Calling Croydon Chartered Accountants

I would be very grateful if any chartered accountants living in Croydon could get in touch with me privately, it is regarding the ICAEW Council elections in January 2007.

My contact details are in the menu bar.

Thanks.

Ken

Pathetic!

When I saw that there were to be some Christmas lights in Croydon centre this year, for the first time in a number of years, I actually started to feel a degree of optimism about Croydon's future.

Sadly that optimism was misplaced, as per the Croydon Guardian:

"Part of Croydon has been left in the dark after a Christmas lights blunder.

The farce came after a long running fundraising campaign to light up the town that was backed by the Croydon Business group and the Croydon Advertiser.

The lights were originally erected in South End between Laud Street and Coombe Lane but had to be taken down when organisers discovered there were no suitable power sockets."

This farce begs the question, if the council are unable to organise something a simple as Christmas lights; how on earth are they going to manage and organise the much needed regeneration of the decaying town centre?

Croydon's Gateway To Nowhere II

My thanks to Andrew Pelling MP for Croydon Central, who emailed me on Friday evening agreeing with my article "Croydon's Gateway To Nowhere".

Let us now see if Croydon Council can be persuaded to see sense.

Croydon's Gateway To Nowhere

Dingwall Road in Croydon is without a doubt one of the most shameful areas within Croydon's town centre. It is one of the main thoroughfares leading to East Croydon station and is used by commuters, visitors and residents on their way to and from the station.

However, instead of being a thriving and bustling thoroughfare of commerce, industry and residential properties; its "piss poor" derelict appearance has more similarity to the devastation following a nuclear attack, rather than the main thoroughfare of what is meant to be one of London's more prestigious outer boroughs.

There have been plans for the redevelopment of this site (known as the Gateway) for many years now. The trouble is that two rival developers (Arrowcroft and Stanhope Schroders) have two rival plans. Arrowcroft want to include in their development an arena, this is the plan currently favoured by both the previous Labour council and the new Tory administration. Stanhope Schroders do not have plans for an arena, but do actually own a large part of the land on which the Gateway project would be constructed.

As such there is now a protracted legal battle between the council and Arrowcroft on one side, and Stanhope Schroders on the other. Needless to say the long suffering residents of Croydon, who have to endure the squalor and danger of walking down this scrofulous tumour on Croydon's' backside, have to wait whilst the legal teams fight it out.

Had the council had the guts to reject the unwanted arena some years ago, a large part of the Gateway project would have been completed by now.

In October 2006 Croydon Council's Cabinet member for Finance and Regeneration, Tim Pollard, published a Cabinet Member's Bulletin which summarised a visit that he made to Hamburg to see an arena exactly the same as that proposed by Arrowcroft for the Gateway Site.

On the face of it the report shows that Pollard is enthusiastic about the arena. However, read the report closely and you will see that all is not well:

• The arena is in Hamburg is not in the city centre, as such the large influx of people who attend sporting events and pop concerts do not disrupt the daily lives of the residents or commercial activities of Hamburg. Croydon's arena would cause disruption.



• The Hamburg arena, as per Pollard, has an "uninspiring exterior", ie it is ugly. He notes that it would have to look a lot better, if it were to be placed in a city centre such as Croydon.



• Most of the visitors to the Hamburg arena come by car. Yet those coming to the Croydon arena would be expected to endure the misery of public transport, thus displacing and inconveniencing those who currently live, commute and shop in Croydon.



• In another part of Pollard's report he notes:
  
  "It has long been recognised that East Croydon Station needs to be redeveloped as it is reaching capacity at peak times. This is likely to be exacerbated by the new developments which are about to start in the town centre. Network Rail expects to release a development brief shortly and is keen to work jointly with Croydon Council to procure a development partner."
  
  In other words, East Croydon station will not be able to cope with the increase in numbers brought about by the arena. To trust Network Rail and the council to find an, as yet, undiscovered solution to this problem is taking far too great a leap of faith.



• The location of the Hamburg arena (outside the city and away from bars), and the fact that visitors come by car meant that those using the facilities were sober and well behaved. Given the fact that there are a large number of bars and clubs in Croydon, and the fact that visitors would not be driving it is reasonable to assume that those coming to the Croydon arena would be considerably less well behaved.



• I detect, from the tone of the report, a sense of doubt about the project creeping into Pollard's mind. There are too many "ifs" for my liking.

My advice to the council is as follows:

• The residents of Croydon do not want or need an arena. Therefore ditch the arena.



• The residents of Croydon want Dingwall Road to be developed as speedily and as decently as possible. Go for the plan that can be started as quickly as possible.



• Stop wasting time on legal battles with Stanhope Schroder, simply because their development does not have an arena.



• Get the site redeveloped now!

We, the residents of Croydon, are fed up with the ongoing delays and empty promises of developers and council alike.

To read Councillor Pollard's report visit this link: Pollard Report.

Take a walk down Dingwall Road here Post Nuclear Croydon

A Harbinger of Doom

It is reported that vultures have been spotted circling the skies above Croydon.

These scavengers are seen as harbingers of doom.

I wonder if they are trying to tell us something?

Croydon Council Is Confused II

Around six weeks ago, I wrote and article about the problems that one of my readers was having with fly tipping at the bottom of her garden. I noted that she was having trouble convincing Croydon Council to take responsibility for this matter.

I am pleased to say that the matter has now finally been resolved, and I received this email from her today:

"At last the rubbish has been cleared by Croydon Council Parks Department

It has been a long battle but not as long as it could have been!

Don't know if your Website helped but thank you very much for featuring my story
and for your interest in this matter.."

Pity it took so long though!

The Battle For Hearts and Minds

The battle between Stanhope Schroders and Arrowocroft for the hearts and minds of the citizens of Croydon over their rival proposals for the development of the scrofulous tumour on the backside of Croydon, otherwise know as Dingwall Road, continues.

Today I received from Arrowcroft a glossy mailshot that attempted to persuade the recipients of the advantages of building an arena, which Croydon does not need, and inviting me to attend the Arrowcroft exhibition in the Whitgift Centre.

The only problem with the invitation is that the exhibition was held 19th to 21st of October, today is the 23rd of October.

Aside from that, the mailshot notes that the council has set in motion the process of acquiring the site, currently owned by the rival developer Stanhope Schroders. Arrowcroft states that they are "close to commencing development of the Gateway site.."

Nonsense!

As I have already stated on this site, this process will take an inordinate amount of time. It should be noted that Arrowcroft first achived planning approval for this scheme over 3 years ago in 2006. Yet Dingwall Road continues to decay.

Stanhope Schroders, who own the site, will fight them every step of the way.

Dingwall Road has been in a state of ever worsening decay for years. The battle between the two developers will merely ensure that the citizens of Croydon will have to endure the blight on their urban landscape for a good many more years.

So much for trying to improve our lives!

The site needs to be redeveloped now!

Feel free to take a walk along Croydon's post nuclear road of shame via this link Dingwall Road.

As Others See Us

I have been giving advice to someone in New York, who is due to visit Croydon soon, as to where the best places are to go in Croydon.

Here is what she said about Croydon's image on the web:

"Croydon has a lousy website and is of no use to tourists."

I thought that Croydon had a professional group of people who are paid to market Croydon to the rest of the world.

It seems that they are failing.

It is hardly surprising that Croydon is not the destination of choice of either tourist or shopper. The woefully underoccupied Centrale bears testimony to the failings of Croydon to market itself as a popular and vibrant shopping venue.

It is ironic that the lady from New York decided to ask me for advice.

Croydon Council Is Confused

I received this email and photos today, from someone who is having a lot of trouble convincing Croydon Council that they have responsibility for the fly tipping that is occurring at the bottom of her garden.

It is sad to see that our elected representatives are so adept at "passing the buck", yet unwilling/unable to resolve problems such as this.

Text of email:

"Dear Ken

I hope you can help me.

I live in Valley View Gardens in Kenley and my property backs on to what was the old Bourne View allotment site. I believe that about 5 years ago the allotments flooded very badly and badly damaged property in Bourne View. Since then Croydon Council and Sutton and East Surrey Water (who apparently own the land) invested £130,000 building a floodbank and culvert to prevent this happening again and fenced in and gated the area so there is no access to the general public. This was about 2 years ago when I just moved into my property, in the process of carrying out this work they removed a lovely screen of trees from the site which was behind my garden so now I have clear view of the new concrete culvert and the allotment site itself. (lovely!) a problem I could live with but now a resident in Gomshall Gardens (also backing on to the allotment site) has taken to dumping his rubbish in the culvert which is directly behind my property.

I have spoken to Croydon Council who have told me that they do not own the land and therefore it is not their responsibility. I then spoke to Sutton and East Surrey Water who said that as Croydon Council constructed the culvert they would be responsible for it. I went back to the council who said that as the fly-tipping is in a river bed (the old Bourne Stream) it was the Environmental Agency's responsibility. The EA when I spoke to them have denied this and said it is the responsibility of the local council!

Even though I have pointed out the property of the resident who has carried out the flty-tipping no warning letter have been sent as they have continued to add to the ever growing eyesore.

My property is a beautiful detached chalet bungalow which I have now been told by local Estate Agents would be nigh on impossible to sell at what would be the market value. I have appealed to the valuation tribunal to lower my council tax banding (not that they will but I am exploring all avenues! And trying to make a nuisance of myself so something is done)

Do I have to go to the expense of erecting a 7 foot high fence to block out the view before I can sell my property? Of do I have to climb down in to the culvert and attempt to remove the sofa, chairs, microwave etc myself?`

I have attched some photos of the dumped stuff although it isn't easy to get a good image as you have to look down on it..."

Croydon Council Stuck In The Mud

Despite being elected only last May it seems, if this email that I received yesterday is anything to go by, that Croydon Council have gone to sleep.

Edited text of email:

"My wife and I live at **(edited out) Chipstead Valley Rd. We returned from holiday on the 19th August to find a sea of mud deposited in the road and on the pavement outside our house.

This had been caused by the storms of the previous weekend washing all of the sediment and debris from St Andrews Rd down Sandown Rd before pouring out onto Chipstead Valley Rd, where the poorly designed drains couldn't cope with the amount of water and silt that was generated by the storm.

I telephoned Croydon Council on Monday 21st to advise them of this matter. When my wife telephoned them on Wednesday 23rd they had no record of the original complaint. This time the call was logged and a reference number was given. It is know the 3rd of September and Croydon Council have still not cleared up the mess.

We are informing you of this out of desperation as despite numerous telephone calls to the Council offices by us and our neighbours nothing has been done. There is now grass growing on the mud

Please see attached photo (1 of many).."

My message to Croydon Council is this: WAKE UP AND DO YOUR JOB!

Colin's Troublesome Erection II

Those of you with long memories may recall an earlier article about Colin's troublesome erection.

It seems that although his erection has subsided, Colin is still having quite a few problems. To read more, please visit Colin's Troublesome Erection II.








As the old theatrical saying goes, "this could run and run!".

Fairfield Ward Most Dangerous Area In London

Fairfield ward Croydon has been named by the Metropolitan Police as one of the most dangerous areas in London.

The ward, which includes East Croydon station and Croydon High Street, has experienced 4,135 crimes, including 231 street robberies in the year to April 2006.

Fairfield was listed as the 10th highest for crime in London, and 7th for the number of street robberies.

One major factor in this shameful record, is the appalling urban decay that blights the ward. Anyone who has to walk down the derelict and poorly lit Dingwall Road, late at night, can attest to feeling "unnerved" to say the least.

It is time that the newly elected Croydon Council got its act together, and addressed the decay and squalor of this borough.

Why should we put up with living in this decaying dump?

The Blight Continues

Those of you who may have hoped that Dingwall Road, the post nuclear wasteland that greets commuters and shoppers in the very heart of Croydon, may finally be on the verge of being developed will have to wait a lot longer.

It is reported that a High Court challenge has been issued by Arrowcroft, the council's preferred developer for the Gateway site, over the granting of planning permission for the Stanhope/Schroder's rival scheme.

Arrowcroft have taken umbridge at the Government's decision to grant permission to Stanhope/Schroder's office-led development.

The Arrowcroft plan includes a 12,500 seat arena, which has become something of a fetish for the council. Needless to say it is quite unecessary for Croydon, and will overburden the already stretched East Croydon station's facilities.

A spokesman for the Department of Communities and Local Government said a challenge had been issued, but its lawyers had only just started examining the papers.

This means that the citizens of Croydon will have to wait even longer, and endure the ongoing decay of the town centre, whilst the lawyers battle it out for who will actually get the right to earn millions from this development.

The solution is simple, the council should ditch the ridiculous idea for a sports arena.

Lunarcy

The Times reports that Croydon's famed/despised carbuncle, Lunar House, may soon be sold to a Greek shipping magnate for redevelopment into an even larger office block.

Whilst money is being spent on building larger office blocks, that doubtless will remain unoccupied, useful shops and amenities such as Beano's (the second hand record shop near Surrey Street market) are closing.

Beano's has been around for 35 years and has been forced to close, not because of the internet but, because Croydon town centre is so crappy these days that people simply do not want to come here to shop.

There is a lesson here somewhere, if Croydon council could be bothered to think about it.

The Little Shop of Horrors - Revisited

Back in February 2004 I first wrote about The Little Shop of Horrors situated on the corner of St James's Road and Wellesley Road Croydon.

It fell into disuse and disrepair many years ago, it has been a blight on the community and the shop next door (which has no connection with it whatsoever) eversince.

However, I am pleased to report that action by the new owner has been taken and the shop is now being renovated.

Now, if all the other run down buildings and squalid areas mentioned in this site could get the same attention then we would be making real progress.

The Fifty Pence Piece Building

Nice to see that the "Fifty Pence Piece" building by East Croydon station is getting a much needed face lift and clean up.

A step in the right direction.

Unfit Dwellings

The newly elected Croydon council has quite a task on its hands to improve the quality of the infrastructure the borough.

The National Statistics website notes that in April 2004 in Croydon 10,172 (7.3%) of dwellings were classed as unfit. This compares with 'unfitness' levels of 5.8% in the London region, and 4.8% in England as a whole.

Out With The Old, In With The New

Now that the Labour regime have been kicked out of office, it will be interesting to see if the Tories reverse the decay and neglect that has eroding the heart of Croydon.

I will watch their progress with interest.

Croydon's Green Image

As we all know, Croydon Council is very keen to promote its "green and environmentally friendly" image.

We are constantly being told by the council that Croydon is greener and cleaner. Unfortunately for the councilors, ensconced in their bunker in Katherine Street, reality is a cruel mistress and often serves to contradict their deluded claims.

A walk down Dingwall road, for example, should cure even the most deluded members of Council that their claim to have improved the image and environment of Croydon is nonsense.

Maybe that is why Dingwall Road has undergone something of a transformation in the last week?

You will recall that on one side of the road, the hapless residents of Croydon are presented with decaying and crumbling office buildings awash with graffiti and filth?

On the other side there is a vast wasteland which was, until last week, half hidden by a crumbling ugly concrete wall.

Good news, the wall has been knocked down and replaced by yet another display of the rapidly spawning hoardings that now seem to be the common feature of the Croydon landscape.

The hoardings have even been painted green, doubtless to reinforce the council's "green image", no less than three times in the last week; each coat being a darker shade of green, than the one before.

Some may be deluded into thinking that this is an attempt by Croydon Council, and its associates, to show that they really are improving the image of the borough.

Sadly no!

On the 4th of May this year the councilors face re-election, the hoardings and painting of the hoardings is nothing more than a cheap means of trying to convince the electorate that things in Croydon really are about to improve. This technique of covering up sites and areas that offend is usually employed by third world dictators.

It seems that the council have now descended to a new level.

Visit Dingwall Road - A Vision of Post Nuclear Croydon and take a walk down one of the main thoroughfares of Croydon.

Those of you who wish to view Dingwall Road from space, will enjoy the satellite photos on this interactive map - Dingwall Road from Space.

CRACC Launches Manifesto

Croydon Ratepayers Against Croydon Council (CRACC) launches its political manifesto. See www.cracc.co.uk

Croydon Caught Up In Labour Loans Row

According to The Times, John Prescott made a decision to support Andrew Rosenfeld's company's (Minerva) plans to redevelop Park Place in Croydon after Rosenfeld had loaned £1M to Labour.

According to The Times:

"Prescott killed the rival scheme, put forward by a consortium called Whitgift, by rejecting its appeal against an earlier refusal by inspectors to give it planning permission."

Prescott denies this and another allegation. Prescott confirmed that he had received the planning applications, but said he felt the decisions should be made locally.

"I passed it over to Croydon and (the other application) City of London Corporation.

They made the decision, not me."

Happy with the way that planning and development is carried out in Croydon?

Remember to make your feelings known to the current Labour regime, by voting them out of office on May the 4th in the local elections.

The Stubborn Donkeys Ruling Croydon Council

It seems that Croydon Council is determined to push forward with its proposal for building an arena at the Gateway development on Dingwall Road.

This despite the fact that:

1 The people of Croydon do not need, or want, a sporting arena

2 The site is owned by Stanhope, who have their own plans for redevelopment

3 The council will have to acquire the land via compulsory purchase order (CPO)

4 The arena development, proposed by Arrowcroft, will take longer to complete than the Stanhope proposal; not least because the legal wrangling over the CPO will slow matters down by a good few years

5 The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has now called in the application from Arrowcroft

All of this means that the citizens of Croydon will have to endure the disgrace and decay of Dingwall Road for many more years.


The only hope is the fact that the ruling Labour regime will be voted out of office in the forthcoming local elections on May the 4th, and this absurd idea for an arena will be consigned to the dustbin of history.

Visit Dingwall Road - A Vision of Post Nuclear Croydon and take a walk down one of the main thoroughfares of Croydon.

Those of you who wish to view Dingwall Road from space, will enjoy the satellite photos on this interactive map - Dingwall Road from Space.

Roll On The 4th of May

My compliments to Steve Caldwell, who has written a letter to the Croydon Guardian about the disgraceful 6.3% rise in council tax that the Labour regime has foisted on the long suffering residents of Croydon.

Caldwell notes:

"If that council (Wandsworth) can keep its expenditure so low that it does not have to increase the council tax, why can't Croydon Council do the same?"

Exactly!

The 4th of May is getting nearer, Tony Newman and his lackeys will soon find themselves out of a job.

New Political Party Formed

The Electoral Commission has formally confirmed the registration of Croydon Ratepayers Against Croydon Council (CRACC) as a political party.

Croydon Council Tax Up Again

Croydon Council, not content with presiding over the ongoing decay of this borough, will be putting council tax up again this year.

No surprises there then!

The rise for 2006 will be 6.3%. In case they have forgotten, inflation is around 2%.

The rise for 2005 was 5%

The rise in 2004 was 7%

The rise in 2003 was 27%

Despite these inflation busting rises, the council have still managed to bankrupt themselves and continue to waste our money.

Not very impressive!

If you would like to know where they are spending our money, I recommend that you read "What is Croydon Council Doing?"

I would remind the council that the council elections take place this May, the time when the ratepayers of Croydon have their say.

Croydon Council, A Waste of Space

It seems that I am not alone in thinking that Croydon Council are a waste of space, and are wasting our money.

Read this letter sent to the Croydon Guardian, Croydon Wastes Our Money.

Croydon Council Wastes Your Money

Given this story about how Croydon Council wastes your money, it is hardly surprising that the borough is on the verge of bankruptcy.

To read the full story please visit this link.

Dingwall Road - A Vision of Post Nuclear Croydon

Those of you who need to have their memories refreshed as to how bad Dingwall Road, one of the main thoroughfares of Croydon, has become; may enjoy a brief "cyberwalk" down this most unlovely and unloved of Croydon's roads.

Visit Dingwall Road - A Vision of Post Nuclear Croydon to take the tour.

Admittedly, since the photos were taken one of the buildings has now been demolished. Unfortunately, all that remains is now an empty piece of waste ground shrouded by the omnipresent boarding that dominates Croydon's decaying landscape.

Hardly an improvement!

Those of you who wish to view Dingwall Road from space, will enjoy the satellite photos on this interactive map- Dingwall Road from Space.

Arena To Be Ditched?

It seems that Croydon Council may finally be displaying some signs of common sense, at least when it comes to their daft idea to build an arena at the Gateway site on Dingwall Road.

If reports in the Croydon Guardian are to be believed, Croydon Council's opposition to building offices and homes on the site has been ditched.

Given the chronic housing shortage in the South East you would have thought that they would have jumped at the chance, wouldn't you?

Stanhope, the developers, are now reportedly able to start working on the site which has been derelict for 40 years.

Yes, read that again, the site has been derelict for 40 years; that is inexcusable!.

What does that say about the effectiveness of our beloved Croydon Council?

Some dinosaurs on the council may still claim that they want an arena (why for goodness sake?); yet realistically, as I have said on this site many times, it would mean that they would have to make a compulsory purchase of the site from Stanhope.

How on earth can they afford to do that?

We, the ratepayers and citizens of Croydon, have been let down badly by "our" council over the last few decades.

It is time that the council, and those political parties who vie for our votes every few years, were sent a message that we are not prepared to allow our town centre to decay any further.

The opportunity to deliver that message comes this May, when the local elections are being held.

North End Face Lift

The Guardian report that new paving, tree planting and improved seating will be taking place in North End later this month. This is part of £240,000 improvements taking place in Croydon's main shopping street.

Improvements to the infrastructure are welcome, and indeed necessary.

However, what about addressing the decay and squalor that appears to been encroaching in the "no man's land" from where the nice paving stones stop and West Croydon begins?

It is almost as if there were an unseen border between the two areas, one well kept the other trashy, splitting Croydon into two.

You shouldn't split a city in two in this fashion.