This week marks the final week of This is Croydon – London Borough of Culture – and what an amazing year it has been. I want to thank everyone involved in the vast range of events. You have helped put Croydon on the map for all the right reasons and showcased the abundance of talent here in our borough. Come along to the final events this weekend, including the illumination of Croydon’s iconic clocktower, and join us in signing off on an historic year for Croydon.
We’ve set out how we plan to radically change the council over the next five years to save £100m, and become the most cost-effective and efficient, with an absolute focus on customer care. This builds on all the work we’ve been doing to improve the council to date. At the heart of this is our aim to make our services better for residents and customers, harnessing new technology to make contacting us seamless and hassle-free. We know this concept isn’t radical – but the scale and pace at which we plan to deliver this change, is. Read more here.
We’re proposing some changes to parking in Croydon, helping local shops to thrive by rolling out one hour’s free parking at all district centres. We’re also increasing the maximum stay to two hours, giving people more time to enjoy our local shops, cafes and restaurants. The proposals also include updating our emissions-based parking charges system to make parking fairer for everyone. Find out more – we want to hear from residents and there will be an opportunity to give your feedback.
Finally, it was great to attend the launch of Can You C Me, facilitated by Croydon BME Forum, and funded by Macmillan Cancer Support. The project aims to ensure that all residents affected by cancer have culturally appropriate and accessible support. This is a significant step in the BME Forum’s work to tackle health inequalities of ethnic minority communities in Croydon – a really positive step for everyone.
Have a great weekend all.
Jason Perry, Executive Mayor of Croydon
