EXCLUSIVE: ‘”Rome wasn’t built in a day”, but it never took this long’. More broken promises from the Paris-based developers as their housing scheme for the town centre is delayed again. By STEVEN DOWNES  Their planning application was supposed to …Continue reading→

It’s not just Croydon’s pubs which are closing down. Five Guys, the pricy American burger joint on Croydon High Street, has closed in the past week. While Croydon’s failed Mayor, Jason Perry, drops his chips over the opening of a …Continue reading→

EXCLUSIVE: After the Whitgift Centre’s florist shop joined the mass exodus of stores from the town centre, Westfield prepares to open a ‘kiosk’ in the old Allders building that will be selling… flowers Inside Croydon can reveal that the next …Continue reading→

Almost 10 years since it was last seen on the stage at the Fairfield Halls, Inside Croydon thinks it may have tracked down one of the council-owned arts centre’s long-lost grand pianos, which in the past was used in concerts …Continue reading→

They play a mean game of croquet down at Whitgift House in South Croydon. This week the residents of the nursing home, which nestles in the grounds of the large private school, handed out a bit of a drubbing to …Continue reading→

Toby Seth this week became the 30th headmaster in Whitgift School’s 421-year history. But Seth is the fourth head at Whitgift in just eight years, a period of relative turmoil and controversy which saw his predecessor-but-one, Christopher Ramsey, depart somewhat …Continue reading→

A special school operated by Serenity will begin to operate from the historic Old Town site from next month, after the sale was sealed by Croydon’s biggest landowners for £4.7m. By GENE BRODIE, education correspondent The Whitgift Foundation last night …Continue reading→

It was a poignant A-Level results day in Croydon Old Town, where the last cadre of pupils in Old Palace School’s 136-year history received the news that could shape their adult lives. Old Palace of John Whitgift formally closed its …Continue reading→

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The borough’s £82,000 per year executive Mayor gave up a morning of his valuable time to help a property PR firm boost the flagging credibility of Westfield’s town centre proposals. And there among the breakfast croissants and …Continue reading→

There’s a public consultation about the long-delayed Westfield redevelopment of the town centre. Yes, another one. But there’s no promises of when any work will actually begin, or end. By STEVEN DOWNES After decades of broken promises and inflicting development …Continue reading→

More than 48 hours after trade magazine Property Week reported what Westfield had been briefing their investors about the possibility of them selling off their interests in Croydon, and there’s been not a peep from the Paris head office of …Continue reading→

Respected trade magazine Property Week is reporting that after almost 14 years of inflicting development blight on Croydon town centre, without ever laying a single brick, Westfield could be about to flog off their interests in south London once and …Continue reading→

UNDER THE FLYOVER: In our latest podcast interview, housing specialist Fiona Fletcher-Smith, now the volunteer chair of the Whitgift Foundation’s governors, discusses the housing crisis, the closure of Old Palace School, what’s happening with the long-promised ‘kiosks’ in the Allders …Continue reading→

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The fee-paying girls’ school in Old Town has been shortlisted for a prize at a national awards event to be staged at a 5-star hotel where tickets cost £245 per head. By GENE BRODIE, education correspondent With …Continue reading→

With every passing announcement of the latest closure, nails are being hammered into the coffin of Croydon’s sadly declining Whitgift Centre. The latest exit is that of Superdry, the shop selling the premium British fashion brand that occupies a large, …Continue reading→

CROYDON IN CRISIS: An internal council memo warns staff to be on their best behaviour in Fisher’s Folly while inspectors from the Care Quality Commission are on the premises this week, looking into the borough’s adult social care provision. EXCLUSIVE …Continue reading→

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Old Palace girls’ school closes in July, with the owners having sold the site, but for less than the £7m guide price. EXCLUSIVE By STEVEN DOWNES The Old Palace private girls’ school site will likely become home to …Continue reading→

The paperback edition of Croydonopolis has just been released, and Inside Croydon subscribers can purchase it with a special discount code “A Journey to the Greatest City That Never Was” proclaims the cover of Will Noble’s Croydonopolis, which traces the …Continue reading→

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Carers accuse council and their new contractors of trying to distort the findings of a supposedly independent quality inspection. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Croydon’s carers, already reeling from the changes imposed on their services by Mayor Jason …Continue reading→

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Mayor Jason Perry promised a seamless transition and no job cuts – but now two senior managers at the Croydon Carers’ Support Centre have been told they are to be made redundant. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Carers …Continue reading→

EXCLUSIVE: Almost two years since the Whitgift Foundation shocked the Croydon community by deciding to close its fee-paying girls’ school, Old Palace, the charity has decided to re-balance its education provision by converting one of its other large independent schools …Continue reading→

SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT: There will be an opportunity later this year to take a sneak peak back in time, to 400 years ago. DAVID MORGAN recently visited one of Croydon’s oldest buildings, that trace their history back to the time of …Continue reading→

EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES The Whitgift Foundation is in talks with the Mayor of London and central government for another multi-million-pound bail-out for Croydon, this one likely to centre around building around 3,000 homes in the town centre. That’s according …Continue reading→

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Registered carers have written to the independent watchdog to investigate the council’s bungled procurement process, dozens of them volunteering to be interviewed as part of an upcoming inspection. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Croydon’s carers, feeling betrayed by …Continue reading→

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Valued workers based in George Street look set to pay with their jobs so that Mayor Perry can dodge criticism. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Just days after Mayor Jason Perry denied he was performing a U-turn when …Continue reading→