I am so glad I dont work for Croydon Planning Department. Now you might well think that Townsend, as someone with her qualifications and experience, in a position of such significant (delegated) power, would have known this. Accountability stopped in public service with William Whitelaw and the Michael Fagan incident. 8.00am to 2:00am. Read more: Developers given free rein from a council with no controls At just after 4pm on July 7, I received an email from a corporate resolution officer at Croydon Council telling me that in order to progress the complaint investigation, the planning team needed to be sent signed authorisation that the Newlands had asked me to act on their behalf in the complaint. Once this form has been completed, the information will be forwarded to the relevant team for action. The Government is introducing many improvements at the Land Registry but is not addressing the status of plans. Complaints Management; Contact Us; Coronavirus (COVID-19) Corporate Plan; Croydon Shire Planning Scheme; . Youre having a larf. Heather Cheesbrough, the six-figure salaried council exec in charge of the planning department, recently lectured elected councillors, telling them that, All the planning officers in the team have the highest personal integrity and professionalism.. After being exposed, Croydon Council apologised and in May, a damning report from independent consultants found systemic failures and incompetence at the council and its repairs contractor, Axis, saying there was a poor operating culture with a lack of care and respect for tenants. Other Council workers seem to get more sympathy from this website, but not the Planning Department. Consequently, Mr X returned to court seeking an order for their removal. The same complaint that the council had been sitting on for almost three months. Everything about their lives starts to crumble and fall apart. But Inside Croydon is aware of formal complaints being filed within the past month about the supercilious and condescending approach of senior council officials to Regina Road residents at recent meetings. Yet when it comes to using HRA money to improve the living conditions of existing council tenants, officials at Fishers Folly seem remarkably reluctant. Dozens of concerned residents took to the streets chanting "Croydon Council, shame on you" - as part of a protest against poor housing conditions on Wednesday night. I would put out a plea to maybe cut the officers a bit more slack, particularly the ones, at my lowly sort of level, that are not managers, have no control over how many applications they are allocated, and also have no real control over the policies they are required to apply, or the Planning Laws that govern their powers. Find a propertis in Croydon, London on Gumtree, the #1 site for Residential Property To Rent classifieds ads in the UK. The High Court ordered that Ms Z should therefore remove three steel stanchions outside the boundary of her house which formed part of the frame of the garage. 1 Noise is one of the most common neighbour complaints Credit: Getty However, this week has been very different because in and amongst my usual e-mails, I have received messages from residents raising serious safeguarding issues. Github; Twitter; Facebook . My own Labour-controlled Croydon Council is in debt to the tune of 1.5bn. The complaints process - Stage 1 Once your complaint is received, the relevant department will aim to deal with it as quickly as possible. "Led by an independent external housing specialist, the inquiry will look at what has . Block by block: Quantums proposed five-storey block of flats for Hyde Road, a street of two-storey homes. Those of us who deal with Croydons planning service are used to their incompetence but this one reaches a new level. Long-term damage: the unlawful demolition of 89 Hyde Road could lead to the unironically named Quantum Homes to build a block of nine flats on this junction, When senior officials in Croydons planning department refuse to acknowledge their own serious errors, can residents rely on the councils complaints system? Nuisance. No care or accountability. The council will expect you to discuss the issue and negotiate with your neighbour first. Croydon Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. How things have been allowed to get so bad is beyond belief. Croydon Council is pressing ahead with low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), undeterred by criticism from a neighbouring authority. It will surprise no one who has had to deal with Croydons cash-strapped council that it failed to do so. https://insidecroydon.com/2021/10/05/director-of-plannings-bogus-claim-over-institute-membership/. Am I missing something? Croydon Shire Council PO Box 17 Croydon QLD 4871 (07) 4748 7100 (07) . But this latest ruling from the Local Government Ombudsman effectively declares the planners to be utter buffoons. Croydon road traffic can be congested and parking is in short supply; but drivers dont have far to go to reach major roads such as the A23. He is supported in his complaint by Mr Y. Councillor Ali will go down in history as leader of Croydon Council for less than two years, her political career forever stained with the scandal of the council homes on Regina Road the worst homes in Britain, as they were described on national television. , No answers of course, from anyone. Call the cops The LAPD suggests that noise complaints, from loud TVs to awful parties, are best dealt with by your local police station. There is room for learning and development and training that supports you to do your job. This DCP supplements and supports the Ashfield Local Environmental Plan (LEP) 2013. If you think your neighbour's making trouble because you're transgender or because of your disability, race, religion or sexuality, it could be a hate . If people in the social housing sector are treating tenants like that they just lose all hope that anyone is ever going to treat them well. Croydon man furious at neighbour having tree cutter over at 9am because it's 'ruined his lie in' Stop what you're doing and check out these cats that looks like vampires That design is hideous and mirrors a template of square blocks going up all over the place with no regards to aesthetics and the surrounding area. A Croydon flat where the tenant subjected her neighbours to fighting, knife threats and excessive noise has been shut. This included the garage under construction to the south of the plot. The report discussed the perceived planning merits of the application and found no reason to refuse it.. News stories, speeches, letters and notices, Reports, analysis and official statistics, Data, Freedom of Information releases and corporate reports. If it's an ongoing situation, keep a record of the events in a diary noting . He disputes that the number of complaints he sends to the council is unreasonable, and says the emotion he can sometimes show when sending them is a symptom of his frustration at feeling ignored by the local authority. Neighbour noise complaints comprise around two thirds of the total. Media. Drop a pin on the map, describe the parking issue, and send it off - it takes just a couple of minutes. CROYDON IN CRISIS: If 2020 was Croydon Council's year of Negreedy and bankruptcy, 2021 has been the year of leaks, mould and a local authority exposed as incompetent and uncaring about those living in its properties. I argued that the decision to give this undertaking any weight when determining application 20/00108/FUL was another error of law and further reason why Townsends decision notice could and should be seen as unlawful. The law uses the word shall, meaning it is mandatory on the council to reject such an application. The councils Housing Revenue Account is a ring-fenced fund used to run the boroughs council homes. Utter incompetence and no one ever held to account. Noise is the largest cause of complaints to local authorities. And while some of the ill-served residents have been moved out or been promised new accommodation away from Regina Roads badly maintained flats, the notion that repairs are being conducted any more urgently or efficiently are belied by photographs of the blocks. By this stage in the Ombudsmans report, the author is clearly warming to the theme of the mind-numbingly, staggering incompetence of the Croydon Council planners. For the smell to count as a statutory nuisance it must do one of the following: unreasonably and substantially interfere with the use or enjoyment of a home or other premises. Until it is, it will exponentially grow as the major problem in our borough. If you are experiencing ant-social behaviour there are many organisations which can help, depending on the situation: To report noise nuisance please email the pollutionteam atpollution@croydon.gov.uk. The old/new normal , About time councils were made accountable for their mistakes too many times have lawyers with get out of jail free card. Get the most out of your neighbourhood with Nextdoor. The council respond directly to you with further enquiries or to update you as the rubbish is cleaned up. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Try to solve the problem informally by talking to them. On July 3, I was phoned by Mr Newlands, who told me that all the trees on the site were being cut down. They made the council aware of the dispute over land ownership and the 2018 court judgement. As Inside Housing puts it, Many residents in the block and in another across the road had repeatedly complained Two years continuous noise nuisance, making life unbearable for a neighbour undergoing chemotherapy, has ended with a three-month closure order on an Upper Norwood flat. It had been OConnell, a decade earlier, who had produced Newsnights devastatingly critical report into the equally squalid conditions endured by families living in temporary accommodation in Croydon. Tweets. How Do Squirrel Monkeys Protect Themselves, Yellow signs backing a campaign against a new development can been seen in the tree-lined street of Pollards Hill South. But it said this was a civil issue and as such not a relevant planning consideration. We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services. Ultimately it seems very like a boundary dispute between neighbours and Planning Departments are not best placed to become involved. Her questionable management skills is a large reason why the planning department is in such disarray. The scale of corporate dysfunction at Croydon council prior to its collapse into bankruptcy two years ago was serious enough to warrant police investigation into potential misconduct in public . Although, as this website appears to have put my actual name, rather than the alias as I thought it would, I should add that this is just informal advice and you may wish to get your own professional planning or legal advice. Planning delivery has always been a weakness at Croydon Council and is the major factor in the recent referendum for a mayoral election. Hence the importance of having boundary markers such as concrete posts or brick pillars at all corners of a property, and making sure that neighbours dont nibble away and steal a sliver of land by moving a fence line. I got neighbour from hell and Croydon council dont wish to do anything. If you are an owner occupier, please seek independent legal advice, For the Guaranteed Rent Scheme please email. Croydon CR0 1EA As far as I can see, Ive received nothing back so Ill take that as a No then. Croydon man furious at neighbour having tree cutter over at 9am because it's 'ruined his lie in' Secret chamber inside the Great Pyramid is uncovered after 4,500 years A curved boundary can be very difficult to establish unless there are features shown on the Title map which are still in existence on the ground. All bad enough, you might think, but there was more to come on the day, this time from the council. animal camouflage reading comprehension; . Most councils have a private rented housing team. Emergency services, including an air ambulance, rushed to the scene at around 12.46am following reports of a disturbance, but the teen was pronounced dead around 45 minutes later.. A neighbour, who knew Camron since he A London borough has been told to pay out 1,000 apiece to an autistic man and his mother, who cared for him, after it failed to properly support them causing stress, anxiety and a breakdown in family life. The council generally adopts an escalating approach to noise enforcement and can deal with unreasonable . As we read it, the inclusion of the bracketed text effectively means that the contribution could be spent on anything, without restriction and not necessarily even within Sanderstead. Alberto Bocelli Architect, By 3pm, he reported that the house was pretty much demolished. The proposal includes the unacceptable felling of eight individual trees and five groups of trees as well as substantial areas of mature hedging, Hale told the committee. Image: Cleaner Croydon, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. . If your issue is not listed above, use our formal complaints form. If you live in a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) please contact your landlord or managing agent. If you live in an urban setting and communicate with your neighbours about your plans, are sensible about hygiene and vermin control, and where you locate your coop, there is . A ward councillor, Lynne Hale, spoke at the meeting and raised a series of concerns regarding the overdevelopment of the site. Ploughing through the law: demolition of 89 Hyde Road went ahead, despite a complaint suggesting the council process had been unlawful, Schedule 1 of the undertaking reads (my italics for emphasis): Sustainable Transport Contribution means the sum of 13,500 to be utilised towards (which could include but not limited to and council exercising absolute discretion) sustainable transport, highway management measures and the delivery of sustainable transport initiatives in Sanderstead.. There's no charge for making a complaint or sending us feedback. Croydon Council has the power to deal with noise nuisance that is considered to be a statutory nuisance. In approving application 20/00108/FUL, they did so based on a council officials report, the committee agreed that thereafter the director of planning and strategic transport has delegated authority to issue the planning permission and impose conditions and informatives. Shouldnt be a problem. By far Croydon Council is the worse Borough ever. Cheesbrough tried to jump ship, failed, and now she wants to stay at Croydon, and carry on mismanaging planning. made staffing cuts because of budgetary constraints. As a last resort you can take legal action through the courts. The condition of the neighbours trees and vegetation. 25.6K Followers. Show You can complain if you are unhappy about how a council service has been delivered or if the council have failed to deliver a service. If talking hasn't resolved the issue, you can make a complaint to your local council or the police. A London borough has been told to pay out 1,000 apiece to an autistic man and his mother, who cared for him, after it failed to properly support them causing stress, anxiety and a breakdown in family life.