In three articles from 2016 and 2017 Mike Swadling writes in the Croydon Citizen – ‘Is this how a council is meant to function?’, ‘Does democracy travel at 20mph?’ and about a local Special Needs School, St Giles.
Is this how a council is meant to function?
“Alison Butler, answered most of these questions. It is fair to say that the cabinet councillors’ answers did little to pacify the view of those that I was in the room with. This is understandable given the amazingly dismissive attitude that councillor Butler displayed”
“Two answers underlined the attitude. When asked about traffic problems, cabinet member for transport and environment councillor Stuart King didn’t know the difference between the A232 and A23”
“The whole meeting continued on this theme: we didn’t see councillors debating the issue of Croydon, instead we saw politicians point- scoring. Given the lack of local media coverage of these meetings they were mainly doing this for their own party members”
“The Merriam-Webster dictionary definition of democracy includes the definition of “the absence of hereditary or arbitrary class distinctions or privileges”. This leads to a question – why is Croydon Council looking to have a two-tier democracy in the borough?”
“The people had a chance to respond to the opinion surveys, and they responded in favour of the 20mph speed limits. Whatever your personal view on the speed limits, believers in democracy would therefore agree that they should be implemented”
“Why are council officers, people paid by us to serve us, recommending taking away our right to a democratic process? Why does the Labour council not consider the people of Coulsdon, Kenley, New Addington, Shirley, Waddon and other areas worthy of having the same democratic rights as the people of Thornton Heath and Addiscombe?”
“Croydon has six dedicated special schools and over a dozen Enhanced Learning Provision units inside mainstream schools. These schools meet a wide range of needs for pupils with profound, severe and moderate learning difficulties, autism, physical disabilities and speech and language difficulties. The six schools have between them over 700 pupils on the roll.”
In two articles from 2017 and 2018 Mike Swadling writes in the Croydon Citizen – What has Croydon’s Labour council actually achieved? and sets out his priorities for next year’s local elections.
Potholes and pointless art
“The Fairfield Halls redevelopment has closed off a major car park and our main cultural venue. This has resulted in a corner of the town that is covered in graffiti (sorry, ‘street art’), and in which businesses keep closing down”
“To top all of this, Westfield hasn’t discernibly progressed. As I have written before, trade in Surrey Street has dropped despite – or maybe because of – council investment”
“In Barcelona, they have been building the Sagrada Família for over one hundred years. Maybe Croydon will become the Barcelona of northern Europe with – at four years and counting – not a single house having been delivered by Brick by Brick”
As elections loom, what kind of Croydon do you want?
“The Conservatives took steps to reduced stop and search in 2010, and are cutting police numbers. Labour supports reduced stop and search. Neither propose any action beyond soft words to stop knife crime”
“Both the Conservatives and Labour support green taxes on landfill. They have slowly reduced and made more complex our dustbin collections. Now you need permits to enter the council tips, and yet they all feign surprise we have rampant fly tipping across the borough”
“Stop this folly of green taxes reducing the quality or people’s lives. Locally asking for new refuse collection contracts to simplify the service”
We are joined by Alasdair Stewart, the newly elected Conservative Party Councillor for Purley Oaks & Riddlesdown, as we discuss the latest in the Conservative Party Leadership campaign and Croydon’s Directly Elected Mayor, Jason Perry’s, first 100 Days in office. We then chat with Alasdair about his initial experiences as a Councillor on Croydon Council.
“I wrote in the Citizen about how plans to make Croydon a living wage borough, risks jobs at the proposed Westfield Shopping Centre, I note it has never been built”
The Licensing Act 1872 – among other things – stopped the practice of adding salt to drinks, which was originally put in beer to increase thirst and sales. This ‘improvement’ was made by the government to help us as consumers. I often think of how government intervention fails to improve things, as I pay for my own salted crisps to accompany a pint.
Words from my article for the Croydon Citizen from four years ago. The article was extensively about how Croydon Council had destroyed the bustling night time economy of the town centre of my youth, through a series of bright ideas to “improve the town”. These included a presumption to refuse new applications in the town centre for “premises used exclusively or primarily for the sale/supply of alcohol and/or loud amplified recorded music”. The council was thankfully finally reversing this initiative.
When they were running, I wrote in the Citizen about how plans to make Croydon a living wage borough, risks jobs at the proposed Westfield Shopping Centre, I note it has never been built. I also wrote about how the council spending £1.1 million on improving Surrey Street Market had led to over a 20% drop in traders.
“What business is it of mine if someone wants to build this? What business is it of Croydon Council’s politicians or officers if someone wants to spend their sweat and treasure on building this?”
At our last My Tuppenceworth, I spoke about how we needed a Democratically Elected Mayor of Croydon, we now have one. I now want to speak about how I implore that he and his council, leave my town, our town, alone.
We hear Westfield are once again looking to develop in Croydon. This is great news, and something is much needed. Now clearly the council needs to be involved in granting planning permission, and no doubt will need to weigh in on changes to roads, parking, and public transport. They have a statutory duty to be involved in these areas, beyond that, I ask they stay well clear.
“please Croydon Council stay out of their way. Beyond that, stop with any bright ideas, grand plans, and great initiatives”
The old Allders department store building, which before the council’s intervention had reinvented itself as a successful Village Outlet store, now has plans to become an arts venue. The idea of a venue where you can, too quote “lose oneself in art, beyond digital culture, where we can connect in the real world, in deeper and more meaningful stories.”, frankly sounds potty to me. But so what, I’m not their target market. What business is it of mine if someone wants to build this? What business is it of Croydon Council’s politicians or officers if someone wants to spend their sweat and treasure on building this? Their initiative is to be welcomed, but please Croydon Council stay out of their way. Beyond that, stop with any bright ideas, grand plans, and great initiatives. I’m sure if you just get out of their way, you will find many willing to invest in our great town.
“You might wonder did we get value for money? Well Croydon’s politicians who got to speak to the assembled crowd certainly came across as if they thought so. As an attendee I was less convinced”
The first Pride rally in London took place on 1st July 1972. That means this year’s Pride events are not only the first big events since 2019 and the hiatus of lockdown they also commemorate 50 years since that first U.K. event.
Croydon has hosted its own Pride event since 2016 when the first march went to Surrey Street, and we enjoyed a Council (Taxpayer) funded (to the tune of £30,000) party. Since then ambitions have increased, and in 2018 Croydon Pride moved to Wandle Park, where it was hosted again in 2019 at a cost of £65,000 to local taxpayers.
You might wonder did we get value for money? Well Croydon’s politicians who got to speak to the assembled crowd certainly came across as if they thought so. As an attendee I was less convinced my taxes subsidising the over £5 a pint drinks in a cordoned off area for Pride was the best use of funds. Of course, a few months later Croydon issued its first of two Section 114 notices, declaring de facto bankruptcy. Money that could have been spent on social workers protecting the most vulnerable children in the borough was instead spent subsidising my weekends entertainment. I didn’t want you to subsidise my weekend, I would rather the council spend the money on at-risk kids.
“Libraries have gone part time, Purley Leisure Centre is still closed, hundreds of jobs were lost, cuts were made to the anti-social behaviour team, yet still Croydon in 2022 appears to have found funds to sponsor Croydon Pride”
We’ve had two years of cuts to services and council scrutiny of budgets from central government. Libraries have gone part time, Purley Leisure Centre is still closed, hundreds of jobs were lost, cuts were made to the anti-social behaviour team, yet still Croydon in 2022 appears to have found funds to sponsor Croydon Pride. Now you might expect at this point I would state how much taxpayer funding had gone to Croydon Pride. Ideally, I might even be able to point you to a press release stating Croydon’s sponsorship but alas no. Despite Croydon being listed as a sponsor no record as I write this can be found of what funds are being paid from Croydon taxpayers for the 2022 Croydon Pride. I again attended the 2022 Croydon Pride and was more than happy that private companies choose to advertise to offset the costs of the event. This is exactly how these events should be paid for, by the market. If people think this is worth sponsoring, if they want to be associated with the event, let them pay for it.
“At a time when people are struggling to pay their energy bills, why should Croydon taxpayers on minimum wage be forced to subsidise anyone’s weekends entertainment?”
The average household income in Croydon is £37,000 p/a, which with an average property price to buy at £387,767 and a median rent of £1,450 pcm, it’s not clear why working class Croydonians should subsidise what is clearly a very middle class event. At a time when people are struggling to pay their energy bills, why should Croydon taxpayers on minimum wage be forced to subsidise anyone’s weekends entertainment? Especially when front line services are being shut down.
An afternoon spent in glorious sunshine listening to music, I very much enjoyed Croydon Pride 2022. I hope next year I can enjoy it more, knowing the event isn’t funded by forced subsidy from taxpayers and isn’t taking much needed funds from front line services.
Once I have been able to confirm the Croydon subsidy, I will of course let you know.
On Saturday 30th July we had a great morning out in Purley with the TaxPayers’ Alliance asking residents if they think Croydon’s former Chief Executive Jo Negrini was worth her £613,895, 2020-21 remuneration package.
The publics response was overwhelming and clear, with only one person saying they felt the former Chief Executive deserved the remuneration.
The TPA are coming to Purley on the 30th July for the latest leg of the Town Hall Rich List Roadshow.
The TaxPayers’ Alliance, was launched in 2004 to speak for ordinary taxpayers fed up with government waste, increasing taxation, and a lack of transparency in all levels of government.
Following years of waste at Croydon Council and the de facto bankrupting of the borough, they are coming to Purley on the 30th July for the latest leg of the Town Hall Rich List Roadshow.
The TaxPayers’ Alliance have held several street stalls in Croydon prior to the issuing of a Section 114 notice and Croydon declaring de facto bankruptcy, these have focused on executive pay. Their review of Councillors’ allowances highlighted the premium rates councillors received compared to nearby colleagues, and the town has too often featured on their Blog.. The taxpayers and service recipients of Croydon would all be better off if the council had listened when the TPA all too frequently highlighted our town.
Now, with assistance from the Croydon Constitutionalists, they will be asking local residents whether they thought Croydon’s former Chief Executive Jo Negrini was worth her £613,895, 2020-21 remuneration package.
Locals will have the opportunity to have their say, by using ping pong balls to cast their votes. Croydon Council’s political make-up has changed, but with many tough years ahead this is an opportunity for people to say if they want to retain the council’s remuneration habits of the past.
The street stall will be open Saturday 30 July, 10:30 am – 1pm, outside 911 Brighton Rd, Purley CR8 2BP.
If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Michael Swadling at [email protected].
The TaxPayers’ Alliance, was launched in 2004 to speak for ordinary taxpayers fed up with government waste, increasing taxation, and a lack of transparency in all levels of government.
Following years of waste at Croydon Council and the de facto bankrupting of the borough, they are coming to Purley on the 30th July for the latest leg of the Town Hall Rich List Roadshow.
With assistance from the Croydon Constitutionalists, they will be asking local residents whether they thought Croydon’s former Chief Executive Jo Negrini was worth her £613,895, 2020-21 remuneration package.
Locals will have the opportunity to have their say, by using ping pong balls to cast their votes. Croydon Council has changed, but with many tough years ahead this is an opportunity for people to say if they want to retain the council’s remuneration habits of the past.
Come and join us, to help the people of Purley send a message to the council.
We hope to see you Saturday 30 July, 10:30 am – 1pm. In Purley, outside Andrews Estate Agents 909-911 Brighton Rd, Purley CR8 2BP.
Mayoral and council elections are fast approaching in our borough. Of course, it’s easy to heckle from the cheap seats if you’re not running, but if I may ask your indulgence, I wanted to share my thoughts on what I think our first elected Mayor should be focusing on in office.
Find out how bad the problems really are
Croydon has twice issued a Section 114 notice, and is either about to, or came close perilously close to issuing a third one due to a misalignment of capital and revenue funds. The new Mayor should go in and ask each department to ask them to rapidly ‘bring out your dead’, the officers need to let the new Mayor know every problem and add them to a risk or issue register, with an assigned cost to resolve. The Mayor needs to be clear with the local officers that now is the time to come clean without prejudice, but anything they try to hide will be used against them in the future. The mayors team can only fix the problems of Croydon Council once they truly know how bad they are.
“Why are the council continually arguing with their auditors? Yes, auditors can be a royal pain, but that’s their job. The Mayor should invite the auditors in to sit with department heads and detail the problems that didn’t make it to the ‘Reports in the Public interest’”
Change the culture
Croydon council appears to have a frankly toxic culture towards the people of Croydon, quite a few of the staff, and some of the councillors. The council recently voted to stop using their auditors Grant Thornton in what appears to be a response to the auditors continually finding problems in the running of the borough. Why are the council continually arguing with their auditors? Yes, auditors can be a royal pain, but that’s their job. The Mayor should invite the auditors in to sit with department heads and detail the problems that didn’t make it to the ‘Reports in the Public interest’. It’s far from just the Audits, it’s the planning department that doesn’t care to listen to residents, it’s the phones that go unanswered. When the council was making national headlines for the problems at the Regina Road flats in South Norwood, it was clear the council lacked basic crisis management skills, no war room, no briefing for the Council Leader Hamida Ali, no plan of action to make some rapid improvements or even speak to residents. The council needs to stop operating as if in a bunker where everyone else is the enemy and start acting as a professional partner and service provider.
Fix planning
The councils’ involvement in planning is a mixture of policy setting and sitting in judgment on individual planning cases. The legal details that need to be met mean planning in the borough is far from a quick problem to solve. Firstly, the local plan needs to be updated and approved, it appears all Mayoral candidates are committed to holding the submission of the plan over whilst they review and focusing on a new plan that doesn’t attempt to exceed the required numbers from the GLA would be a great start. As would a greater focus on houses rather than flats, more in setting with most of the borough. Planning is a legal quagmire, and any new Mayor is likely to disappoint more people (at least initially) than they please, but with some local sensitivity to planning and a much less aggressive attitude from councillors and council officers, things can improve.
“To suggest that a likely Labour or Conservative Mayor works with councillors from the other party may be a heresy to many, but that is part of the fundamental problem with Croydon’s politics”
Work across the borough
One of the main selling points from the DEMOC (democratically elected mayor of Croydon) campaign was that a Mayor would need to secure votes from across the borough and would therefore govern for both Purley and Thornton Health, not being able to win re-election without a decent support from both. Croydon is 2 to 3 different types of area, and many small towns brought together in one borough. One size doesn’t fit all, and a town hall that respects that diversity will make for a much happier and more successful borough. A new Mayor would do well to focus planning as locally as possible, target services at a local level, work with residents’ associations and dare I say it councillors in each local area for the success of the borough. To suggest that a likely Labour or Conservative Mayor works with councillors from the other party may be a heresy to many, but that is part of the fundamental problem with Croydon’s politics. I can understand why in the swing wards in Addiscombe this might prove impossible, but in safe wards like Sanderstead and South Norwood, there is no reason why collecting the bins needs to be a partisan issue, and a Mayor should try to bring together all elected officials to work to the betterment of each area.
Children’s Services is spiralling out of control again
Croydon’s Children’s Services department has been in and out of Special Measures over the past few years. Children’s Services looks after the most vulnerable people in our society, there is a moral as well as legal imperative that of all the councils’ services, this is the one that we make a Rolls Royce solution. A new Mayor should move the best and the brightest into this department to make improvements. Any blocker to increasing capacity needs to be removed, and we need social services working with key community services, forming hubs around local schools and medical practices. No easy answers on how to do this, and a constrained financial environment won’t help, but keeping the Children’s Services on track should be an early focus of a new Mayor.
Do something with the town centre
I fundamentally believe the best people to decide how to run a shop are shopkeepers, the best to decide how to run a pub are landlords, and the best to run a restaurant are restaurateurs. In all these cases the worst people to decide how to run the business are politicians, with local government officers a close second. If you needed any proof of this look no further than Croydon town centre. Brilliant planning schemes have led to the collapse of our main shopping centre. I think a Mayor would be best to leave the next steps for the town centre to the experts, the landlords, retailers and business groups that own and operate the towns main shopping areas. That’s not to say there aren’t any areas the council can help with. People need to feel safe in the town centre and the council can co-ordinate with services like the police to make sure Croydon is a safe place to shop. People need to be able to get to the town centre, buses in Croydon seem to be routed ever further from the shopping areas, and car parking has become ever more expensive. We do have new cycle lanes, but who seriously believes we will ever see large numbers cycle to go shopping or for a night out? Get the basic infrastructure right and leave the enterprise to the entrepreneurs.
“buying hotels and shopping centres, new building companies, massive redevelopments of the Fairfield Halls, Boxpark, £10,000 for someone to defecate on stage, all bright ideas brought to you by Croydon Council in recent years, all ultimately helping lead to the borough’s de facto bankruptcy”
Stop coming up with bright ideas
Westfield, buying hotels and shopping centres, new building companies, massive redevelopments of the Fairfield Halls, Boxpark, £10,000 for someone to defecate on stage, all bright ideas brought to you by Croydon Council in recent years, all ultimately helping lead to the borough’s de facto bankruptcy. With the financial problems the council faces, the planning problems, the risks in Children’s services, and many more issues on the new Mayors plate, they need to stop coming up with new bright ideas and focus on these priorities. This might not suite everyone, many at the council might want to undertake new and exciting work, well they can leave, that will help drive the cultural change the council so desperately needs.
KPIs
The Mayor needs to ensure that the council can delivery its basic services well on the limited budget available. They will be negotiating with central government for grants, investments, and probably more bailout funds, and they will need to show they are delivering the service to the people of Croydon. The new Mayor will have few places to hide, the buck will stop with them. As discussed, the councils’ offices need to undergo cultural change to start responding to the people of Croydon and focus on delivery of basic services on budget rather than generating big ideas. One way to keep a large organisation like Croydon Council on track is to implement Key Performance Indicators or KPIs at each level to ensure departments are delivering on the tasks asked for. KPIs aren’t a panacea, and it can lead to misaligned priorities, but all these priorities, misaligned or not will be on delivering key services not on big new bold spending plans.
Let us know at [email protected] what you think of these priorities. If you have some of your own, why not write them up for us to publish?
