Christopher John Myers

It’s ironic that the well upholstered Mayor Boris Johnson is backing a ‘war on obesity’ … in the borough run by the plumpest London Council Leader! Boris Johnson has thrown his not-inconsiderable weight behind a "toolkit" issued to Croydon Council to target the soaring number of fast-food outlets and boost healthy options. His intervention comes after new figures showing Croydon is among the top ten London boroughs with the highest concentration of fast-food outlets..   All of which, incidentally, will have been given planning permission by the council! The news is doubly ironic because Croydon Council Leader Mike Fisher is probably the plumpest London Council leader. www.thisiscroydontoday.co.uk

Croydon Council has presided over a massive slump in the borough’s economy … now it’s trying to stop a local business expanding! Officials wanted to refuse Coulsdon business Doble Motorcycles' application to expand its site in Brighton Road, saying the design had become ‘unacceptable’. But, now after local people got in touch, they’ve woken up and re-opened development talks. Good news, but – who’d bother to open a business in Croydon with this kind of numbskull opposition from the people who are SUPPOSED to be supporting local business. The Croydon Advertiser reports, the council’s change of heart in the planning director’s own tortured prose, “I have therefore agreed that we will let this application go over the normal eight -week determination deadline so that we can continue to develop the design with the applicant, and hopefully bring it back on track. "I have taken this decision in the light of the significance of this business in Coulsdon and t

'Everything about Croydon shouts potential' blares a council ad for a new £137,000 Executive Director, Planning and Environment. In the apparently un-ironic ad – which doesn’t mention the departure of Nestle or the closure of Allders – applicants are advised that the council is ‘ driving forward its regeneration agenda and maximising (its) locational advantages’. The council is, says the ad, “working hard to ensure our young people are equipped with the skills they need for the future” Apparently the council is also helping “working age residents fulfil their potential.” And, guess what, Croydon “has to be a borough which is ‘Ready For Business.’ The new director, will “deliver outcomes across a broad portfolio of services! He, or she, will also have “strategic insight (and) political nous. But you’d never guess he or she will also have “experience of what constitutes excellence in service delivery.”????? Finally the new director will be expected to

Croydon Council’s difficult relations with the press were beautifully illustrated recently when their CEO Jon Rouse orchestrated a move to have reporters ejected from a public meeting.   See earlier blogs . But, in a bizarre twist, he subsequently issued a response to reporters questions about the long-awaited regeneration of West Croydon after the 2011 August riots, SIX DAYS LATER!   No wonder he wanted the press out – he couldn’t answer their questions. The press asked about new car parking in the area for shoppers.   But it appears there won’t be any.   Here’s the six days late, stilted, over-written, jargon-infested, statement. "One of West Croydon’s great strengths is its public transport accessibility. "The council is building on these strengths through the Connected Croydon programme to enhance walking routes to, from and within the Croydon town centre and its public transport hubs. "Future developments in and around the London Road area – in

In a bizzare outburst Croydon's CEO said he wanted the press ejected from a public meeting because he was going to give "very factual and very closed answers." He didn't explain what a 'closed answer' was. Full report here from the Croydon Advertiser www.thisiscroydontoday.co.uk

Croydon Council's CEO has long had a difficult, or non-existent, relationship with the local press ... now he's effectively banned them from a community meeting he was at because they made him feel 'uncomfortable'. Media commentator Roy Greensland reports in the national Guardian,  The three journalists - from the Croydon Guardian, Croydon Advertiser and Inside Croydon - were excluded from a meeting of the west Croydon community forum (WCCF). It was held to discuss Croydon council's plans for the area in the wake of last year's riots. But the council's chief, Jon Rouse, was a reported as saying: "It is going to be a very different meeting if the press are here. "It is not my job to place myself in a position in which I have to defend council policy and have my words scrutinised and reported on by the press. That is the place of our democratically elected politicians." Forum members then voted in favour of the press being

Latest statistics show fewer Croydon residents call themselves Christian - 56.4 per cent in 2011 compared to 65.1 per cent in 2001. The number of Muslims, has increased by almost half from 17,760 to 29,434 over the same period. White British now make up less than half of Croydon's population, creating a massive challenge for integration. The 2011 Census shows 47.3 per cent - 171,878 of the borough's 363,378 population - described themselves as being "White British". In 2001, the figure was 63.7 per cent. The second-largest ethnic group in Croydon was Black Caribbeans who make up 8.6 per cent - 31,251 people. Indians were the third largest group at 6.8 per cent - 24,710. Hinduism is the next fastest-growing religion to Islam with an increase from 5.1 to 6 per cent. Other than Christianity, the only other religion to drop in its proportion was Judaism by 0.1 per cent. www.thisiscroydontoday.co.uk