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

Come to Wandle Park Revival Day on Saturday 6 July



Wandle Park



Over the past six months I have been working with local residents, schools and community groups across Waddon including Friends of Wandle Park to plan the official reopening of Wandle Park. I have been involved in this project from the outset and have been thrilled at the commitment of everyone involved in helping make these ideas become reality.

This local community day has been organised with families in mind and local school children are currently rehearsing their performances that they will share with us all on the day. A whole programme of activities including sports games and nature hikes will be taking place throughout the day alongside the main stage where live performances will occur and the animal children's farm.

Invitations have now gone out to residents across Waddon and I urge you all to join us to celebrate the official reopening of Wandle Park on Saturday 6th July, 11am-6pm as it will certainly be a community day for local residents to remember. We decided to name the day ‘Wandle Park Revival Day’ at it gives people a chance to come together and celebrate the revival of the park.

After the huge local support for the state-of-the-art leisure centre, I am sure Waddon residents will come together once again and give Wandle Park the kind of reopening it deserves.

I look forward to seeing you all there.

By Councillor Clare George-Hilley, Waddon, Croydon.

Become a School Governor Today

Aerodrome Primary School

Over the last five years I have been privileged to serve on the governing body of Aerodrome Primary School in Godwin Road (formerly Duppas Junior School) and have seen it progress considerably under the new leadership of Zoe and her team.

On Wednesday after an early morning governor’s meeting I shadowed Year 4 who were using their mathematical skills to solve some challenging puzzles and also helped some pupils read.I had a really enjoyable time with the class and I reminisced about my days at Regina Coeli. 

Being a governor is extremely rewarding and it is one of the UK’s largest voluntary groups with around 300,000 people contributing to developing and raising standards of achievements at more than 30,000 schools.

After successfully encouraging several friends to become governors I urge you also to become one as you can really make a difference.

For more information on how to become a school governor, please click here

New Wetland Habitat at Waddon Ponds

Friends and regular reads of my blog will know that Waddon Ponds is one of my favourite places to visit in Croydon.

I am delighted to announce that a new wetland habitat will be created at Waddon Ponds using £60,000 funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Proposals include restoring the banks to the middle pond, planting native British plant species, building of duck houses and the creating of natural habitats for amphibians, invertebrates and wildfowl. 

This is excellent news as it will give Waddon Ponds a more natural feel and encourage different wildlife species to live there.

South End Food Festival Serves up Croydon's Finest Cuisine

About to tuck into my lunch!

After meeting residents in Waddon this morning I had built up quite an appetite so decided to head to the annual South End food festival for lunch with my husband. Croydon’s South End area is home to some of the borough’s most exciting and enjoyable restaurants, offering tasty cuisines from around the world. That includes dishes from China, France, Greece, India, Japan, Mexico, Spain, Thailand and the UK.

This year’s event also included a main stage with live entertainment, which attracted a huge turnout from people inside and outside of the borough. Many families attended, including local MP Gavin Barwell whose son tried out the face painting alongside tasty sweets and treats

After spending an hour trying to decide which of the many stalls I was going to buy my lunch from, I finally made up my mind. My tasty treat for the day was a flame-grilled burger from Brasserie Vacherin, one of Malcolm John’s restaurants. If the rest of the menu is as good as the burgers, then I recommend you try it out!

Today’s festival was another reminder of the town’s strong community spirit and culture, that makes it such a popular place to live. Look around the smiling faces of the volunteers, the guests, the families and their children and you’ll see why Croydon is still an exciting and positive place to live and work. Our town is taking huge strides forward and we have every reason to be excited about the future.  

The Mayor of Croydon at the cook off!

South End Food Festival on tomorrow

Over the past three weeks, people from across the borough have been participating and celebrating our rich, diverse and cultural history at the first Croydon Heritage Festival.

Tomorrow is the South End Food Festival, where restaurants will offer al fresco dining and stalls where visitors can sample the extraordinary range of food and drink on offer in Croydon's South End Restaurant Quarter. There will be entertainment from a main stage, roaming street theatre and plenty of activities for all ages.

A section of South End between Aberdeen Road and Spices Yard Car Park will be closed to traffic for this event taking place between 11am to 4pm.

For more information please click here