Wandle Park Revival a Resounding Success

On Saturday, over 7,000 people attended the reopening of 123-year-old Wandle Park. It was an incredible day of fun, laughter and celebration and having worked alongside the local community in organising this day for the past six months I was very proud of what we had achieved.

The reinstatement of the River Wandle, new bandstand, new skate park, open-air gym, pavilion, community garden and ornamental bridge was made possible due to £3.5m of funding from The Heritage Lottery Fund, The Mayor of London, Croydon Council and Barratt Homes. 

Wandle Park has also been made a Queen Elizabeth II 'field in trust' and as such is one of about 1,500 other open spaces around the country that has been given additional protection from any future redevelopment. 

Some 50 stalls and stages provided a wealth of entertainment for the crowds, and local real ale was served up by Croydon’s Cronx Brewery.

Talented bands and musicians on the main stage included local celtic folk favourites Homebrood, and the crowds were delighted by Hipsinc’s bellydancing performance.

During the day three plaques were unveiled at the new bandstand by The Mayor of Croydon. 

Wandle Park Revival Festival- Saturday 6th July

Old Town Masterplan- Public Exhibition

Following up on the workshop held in March on The Old Town Masterplan, Croydon Council is inviting local residents to a public exhibition on initial ideas to help improve Croydon's Old Town.

At: Connected Croydon project Shop, 81 Church Street

On: Thursday 20th June, 5.30pm-9pm & Saturday 22nd June, 11am-3pm

I hope that many residents from Old Town and across Waddon attend as it provides an opportunity to view initial proposals for the area. Over the next 20 years, the master plan will guide the development of Old Town and guide how its historic places including Croydon Minster and Surrey Street and their setting can be preserved and enhanced. 

The master plan will also suggest how movement in, out and around the historic area could be better, for example by improving pedestrian and cyclist crossings over Roman Way.

The Old Town Masterplan will also guide £1.5m of investment from the Mayor of London for upgrading streets, buildings and public spaces in the area, as part of the wider Connected Croydon programme.

Reminder- Council Surgery Tomorrow

A brief reminder to all Waddon residents that we're hosting our first Councillor Surgery of the month tomorrow at St George's Church, Barrow Road, CR0 4EY.

Come along if you have any council-related queries, questions or problems. 

Green garden waste collections start next Friday in Waddon

From next Monday 22 April free fortnightly garden waste collections will start again across Croydon.

Croydon Council will collect up to 10 sacks from every household each fortnight, an increase from the six-bag limit of last year.

People can now use any bags or sacks that they like, provided that they are no bigger than the ones that can be bought from libraries for £1 each.

Across Waddon the collection will begin on Friday so remember to put out your green garden waste then.

Green garden waste includes:

- grass
- weeds
- dead plants
- leaves 
- small branches

Everything else – including larger pieces of wood, plant pots, turf, food waste, soil and Japanese knotweed – must be disposed of separately.

Residents give Waddon’s new Leisure Centre a Thumbs Up

Thousands of local residents have previewed Waddon’s brand new state-of-the-art Leisure Centre and were delighted with the facilities on offer.

Open to the public on Wednesday 30th January, Croydon Council kindly hosted two preview sessions- today and yesterday, where local residents could attend and walk around the centre. Those that attended got a free three day pass from Fusion.

The new centre is equipped with dance studios, café, crèche, multi-purpose sports hall, gym, two swimming pools, community meeting facilities and a spectators seating gallery.

Local residents are absolutely thrilled with the new centre, keen to get involved and want to use it as soon as possible. Waddon’s Leisure Centre isn’t simply a building for sport use, it’s a centre for the whole community and one which will further improve the area for Waddon residents.



Croydon's Olympic Legacy

Despite all the negative headlines in the lead up to the Olympic Games, everyone knew deep down that London 2012 was going to be a success. What I don’t think anyone could have realised was just how successful it was going to be.

Not only have our glorious and dedicated Team GB athletes shattered their medal score from Beijing, but our sporting heroes have dominated every single Olympic discipline with flair and commitment. It’s not only our athletes that deserve praise, the many thousands of volunteers who have helped with security, planning, the opening and closing ceremonies have shown the world that London really is the beating heart of the world. With every day comes a new, inspirational headline alongside a life changing imagine of a Team GB athlete winning gold and often breaking records.

As someone privileged to have lived in Croydon all my life, we must also recognise the huge contribution our town has made to this year’s athletics team. Croydon athletes like Martyn Rooney, Lawrence Okoye, James Dasaolu, James Ellington, Luol Deng have already made headlines for their efforts in London 2012, in four years time will they be bringing home gold medals for our country? Quite possibly.

As I watched the Olympic flame pass through my own Council ward in Waddon as residents cheered, I knew London 2012 was already going to be something special. Croydon’s famous community spirit was indeed united behind making the Games a great success and our home grown athletes made us proud.

Today, the Prime Minister has called for more investment and time to be spent on competitive sports in schools. This policy should be embraced moved forward to by everyone who has benefitted from the joy of this truly golden Olympic Games.

Sun Shines in Waddon on Historic Day

Today, tens of thousands of people lined the streets across the borough to witness the Olympic Torch's path through Croydon.

After passing the Town Hall and Queens's Gardens the torch was carried into Waddon along Southbridge Road, Duppas Hill Road and then onto Warrington Road where the Olympic convoy stopped for lunch.

At St Andrew's School, hundreds of school pupils from schools within the Waddon Inclusion Network (WIN) had turned out to welcome the Olympic Flame that was carried by Sir Patrick Stewart. As soon as he approached the choir from St Andrew's broke into song and pupils from Aerodrome and Howard Primary Schools danced with hula-hoops symbolising the Olympic Rings.

Many thanks to St Andrew's School for inviting me to this historic occasion, for the excellent lunch that they provided and to the pupils and parents for their enthusiasm and excitement. 

Waddon Gets a Spring Clean

This afternoon, Waddon residents came together for a special Love Waddon action day. Having grown up in and been to school in the area, I know the people and hardworking spirit that runs through the community very well. As always with Waddon events, there was huge turnout as many house proud neighbours came out in force to give the area a tidy up and help out their fellow residents.

When I arrived things were starting to get underway. We had face painting sessions for the children, skips for waste and many volunteers helping out residents who are elderly and disabled.

Helping out - residents working together

What struck me most about this event is just how happy Waddon residents are to help out their neighbours and work together to improve their local area. You really have to see it on the ground to understand what a thriving place the ward really is. Having grown up, gone to school and got married in the Hilton in Waddon, it’s always been a special place to represent and a flagship area for our town.

But Waddon has much more to look forward to over the coming months, as it won’t be long before the leisure centre with swimming pool, gym and other state of the art features is up and running.

Working together with an unbreakable community spirit, our ward will continue to be an extra special place to live and work in.

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Say No to TFL's proposed removal of Purley Way crossing

Last week I was contacted by a local resident in Court Drive telling me that they had received a letter off TFL stating that they were proposing to remove the pelican crossing at the end of Waddon Park Avenue across the Purley Way.

After a few phone calls this turned out to be true- despite neither the Council nor my ward colleagues or myself being notified.

We disagree with TFL that this crossing should be removed as a lot of residents who live in neighbouring roads namely The Ridgeway, Court Drive, Waddon Court Road, Alton Road and Waddon Park Avenue use it a lot to cross the busy and sometimes dangerous Purley Way.

TFl’s justification for removing the crossing is “The pedestrian demand at this site reaches a maximum of 44% during the weekday AM peak which is low compared to the London average.” It would be useful to see the locations of the other pelican crossings that TFL have got data on as if they are in Central London ie. outside Victoria/London Bridge train station the  you would assume that they would have a larger pedestrain footfall than that of this crossing.

On Saturday we are knocking on doors in The Ridgeway, Court Drive, Waddon Court Road, Alton Road and Waddon Park Avenue to see what other residents views are and collecting signatures for our petition against this crossing.

Photo of proposed crossing that TFL are planning to remove

Please contact me at clare.george-hilley@croydon.gov.uk for more information and help us to save this crossing!