I had the pleasure of welcoming Simon Hoare MP, the Minister for Local Government, to Croydon this week and taking him on a short guided tour of the town centre. During the visit, I showed him some significant retail and economic regeneration projects, as well as areas of challenge within the town centre, and where the £18.5m Levelling Up Funding will be spent.
Our conversation also provided an opportunity to highlight the progress we are making toward turning Croydon around. We have not been subject to a S114 notice for some time now and are tightly managing all parts of our budget, which is a result of much-needed discipline, leadership, and sound governance.
Our latest district centre blitz clean continues in Thornton Heath this week, where I joined our crews who are on-street removing graffiti, fly-posting and giving the area a good spring clean. This follows the success of the blitz clean up in Norbury last year, where we saw an 84% drop in fly-tipping. We are working with residents and local groups to understand the issues and where the hotspots are.
Our officers are also talking to local businesses about what they can do to keep their shops free from graffiti and fly-posting. By working together, we can all help to keep Croydon cleaner and restore pride in our local high streets. Find out more about our blitz clean-ups and report environmental issues such as fly-tipping in your area by using the Love Clean Streets app.
It was great to visit two of our schools, St Joseph’s College and Bensham Manor School this week, as well as Stormzy’s new Merky FC HQ in Selhurst, and to see for myself the football and music facilities, and fantastic opportunities on offer for Croydon’s young people. We look forward to working with Merky FC and community partners in improving the outcomes for our borough’s young people.
Huge congratulations also to Croydon Athletic FC for their promotion on Tuesday – another sporting success in the borough that we are proud to celebrate.
Following last week’s elections I extend my congratulations to Jessica Rich, elected as Woodside’s new councillor, and Andrew Price, elected as Park Hill and Whitgift’s new councillor. My congratulations also to Neil Garratt, re-elected as the Greater London Authority (GLA) member for Croydon and Sutton, and Sadiq Khan, re-elected as Mayor of London. I will work with them in the interests of Croydon’s residents, such as securing urgent investment in our local tram network.
Finally, GCSE examinations started on Thursday so I’d like to wish the very best of luck to all our young people taking GCSEs, A-levels or other exams this summer and a big thank you to all the teachers, parents and carers supporting them.
Have a good weekend.
Jason Perry
Executive Mayor of Croydon
