“Instead of squeezing businesses they should scrap wasteful spending if they want to fix their finances.”
The Sun and Mail reported recently that Croydon Council is considering charging drivers to use their free company parking spaces.
The proposal is to implement the workplace parking levy in Croydon, and impose it on businesses with 11 or more privately owned spaces. The scheme is intended to reduce the use of private vehicles and raise revenue for our (de facto) bankrupt borough.
Benjamin Elks, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance summed this proposal up by saying “Instead of squeezing businesses they should scrap wasteful spending if they want to fix their finances.”
“Just as people are returning to offices the worst thing Croydon could do is put people off going back to the town centre with more tax”
As any visitor to Croydon town centre will be aware, the Whitgift Centre once the heart of the borough is hollowed out, and many offices have closed. Many people no longer visit the town centre due to the lack of shops and evening entertainment, and the ongoing problem of crime.
Just as people are returning to offices the worst thing Croydon could do is put people off going back to the town centre with more tax.
Perhaps as an alternative the council should have cut more unnecessary spending.
“There is no more expensive thing than a free gift”
Borough of Culture
As I’ve written about before between April 2023 and March 2024, Croydon was the London Borough of Culture. For which the council committed to spending £975,000, with £1,350,000 coming from the GLA, and £1,900,000 expected from Arts Council England and National Lottery Heritage.
Even for the money funded by other agencies this is still taxpayer funds being wasted away on what, posters at train stations? I can’t remember much else. Whether you prefer the Japanese proverb “There is nothing more expensive than something free” or French renaissance philosopher Michel de Montaigne’s, “There is no more expensive thing than a free gift”, you can be sure that Croydon council taxpayers picked up costs for events even when supposedly ‘funded’ by other agencies.
When you see your council tax rise 15%, flat income tax allowances erode your earnings, local services reduce and winter fuel payments for pensioners go, remember those posters about the Borough of Culture. You can also decide if these payments from the councils “Borough of Culture” cost centre were a good use of your taxes.
Total funds over £500 paid out by Croydon Council for “Borough of Culture” £2,527,404.02.
Table of vendors paid over £1000.
| Vendor Name | Total Payments May22 – May24 |
| Redacted | £428,787.70 |
| Stanley Arts | £266,875.39 |
| London Mozart Players | £145,762.50 |
| Turf Projects_ | £145,000.00 |
| White Label Publishing Ltd | £136,468.60 |
| Talawa Theatre Company | £136,000.00 |
| Think Events (London) Ltd | £121,551.67 |
| BH Live Ltd | £107,500.00 |
| Savvy Theatre | £73,500.00 |
| Four Communications Ltd | £65,597.66 |
| The Brit School | £65,000.00 |
| THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH LIMITED T/A The Circus | £60,628.00 |
| Fashion Meets Music Collective C.I.C. | £50,750.00 |
| Croydon Town Centre Bid | £45,000.00 |
| Dance Umbrella | £45,000.00 |
| Theatre – Rites | £42,000.00 |
| Scanners Inc | £41,000.00 |
| Zoo Co Theatre Ltd | £35,497.31 |
| Apsara Arts | £32,475.00 |
| Jen Kavanagh Ltd | £31,309.05 |
| Boundless Theatre | £30,000.00 |
| Contemporary Dance Trust LTD | £29,000.00 |
| STRANGE CARGO ARTS COMPANY LIMITED | £28,410.00 |
| CR34 t/a Mr Fox | £28,000.00 |
| Achates Philanthropy Limited | £22,725.00 |
| Croydon Pride Ltd | £20,000.00 |
| Sound Intervention Limited | £13,920.00 |
| Croydonites/CROYDONITES FESTIVAL OF NEW THEATRE CIC | £13,600.00 |
| Llama Digital Ltd | £11,520.00 |
| 4 Wise Monkeys Ltd T/A Light Up Trails | £11,422.00 |
| Bold Mellon Collective C.I.C. | £10,500.00 |
| Profile Security Services Ltd | £10,395.52 |
| Beeja | £10,000.00 |
| YeahPod Music | £10,000.00 |
| New Addington Peoples’ Carnival | £10,000.00 |
| Designblock Studio Ltd | £9,895.00 |
| Sysco Productions Ltd | £9,793.00 |
| ATMA | £9,700.00 |
| Premm Design Limited | £8,911.50 |
| Jonathan Samuels T/A Samprojects | £8,475.40 |
| The Young Urban Arts Foundation Limited | £7,790.00 |
| Anglia Sign Casting ltd | £7,385.50 |
| HURLYBURLY THEATRE | £6,750.00 |
| Worldbeaters LTD | £6,690.00 |
| CLUB SODA_ | £6,590.00 |
| Bureau Of Silly Ideas Limited | £6,000.00 |
| Learn to Dream Ltd | £5,511.00 |
| E-People.Com Ltd | £5,100.00 |
| London Road Business Ltd | £5,000.00 |
| Croydon with Talent Ltd | £5,000.00 |
| Good Wolf People Ltd | £5,000.00 |
| Tiny Productions | £4,760.00 |
| LYNNEBEC COLLECTIVE CIC | £4,700.00 |
| Norwood JunKAction | £4,500.00 |
| Drum the Bass | £3,800.00 |
| Cat and Hutch | £3,760.00 |
| Tribal Entertainment Limited t/a the Romano Sidoli consultancy | £3,750.00 |
| QWERKY ENTERTAINMENT LTD | £3,320.00 |
| Finesse Foreva Ltd | £3,300.00 |
| Pif-Paf Theatre Ltd | £3,290.00 |
| BH Live Enterprises Ltd | £3,018.75 |
| Hoggs Hospitality Ltd | £3,000.00 |
| Graeme Miall t/a One Tree | £3,000.00 |
| LadyLaird | £2,500.00 |
| Digital Drama Productions Ltd | £2,250.00 |
| ATELIER ARZU LIMITED | £2,120.00 |
| Paul Hudson Associates | £2,100.00 |
| The Enriched Kids CIC | £2,000.00 |
| SDNA LTD | £2,000.00 |
| Zip Design Ltd | £1,950.00 |
| Rap Therapy | £1,950.00 |
| Giant Cheese Limited | £1,847.00 |
| Studio Scamps ltd | £1,650.00 |
| Bainbridge Conservation Ltd. | £1,616.00 |
| Autistic Community Hub CIC | £1,200.00 |
| Vauxhall City Farm Limited | £1,188.50 |
| Reaching Higher | £1,100.00 |
| Clocktower Cafe Ltd | £1,084.00 |
“When you see your council tax rise 15%, flat income tax allowances erode your earnings, local services reduce and winter fuel payments for pensioners go, remember those posters about the Borough of Culture”
Vendor name redacted payments over £10,000.
| Payment Date | Vendor Name | Amount |
| 12-Sep-23 | Redacted | £60,000.00 |
| 14-Aug-23 | Redacted | £47,548.00 |
| 11-Oct-23 | Redacted | £46,000.00 |
| 07-Aug-23 | Redacted | £30,000.00 |
| 26-Jan-23 | Redacted | £24,000.00 |
| 22-Jan-24 | Redacted | £15,600.00 |
| 28-May-24 | Redacted | £10,600.00 |
| 08-Feb-23 | Redacted | £10,000.00 |
| 21-Jun-23 | Redacted | £10,000.00 |
| 11-Oct-23 | Redacted | £10,000.00 |
| 18-Dec-23 | Redacted | £10,000.00 |