Our community came together on Monday for a peaceful walk through the town centre, to show solidarity and our support for all women in our community. The walk marked the first day of the national 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, and the Town Hall was lit up in orange to show our support. Many people from our community took part – a testament to how important this issue is. We will continue to take action through our Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Delivery Plan 2024-2027. Confidential support and advice is available through the Family Justice Service (FJS) – see the council website.

Develop Croydon: Fresh Perspectives

On Tuesday, I gave the keynote address at this year’s Develop Croydon conference, where investors, developers and council partners explored the opportunities available in our borough. I was proud to officially launch Croydon’s Inward Investment Plan, which sets out how collaboration is key to transforming our borough into a vibrant place to live, work, visit, and invest. The Greater London Authority’s Deputy Mayor for Business and Growth, Howard Dawber, gave a speech acknowledging Croydon as a place of enormous opportunity.

Future Health in South London

We are very proud to have such a strong offer in further and higher education here in Croydon. This week I was pleased to open the Big South London Innovation Summit, hosted at London South Bank University’s Croydon campus, which was focussed on future heath. Our borough is home to a diverse, skilled workforce and our partnerships with education providers, employers, and industry pioneers make sure that we are part of a wider effort to make South London a leader in health and life sciences.

Winter preparedness

The cold weather has arrived and with it our gritters have been out on the roads, keeping our motorists and pedestrians safe. We have 5,500 tonnes of grit in store and information on gritting routes and salt bin locations can be found on our website.

St Andrew’s Day

Today we raised the Saltire above Croydon Town Hall to mark Scotland’s St Andrew’s Day, which is on Saturday (30 November). To any of our Scottish residents marking the day, we hope you have a great time.

Have a good weekend.

Jason Perry

Executive Mayor of Croydon