Christmas is often a time for reflection and I look back on the highlights of this year with pride and a determination to make 2025 an even better year for Croydon.
Earlier this month we were delighted to announce a ‘good’ Ofsted rating in our children’s services. The Council overcame many challenges, including the increased demand for services, to achieve this result. Staff work tirelessly to care for and support our children and young people, and their families, and we will continue to listen to them as we build on these improvements.
It’s my priority to make Croydon a cleaner and safer place and work is being done across the Council to achieve this. Our Cleaner Croydon campaign launched this year to tackle litter, graffiti, fly-tipping and dumped cars that are blighting neighbourhoods. We have carried out ‘blitz cleans’ in Norbury, Thornton Heath and New Addington and have more planned for 2025. Thank you to all the volunteers and schools who have got involved. By working together, we can can restore pride in our borough.
The regeneration of our town centre is under way with Amplifying Surrey Street, the launch of our Inward Investment Plan, and partner working through our Town Centre Taskforce – to keep the town centre safe and clean. We secured a £6m investment from Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield for further improvements – including a contribution to the building of a surface-level crossing in Wellesley Road – and work has started on the frontage of Allders, with shops set to open next spring. We’ve been listening to residents, businesses and partners as part of our Town Centre Regeneration Strategy and will update you on our findings with the launch of the strategy in the new year.
My commitment to deliver warm and safe homes for our residents was given a boost with the successful bid for £54m of funding from the Greater London Authority (GLA) for Regina Road. Next year will see significant milestones in this project and we continue to work with residents of the estate, in South Norwood, every step of the way.
March 2024 saw the closing weekend of Croydon’s year as London Borough of Culture. It was a wonderful spectacle that showcased the many cultural traditions from our wonderful borough and the partner working with arts and community groups that made the year possible. Look back at the year in this video and find out more about the legacy in our impact report.
As Christmas and the New Year approaches, I want to say an enormous thank you to everyone who is working over the holidays to keep Croydon moving and keeping our residents safe and well. This includes our frontline Council staff, emergency services, health and transport workers – I appreciate everything you do for Croydon year-round.
Wishing Croydon a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy Hanukkah to our Jewish community.
Jason Perry
Executive Mayor of Croydon
