Mayor Perry – listening to Croydon

I visited Crystal Palace last week to see how our blitz clean is going – the latest area to benefit from our Cleaner Croydon campaign. The blitz squad has been taking action to improve the look and feel of the district centre, in those areas covered by Croydon Council. Crystal Palace is an unusual area as it is covered by five different Councils! Graffiti has been removed, fly-tipping cleared and road markings repainted. I also handed out graffiti removal packs to shop traders and discussed how we can work together to restore pride in the area. We have one more week in Crystal Palace before our blitz squad moves onto Selsdon.

Raising standards in rented homes

It is vital we do everything we can to make sure residents live in good quality, safe and secure homes, which includes tenants who rent privately. On Tuesday we launched a 12-week consultation on a proposed selective licensing scheme to raise standards in privately rented homes. We also want to tackle poor conditions and management of homes of multiple occupation (HMOs), which can be a blight on our neighbourhoods. Find out more and have your say.

The BRIT School takeover

Croydon Clocktower was ‘taken over’ by talented students from The BRIT School last weekend who treated residents to performances of dance, spoken word and other art exhibits – all part of our 150th anniversary celebrations of celebrated Croydon composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. This was followed by a rousing concert by the London Mozart Players and special guest performers at Fairfield Halls. We were proud to work with our partners to put on these wonderful events as part of Black History Month and continuing the legacy of the London Borough of Culture. Thank you to the students and community groups who took part. Their performances were truly outstanding, highlighting the talented young people we have in the borough.

New play equipment for Purley

I was delighted to open a refurbished playground in Roke Open Space, particularly as that was near my old primary school! This was very much the result of partnership working with Purley residents who contacted local councillors as well as Kenley & District Residents’ Association (KENDRA) and  Purley & Woodcote Residents’ Association (PWRA), who helped to fund part of the upgrade. I could see that this play space, with its new equipment, is being well used and brought back to life after years of being derelict.

St Giles’ School Café

I visited the Cool Café run by upper department students at St Giles’ School, which supports children and young people with complex needs. The café gives young people the chance to build skills for the future, from teamwork to customer service and money management. Huge congratulations on their hard work – once again, Croydon’s young people at their best.

Once again there is a fun packed weekend of community events across Croydon, such as The Windrush Generation Legacy Association (WGLA) and partners community stage show in the Whitgift Centre on Saturday. It’s a free, family event and I hope to see lots of you there.

Have a good weekend.

Jason Perry

Executive Mayor of Croydon