Criminals who blight our streets with illegally dumped rubbish, antisocial behaviour and abandoned cars will find a zero-tolerance approach awaits them in Croydon.
As our crackdown on environmental crime continued this week, a fly-tipper found that dumping building waste on our streets set him back £7k in fines and court costs.
On another Croydon street, we responded to residents’ concerns about abandoned vehicles, illegal repairs and antisocial behaviour. We have removed those cars, issued an enforcement notice to a business, and installed CCTV to act as a deterrent.
As Executive Mayor of Croydon, I’ve prioritised making our streets cleaner and safer – from reinstating proper grass cutting schedules, to introducing blitz cleans in district centres and investing in parks and green spaces.
Through our Cleaner Croydon campaign, we have worked with so many local people, who share our pride in their neighbourhoods and want to help take care of them.
It is time to get tough on the minority who spoil it for all those law-abiding residents.
For too long, Croydon has been seen as a soft touch when it comes to antisocial behaviour and environmental crimes. Not anymore.
My message is clear. If you dump rubbish, abandon vehicles or commit other antisocial behaviour or environmental crimes on our streets, we will find you and fine you – or we will see you in court.
Help us tackle environmental crime by reporting it on Love Clean Streets.
Taking pride in our places
A fantastic example of residents taking pride in their community is the Grow Wild project at South Norwood Lakes, which I visited this week.
Emma Bridson and her team of volunteers are doing inspirational work with children and adults with learning disabilities, using nature, gardening and wellbeing activities to build confidence and skills.
They work closely with the Friends Group at the park, and these volunteers who help to care for our green spaces are another brilliant example of residents taking pride.
If you want to get involved, find out more about volunteering on our website.
Moving forward with trams
We are proud of our iconic trams in Croydon. They are a vital part of our transport network and a lifeline for many residents, particularly in New Addington.
I am working with operators Transport for London (TfL), to make sure we have a reliable, modern service and earlier this week, I visited their Therapia Lane depot to see their operations first-hand.
It was great to talk to them about how the service could be improved and hear more about the much-needed investment into a new fleet, something we have been lobbying for some time. This will help to modernise the service and address demand on the busiest lines. I also requested that TfL look at restoring the through route from New Addington to Wimbledon, at least at peak times.
Our summer of festivals continues, and it was great to join our Hindu community for Jagannath Rathyatra in Croydon on Saturday. Together we marked this important occasion in their cultural calendar with a wonderful celebration, full of colour and dance.
It was also fantastic to join so many residents of all ages at the Town Hall on Wednesday, as together we raised the flag for Jamaican Independence Day. It was a moment of real pride and joy as we celebrated not only Jamaica’s independence, but the rich and important contribution of our Jamaican community in Croydon – past, present and future.
And finally good luck to Crystal Palace as they take on Liverpool in the FA Community Shield on Sunday – let’s start the new season with some more silverware. Come on Eagles!
Have a great weekend,
Jason Perry, Executive Mayor of Croydon
