The Times

My thanks to The Times for mentioning this site in today's Property section:

"The Bricks and Mortar e-mail inbox usually contains only pictures of immaculately maintained houses. But images of decay and dilapidation have been appearing, after our report last week on the scandal of Britain’s 840,000 empty homes. Readers have sent us snaps of vacant and neglected dwellings down their streets, properties that could be made viable if local authorities would only assume proper responsibility for this issue.

One blogger from Croydon has set up a website (www.croydoniscrap.com) to ensure that his borough’s empty homes do not remain blots on the townscape but become part of the solution to the housing crisis. Whitehall has plans for 3 million new homes by 2020, but it cannot afford to forget that a good proportion of these homes are already standing."

I hope that the authorities take note, and start to clean up these blots on our "townscape".

The Bird House Revisted

Those of you with long memories may recall that one of the very first derelict sites that I "named and shamed" on this site was the "Bird House", a substantial derelict property on Sydenham Road.

Sadly over three years on, the property remains very much untouched (despite Croydon Council, in April this year, telling me that they had given planning permission for a development of flats).

In order kick start things along I sent the following to The Times Property editor today, together with some photos, as the paper had requested photos of derelict empty buildings from around the UK.

I will keep this site updated with any developments, should they occur.

"Re your article in Friday's Property section, 'Why Are They Empty?', in which you asked for photos of derelict property.

Please find attached photos of a large property in Sydenham Road, Croydon.

It has been derelict and abandoned for years, and I have featured it regularly on one of my websites www.croydoniscrap.com (in this site I name and shame squalid buildings, derelict land, streets and other areas that are a blight on Croydon, the community and the environment).

Croydon council claimed in April this year that they have received and approved an application to build flats there:

However, as yet, there is no sign of any building work commencing.

Suffice to say the residents of Sydenham Road and the surrounding streets deserve better than this.

To add to their misery Lower Addiscombe Road (just around the corner) is falling into a state of decay and neglect; as I highlighted over 3 years ago.

Given the housing problems in Britain, it is a national scandal that so many areas are allowed to decay in this manner.

Kind regards

Ken Frost"

Funding Cut

It looks as though the government has put the mockers on some of Croydon's regeneration schemes. Chancellor Alistair Darling announced during the Comprehensive Spending Review that the £77M that Croydon was supposed to be receiving in funding through the Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI) may be unavailable in the future.

It seems that Croydon Labour group leader, Councillor Tony Newman (ex Council Leader), is trying to blame the current Conservative council for this.

Given that it was the Labour administration under Newman that bankrupted Croydon in the first place, I find his comments to be "a bit rich".

Shortlist For Regeneration

Property Week reports that Croydon Council has narrowed its list of development partners for a £450M urban regeneration vehicle down to three.

Land Securities Trillium, Mapeley with Terrace Hill and housebuilder Fairview and builder John Laing Projects and Developments are in the final list to partner Croydon Council in redeveloping five council-owned sites worth around £89M.

The centrepiece of the project will be to provide 200,000 sq ft of office space for the council as well as working to regenerate Croydon Town Centre.

Let us hope that the regeneration of Croydon, much vaunted over the past 15 years, finally becomes a reality.