When I became elected Mayor, I promised I would get our much-needed bus shelters back on Croydon’s streets for our residents. I’m delighted that we have a proposal for Transport for London (TfL) to provide, install and maintain new bus shelters across Croydon, which will go to Cabinet for decision next week. It has taken longer than I would have liked owing to contractual matters, and I’m sorry that our residents have been impacted by this failed Valo contract from 2021. We will continue to pursue all options to recover losses from Valo.

Homelessness prevention

It was a busy week at the Town Hall with both Cabinet and Full Council meetings held, and housing has been high on the agenda. Homelessness and rough sleeping have increased in London and, with the growing shortage and increased demand for accommodation, it’s a real challenge for Croydon.

The update on our homelessness strategy highlighted the great strides already made in the last few months – residents at risk of homelessness are being helped sooner and new temporary accommodation placement rates have reduced from 60% to 25%, freeing up accommodation for those who need it in an emergency, and reducing the cost to the council by about £13.5m a year. We will continue to make improvements to homelessness prevention to support residents before they reach crisis point. Find out more.

Mayor’s Question Time

Thank you to all residents who attended the Mayor’s Question Time event in South Croydon on Tuesday. We appreciate all your questions on issues that you care most about such as: parks, libraries, opportunities for young people, safety, and plans for the town centre.

Croydon Fire Station open day

I was delighted to meet the new fire chief Chris Davidson, who recently took up his role as Borough Commander for Croydon. We work closely with our blue light services in the borough and I am very much looking forward to chatting with our firefighters at Croydon Fire Station open day on Saturday 20 July, from 11.30-4.30pm.

Croydon’s Mini Pridefest

This weekend the town centre will be swathed in rainbow flags as Croydon’s Mini Pridefest takes place on Saturday 20 July. Croydon prides itself on being a diverse and inclusive borough and I hope to see lots of our residents joining the parade at 2pm in Croydon High Street. Croydon Clocktower is also hosting talks and performances, and crafts for children. See our Culture Croydon website for more details.

Have a good weekend.

Jason Perry

Executive Mayor of Croydon