Planning Blow for Selhurst Residents

A2 Dominion, a housing association that bought a site on the Hogarth Roundabout has received planning permission on appeal.

Its plans are an insult to our area and will not provide the quality of development that we should expect. Local residents will be adversely affected by the provision of ZERO parking spaces for 38 flats. The new residents will have a lower quality of life than the residents in surrounding roads as the site has 24/7 traffic passing the doors.

Is this really a site that is suitable for high density social housing?

The development as seen from the two storey victorian houses on Thornhill Road.

This is the design of the scheme. A dull design which will significantly overlook the houses on Thornhill Road.

The Inspector in granting permission said

I conclude that the proposal would not have a seriously detrimental effect on the living
conditions of neighbouring occupiers in Thornhill Road, or Groombridge and
Ringstead Courts. Future occupiers of the proposal would have satisfactory
living conditions, including levels of private outdoor amenity space and
accessibility.

For those who do not know Thornhill Road, this road is comprised of modest 2 storey victorian houses.

In advance of gaining planning permission, this developer has already started demolition works on the existing building...

It is such a pity that this developer has chosen to go down this path because it is a site that could take a lot of extra homes, but could incorporate proper communal garden and parking spaces for residents.

Upper Norwood Library is an embarrassment

The news reported in the Croydon Guardian and Croydon Advertiser that the Upper Norwood Library has been roundly attacked by Croydon Council Leader comes as no surprise to me for the following reasons:

Upper Norwood Library vs Croydon Council Libraries

Its accounts are published, it contains everything within one simple budget. Buildings, books, staff. It costs only £400,000 a year to run, in comparison to the £8,563,022 spent on Croydon Councils network of 12 libraries and one central library. Yes an average of £658,694 per Croydon Library!

The Croydon figures are an embarrassment as they allocate 44.78% of available budget to 'back office' costs. Upper Norwood Library highlights this big difference each and every year.

Full facts and figures in my earlier blog paper

The politics - part 1

Sure politics plays a part in this. You can not expect local Labour Councillors not to stand up for their local library, can you? You also can't expect Lambeth Council to just roll over because Croydon Council refuses to honour the Joint Library Agreement, because Croydon Council claims it was never formally 'adopted'.

This photo shows the declaration of support for the Library from the 2010 elections. It was obvious then that the Tories from Croydon wanted to shut it down. 

The way forward

1. Croydon Council to match fund Lambeth Library, as per agreement
2. Croydon Council to appoint one local councillor to the board
3. Croydon Council CEO to meet Lambeth Council CEO and agree a list of any issues the two authorities might have
4. Croydon Council and Lambeth Council to sit down with the Chief Librarian of Upper Nowood Library and agree a list of any issues that the two councils have
5. The Board of the Joint Library to meet.

The politics - part 2

However, we return to the politics. Croydon Council is desperate to avoid scrutiny of its out of control library budget and the unpopular plans to privatise the whole library service.

Croydon Council is also adamant it will make savings in its library budget (despite the 44.78% it spends on back office functions). Upper Norwood Library is not immune to this plan.

Indeed, management staff at Croydon and Lambeth are both rather prone to make out that Upper Norwood Library is inefficient and could be run for a lot less. Croydon Council used the figure of £100,000 to run a branch library when they consulted on closing 6 branch libraries.

The Croydon Council Cabinet Member responsible clearly cant add up. 12 x £100,000 = £1.2million out of a library budget of £8,563,022


Institutional Failure at Croydon Council

What is the £44,359 a year Croydon Cabinet Member doing allowing 44.78% of the Library budget to be spent on expensive back office contracts?

Ask a Croydon resident paying their council tax and earning far less I think they would be shocked that these excesses have not been tackled.

Labour's Response

The official Labour response to the current library crisis needs to be clear.

• IF the current behaviour of Croydon Council leads to the closure of Upper Norwood Library then a future Labour Council will re open that Library and implement the joint agreement.  
• If Croydon Council privatises its Library service, a future Labour Council will not be committed to those libraries remaining in the private sector. A Labour Council must commit to ending those commercial agreements. Libraries must be run for the benefit of the community and in so doing, those privatised libraries must be brought either back in house, or preferably, within the safeguards of a community co-operative, with the assets (buildings and land) locked for their intended purpose and the service being run by residents with professional, qualified staff employed by the Council. 

This article was amended on 19/4/2012

Council Tax Freeze

Although funding from central government is welcome to help freeze Council Tax next year, it is only a small amount back from the hike in VAT that every family has had to pay.

This Daily Mail article showed how the VAT rise would cost £448 a year for a typical family

So the saving of £72 a year from freezing the Council Tax reduces the impact of the Tory Tax rises to £376.

Of course it impacts on local councils in the long term as it erodes their tax base. It also puts more funding pressure onto central government. Hardly a localist agenda.

Give me a choice and Id cut VAT back to 17.5% and put the Council Tax up by 2.5%!

It is the same story on the money found for weekly bin collections by the Government. £800million is a lot of cash, but once again it the Tory governments centralising instinct.  It also raises the question, why have local goverment if the central government wants to tell local councils how and when to pick up their rubbish.

I want to see weekly bin collections, as we dont have proper recycling services in Croydon at the moment. You cant recycle Tetra Packs (cartons) and you cant recycle some other plastics.

However, it is up to the local voters to choose a council that delivers for them. I hear you cry that the Tories promised weekly bin collections in Croydon, and are the same ones introducing fortnightly collections...