Small grants fund round 5 announced - apply today

Croydon Council launched the Small Grants Fund in 2011, providing an opportunity for local people and communities to come together, get organised and get things done. It focuses on getting small and innovative projects off the ground where funding is available for new initiatives for a maximum of two years.

Under previous rounds, Waddon Phoenix Club obtained funding so that older people could participate in sport sessions improving their health, well-being and community spirit. 

If your organisation is based in Croydon, set up as a not-for-profit organisation, has an annual turnover of less than £30k and no more than two full-time equivalent paid staff and meets basic council requirements on governance, management and financial competence and equalities then apply today by clicking here 

Priority will be given to new activities and groups which have not previously received ongoing funding from the council and they are also encouraging applications from  'micro-projects' that now need support to help them develop further.

For more information, click here 

Come and try out Boccia

Vicky at Ames UK Sport Club

Waddon resident Vicky Panagiotidou was chosen as an Olympic Torchbearer last year and is inviting local residents to an opening day where they can play the sport of Boccia free of charge. 

Boccia is a well-known sport that requires both skill and strategy, with the emphasis being on accuracy  as opposed to strength. Currently governed by the Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CPISRA), Boccia was first granted entry to the Paralympics in 1984 and is one of three Paralympic sports that have no counterpart in the Olympic programme.

After the opening day Boccia will be available at Ames UK Sport Club, that Vicky owns, where she provides swimming for mainstream and special needs children and now Boccia for physically disabled children and adults.

The Boccia open day will be on: Wednesday 29th May, 4pm-6pm at: Croydon High School, CR2 8YB

Croydon Bakeoff has the recipe for our town's success

After meeting residents this morning and feeding the ducks at Waddon Ponds, I headed to Croydon Bake Off, a seasonal competition organised locally by Christo Matthews through the Croydon Eats Out (CEO) group, which aims to bring residents together for food-based events throughout the year. The event takes place in the vibrant town centre in the courtyard by Matthews Yard and is staffed and supported by a series of local volunteers from across the Borough. Entrants into the competition are judged by professional chefs and can serve up sweet or savoury dishes for the members of the public to taste and enjoy throughout the day.

Tasty treats on offer included lavender flavoured cupcakes, homemade sausage rolls and freshly made quiche. The event attracted several hundred people throughout the day and everyone I spoke with thoroughly enjoyed themselves and were very supportive of the competition.

Many entrants for the competition had heard about it on Twitter and Facebook through Croydon’s thriving social media scene. Today’s Bakeoff was another perfect example of key members of our community coming together to organise great events that promote and publicise our town by showcasing our community spirit. It is this community spirit that I saw during the opening of Waddon’s leisure centre earlier in the year, and it is this community spirit that we must all continue to support to give our town the national recognition it deserves.

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. 

Conservatives Continue to Build a Stronger Croydon

On Saturday, the Croydon Conservative Group met for its annual conference, which saw an array of key speakers from across the Conservative movement gather to discuss and debate policy for improving the borough. Led by Gavin Barwell MP, this year’s conference included several high profile speakers, including Tim Montgomerie from The Times, Ryan Shorthouse from Bright Blue, Charlotte Vere from Women On, Charles Tannock, MEP for London and Alok Sharma MP, one of the Conservative Party’s Vice-Chairmen. We were also joined by supporters including National Conservative Future Chairman Ben Howlett and Shaun Bailey, adviser to Downing Street.

Key topics explored in the discussions included how the Conservative Party can continue to modernise and how it can successfully deliver a majority in the election in 2015. The conference also examined how we can reach out to new supporters and galvanise existing support from our activist base. The second half of the conference included a Dragons’ Den style session, with Croydon Council Leader Cllr Mike Fisher and his team offering members of the public to pitch ideas to them to improve Croydon.

I have helped organise the Croydon Conservative conference for many years now, and I have to say that this year’s was the best ever so far. Introducing the debates, it was clear that the Conservative group is continuing to come up with the best ideas and policies to improve the borough. Our team is at its strongest ever, having delivered a state of the art leisure centre in Waddon, securing a £1billion investment to regenerate the town centre, improving Croydon’s reputation and infrastructure and putting residents first.

Croydon has a very bright future ahead, and the Conservatives are committed to further improving the quality of life for residents in our town. This year’s conference demonstrated we are still leading with the big ideas and issues that matter, in stark contrast to the confused, divided and policy-light Labour group.

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.