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.

Have you seen Tia Sharpe?

Police have renewed calls for public help over the disappearance of 12 year old Croydon school girl Tia Sharp.

Tia was last seen leaving her grandmother's home in New Addington, South London, at around midday on Friday after telling relatives she was going to the Whitgift Centre in Croydon town centre.

She was wearing a yellow bandeau top over a white bra with visible cross straps, very faded grey jeans and a pair of black Nike trainers with pink tick on.

Tia is described as white, slim build, 4ft 5in tall and wearing glasses.

Anyone who has seen Tia or knows of her whereabouts should call 0208 721 4005 or 116 000.

How to improve social mobility

Social mobility across Britain is in a rapid decline, with children from poor backgrounds now having less chance of improving their prospects then they would have done in the 1950s. Top jobs in journalism, media, medicine and law are dominated by workers who have enjoyed the benefits of a private education. Internationally, Britain has one of worst records for social mobility in the Western world, and this has to change.

There are many causes for these problems, but a theme which underpins them all is education, the engine of social mobility. Since the abolition of grammar schools in 1976, social mobility has effectively ground to a halt. Our once competitive education system, offering a route out of poverty for millions of poor children, now does not. Michael Gove has described this as a “deep rooted problem in our country” and he’s right.

In Croydon when grammar schools converted to comprehensives they effectively became abolished.  This resulted in us losing our brightest pupils to grammar schools to Sutton, Bromley and Kent, a problem that still occurs today.

I have personal experience of this, having grown up in Croydon and going to school at Regina Coeli in Waddon before finishing my studies at Wallington High School for Girls in Sutton. Getting into grammar school transformed the prospects of my family, allowing me to be the first person in my family to go to university, enabling me to achieve.

I believe that education is the engine of social mobility, a privilege that transforms the lives of children financially and culturally. We have a duty in Croydon to help the brightest children from disadvantaged families reach their full potential. Grammar schools provide their students with aspirations and fill them with the self-confidence to fulfill them.

Grammar schools offer hope and excellence to those who need it most and will provide life changing educational opportunities to some of the most disadvantaged families.

Like the boroughs that surround us, Croydon should be a place famous for its quality grammer school education. Offering disadvantaged kids an opportunity to benefit from teaching excellence will encourage social mobility and improve lives for many children and their families.

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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People Power Helps Croydon Clean Up

Despite the waves of negative press coverage and violence that have engulfed our town over the last 24 hours, the volunteer response from local families and even children has been truly heart-warming. Local community leaders like Gavin Barwell are using social media sites to coordinate the team clean ups which have so far received a huge turnout and warm response from the public.

Already progress is underway to clean up the town centre in a process that could take several days. Let’s prove to the rioters that whatever they try and destroy, we will rebuild and show them that their senseless actions will never get the better of us. Once again, we should extend our thanks and to our brave emergency services and support the victims of this carnage like the Reeves family to show we are united against mob rule.