Croydon has more than 120 parks and open spaces and it’s essential that these are protected for everyone to enjoy and for future generations. We’ve been celebrating our green spaces during national Love Parks Week and were delighted that Happy Valley, in Coulsdon, received a Green Flag Award and Wandle Park regained the award. The status is the international standard for well-managed parks and green spaces and is the result of a huge team effort from our council staff working with partner organisations, volunteer groups, friends group and contractors. Do get out this summer and enjoy one of our many parks, details of which are on the Council website.
I had the pleasure of visiting Anima Youth, a charity dedicated to supporting young girls and women from marginalised backgrounds who will be delivering the council’s Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) outreach in the town centre. Anima Youth, has launched new safe spaces to provide support and safety to young mums and girls. These initiatives are a testament to Anima Youth’s unwavering commitment to our community. I am incredibly proud of the collaboration between the council and Anima Youth and look forward to the positive impact this will have on the safety and empowerment of at-risk girls and young women in our borough.
I want everyone in Croydon to feel safe in our town centre and I’m delighted with the work being done by our town centre taskforce – a group of key statutory, community and voluntary sector organisations, working together to clean up hotspot areas and deal with antisocial behaviour. The taskforce arranged for a public subway in Altyre Road, near East Croydon Station, that had been blighted by antisocial behaviour, to be permanently closed following a serious fire. The work continues to restore pride in our town centre and we will be bringing you further updates from the town centre taskforce.
The sun came out just in time for the grand opening of Centrale and Whitgift’s Costa del Croydon, a free beach experience here in our town centre! It was great to see for myself the top-level car park transformed into an urban oasis for our residents to enjoy throughout August. There are lots of activities for all ages and free tickets can be booked on the Centrale and Whitgift website.
Croydon is fortunate to have many talented young people, so it’s no surprise that we have a rising star at the Olympics. Runner Imani-Lara Lansiquot, who has lived in Croydon since she was 10 and attended St Joseph’s Primary School, Coloma Covent Girls’ School, and Trinity Sixth Form College, will compete on Friday in both the 100m heats and, hopefully, the 4x100m relay final. I’m sure we will all be cheering her on to win a medal. Also, good luck to Whitgift’s Joe Choong as he prepares to defend his Pentathlon Gold on Thursday (August 8).
Have a good weekend and please do stay safe in the hot weather.
Jason Perry
Executive Mayor of Croydon
