have just received some fantastic news that I wanted to pass on right away. The council marketed the car park site at the former CALAT centre off Malcom Road, Coulsdon, as it was obliged to do, and has now received bids and made a…
Many residents will be aware of the long-standing campaign to get a new medical centre established in Coulsdon on the car park of the old CALAT site. This is something that I have been pushing for over several years as the local MP…
We know that many new homes are needed, especially for younger people trying to get on the property ladder for the first time. However, for far too long in Croydon, family homes in our green suburb have made way for flats that are better…
Concerns have recently been raised about the mobile phone thefts in Purley, South Croydon and central Croydon, especially from school age children coming home after school, and especially in and around trains and train stations, buses and…
I am delighted to report that multiple arrests were made in Croydon town centre last Thursday afternoon following the experimental deployment of Live Facial Recognition (LFR). This is something I am pushing for nationally, and I am glad…
Good to open the new Purley Bazaar on Saturday with Councillor Tony Pearson. The Bazaar is due to run on the last Saturday of each month. I hope this grows over time to provide vibrancy to Purley. It’s located just by the old pool. I…
I am pleased to share some exciting news about the introduction of a monthly street market on Purley High Street, named ‘Purley Bazaar’. This market will bring culture and vibrancy to Purley High Street through the trade of local vendors…
You may recall I campaigned successfully with local residents to ensure the GP Hub / Minor Injury Unit at Purley Hospital opens 365 days a year, 12 hours a day (8am to 8pm). This is very useful to ensure people can see a GP very quickly if…
We know that many new homes are needed, especially for younger people trying to get on the property ladder for the first time. However, for far too long in Croydon, family homes in our green suburb have made way for flats that are better…
I write again with good news that a proposal to convert an existing family home at 33 Lower Barn Road to a block of five flats, along with off-street parking and landscaping, was refused permission by officers on 23rd November. I am…
I write again with good news that a proposal to convert garages and an extension at 15 Wattendon Road into eight semi-detached houses, along with access, parking and landscape, was refused permission by officers on 30th November. I am…
I write again with good news that a proposal to convert an existing family home at 1 Reddown Road to a block of six flats, along with a car and cycle parking, bin store and other associated works, was refused permission by officers on 28th…
We know that many new homes are needed, especially for younger people trying to get on the property ladder for the first time. However, for far too long in Croydon, family homes in our green suburb have made way for flats that are better…
A quick line to say I’m delighted to report our Borough has received £18.5 million of “Levelling Up” funding to help improve Croydon Town Centre. The funding followed lobbying by Croydon’s Mayor Jason Perry and by me. The funding, awarded…
I don’t usually post about national issues, but having yesterday listened to the whole Autumn Statement in Parliament (which never gets fully reported by the press), I wanted to mention the key points and what they mean for you. The…
I’m writing with an update with good news about how planning is working in Croydon now. Following the ejection of Labour from control of Croydon in May 2022, we now have a new approach to planning. Labour used to just wave through nearly…
It was fantastic to help launch the new Squirrels Group at the 29th Purley Scouts Group last week, based at Purley Baptist Church. 29th Purley Scouts have various groups for our young people, and now cater for children as young as 4 as…