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Croydon parks.

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View Rudi Hedman's Profile Rudi Hedman Flag Caterham 07 Jul 21 1.41pm Send a Private Message to Rudi Hedman Add Rudi Hedman as a friend

Where’s Croydon proud when you need him? Those Croydon labour council investments, ahem, gambles with public money.

 


COYP

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View Mapletree's Profile Mapletree Flag Croydon 07 Jul 21 2.00pm Send a Private Message to Mapletree Add Mapletree as a friend

Originally posted by Rudi Hedman

Where’s Croydon proud when you need him? Those Croydon labour council investments, ahem, gambles with public money.

I am no fan of the Council leadership historically. Awful people running Croydon awfully. However, it was really COVID thank drove the final nail home.

We need to look to the future. I do not believe the Conservatives would do better, although maybe they could stop the Government sh*tting on Croydon quite so much. We for sure need a whole new generation, especially in the Planning Directorate.

Local authority ‘spending power’ – that is, the amount of money local authorities have to spend from government grants, council tax, and business rates – has fallen by 18% since 2010.

This is largely because of reductions in central government grants, which have been the most sharply cut component of local government revenue since 2009/10. Central government grants – including retained business rates – were cut 38% in real-terms between 2009/10 and 2018/19, from £34.6bn to £24.8bn in cash terms

While grants from central government were cut, rates of council tax were increased. This contributed to a 21% increase in real terms in the amount that local authorities raised from council tax between 2009/10 and 2018/19.

Local authorities have not been able to raise council tax rates by more than 2% annually without holding a referendum since 2012/13. Theresa May’s government increased this threshold to 3% for 2018/19 and 2019/20, but Boris Johnson’s government has since reduced it to 2% for 2020/21.

Between 2010 and 2015, the coalition government encouraged councils to freeze council tax rates by offering them higher grants if they did so. In effect, councils who froze council taxes did not lose revenues. In some years, these grants were a ‘one-off’ – local authorities were given additional money for a single year – whereas in others they were permanently ‘rolled in’ to central government grants to local authorities.

This meant that local authorities were compensated with higher grants for several years. However, after 2015, the government ceased to incentivise council tax freezes.

Croydon was badly positioned to weather the Covid crisis. Its earmarked and unallocated reserves – that is, money which the council could use to cover any unexpected increase in costs or decrease in revenues – were equivalent to just 8.1% of council spending, compared to a median of 37% across all councils responsible for social care in England. The council had one of the lowest levels of usable reserves as a percentage of annual spending of any council, and had been warned by its auditors for two years running that its reserves were too low.

Croydon also invested to buy commercial properties – ranging from a shopping centre to a hotel – in the hope of generating a steady stream of rental income to supplement locally-raised tax revenue and central government grants. While this strategy might have worked prior to coronavirus, closures during the pandemic sharply reduced the income they received from these investments. The Croydon Park hotel, acquired in September 2018, went into administration in June this year, and the Colonnades retail park, acquired in May 2019, closed in March 2020.

 

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BlueJay Flag UK 07 Jul 21 2.01pm

Originally posted by Mapletree

Historically Croydon has allowed meadow growth in Lloyd Park and at the end of the bee season had a farmer cut it for hay.

Wild bees tend to have full stores long before the harvest and have also done their pollination work. Then they simply chill, groom each other and relax. But they really need flowers in spring and early summer when they should be very busy

Edited by Mapletree (07 Jul 2021 1.25pm)

I don't disagree that we need to look at things holistically. Most people don't give a fig about nature, even though we are very much part of it. As long as it's balanced with the needs of the public, recreation and so on. We need to be smart about how we use green spaces nowadays, as lord knows there aren't enough of them!

 

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croydon proud Flag Any european country i fancy! 07 Jul 21 4.09pm

Originally posted by Mapletree

I am no fan of the Council leadership historically. Awful people running Croydon awfully. However, it was really COVID thank drove the final nail home.

We need to look to the future. I do not believe the Conservatives would do better, although maybe they could stop the Government sh*tting on Croydon quite so much. We for sure need a whole new generation, especially in the Planning Directorate.

Local authority ‘spending power’ – that is, the amount of money local authorities have to spend from government grants, council tax, and business rates – has fallen by 18% since 2010.

This is largely because of reductions in central government grants, which have been the most sharply cut component of local government revenue since 2009/10. Central government grants – including retained business rates – were cut 38% in real-terms between 2009/10 and 2018/19, from £34.6bn to £24.8bn in cash terms

While grants from central government were cut, rates of council tax were increased. This contributed to a 21% increase in real terms in the amount that local authorities raised from council tax between 2009/10 and 2018/19.

Local authorities have not been able to raise council tax rates by more than 2% annually without holding a referendum since 2012/13. Theresa May’s government increased this threshold to 3% for 2018/19 and 2019/20, but Boris Johnson’s government has since reduced it to 2% for 2020/21.

Between 2010 and 2015, the coalition government encouraged councils to freeze council tax rates by offering them higher grants if they did so. In effect, councils who froze council taxes did not lose revenues. In some years, these grants were a ‘one-off’ – local authorities were given additional money for a single year – whereas in others they were permanently ‘rolled in’ to central government grants to local authorities.

This meant that local authorities were compensated with higher grants for several years. However, after 2015, the government ceased to incentivise council tax freezes.

Croydon was badly positioned to weather the Covid crisis. Its earmarked and unallocated reserves – that is, money which the council could use to cover any unexpected increase in costs or decrease in revenues – were equivalent to just 8.1% of council spending, compared to a median of 37% across all councils responsible for social care in England. The council had one of the lowest levels of usable reserves as a percentage of annual spending of any council, and had been warned by its auditors for two years running that its reserves were too low.

Croydon also invested to buy commercial properties – ranging from a shopping centre to a hotel – in the hope of generating a steady stream of rental income to supplement locally-raised tax revenue and central government grants. While this strategy might have worked prior to coronavirus, closures during the pandemic sharply reduced the income they received from these investments. The Croydon Park hotel, acquired in September 2018, went into administration in June this year, and the Colonnades retail park, acquired in May 2019, closed in March 2020.

Probaby all true maple, and to be fair to the original poster I had also noticed the lack of grass cutting in and around the parks, including the cemetry. There was a write up about it in the Croydon guardian and thankfully they started cutting again, the whole country is going to the dogs!

 

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View beak's Profile beak Flag croydon 07 Jul 21 4.13pm Send a Private Message to beak Add beak as a friend

Originally posted by dannyboy1978

Rickman Hill and Marpit Lane parks in coulsdon haven't had the grass cut in weeks , I was wondering if anyone has noticed the same around the Borough?

I went to kick the ball with my lad and its impossible and having my council tax increased its a bit of a p,,, take!

Wettern Tree Gardens are now a total mess, well done Croydon Council !

 

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View Stirlingsays's Profile Stirlingsays Flag 07 Jul 21 4.24pm Send a Private Message to Stirlingsays Holmesdale Online Elite Member Add Stirlingsays as a friend

Originally posted by Mapletree

I think that was the Conductor. You aren’t old enough.

Just.

 


'Who are you and how did you get in here? I'm a locksmith. And, I'm a locksmith.' (Leslie Nielsen)

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View sickboy's Profile sickboy Flag Deal or Croydon 07 Jul 21 4.37pm Send a Private Message to sickboy Add sickboy as a friend

Grass verges on ours, and surrounding roads, now approaching 3 ft tall.
1.5 billion debt will do that I guess.
Surprised the street lights are still on at night.

 

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View cryrst's Profile cryrst Flag The garden of England 07 Jul 21 5.04pm Send a Private Message to cryrst Add cryrst as a friend

Originally posted by croydon proud

Probaby all true maple, and to be fair to the original poster I had also noticed the lack of grass cutting in and around the parks, including the cemetry. There was a write up about it in the Croydon guardian and thankfully they started cutting again, the whole country is going to the dogs!

I thought this thread title was about you successfully parallel parking your cab. Everything has two meanings

 

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View dannyboy1978's Profile dannyboy1978 Flag 07 Jul 21 5.06pm Send a Private Message to dannyboy1978 Add dannyboy1978 as a friend

Originally posted by Mapletree

Who doesn’t?

Verges aren’t football pitches. Croydon’s parks have areas that are cut for games. Lloyd park has done that all over the place, including for disc golf. But the bigger parks have loads of room for meadows too.

People just love to moan without considering more broadly.

Its Not moaning, the football pitch at Rickman Hill Park where the kids play Football in the goals supplied by the council us up to your waist.
It's not good when kids can't use their local park.

 

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View cryrst's Profile cryrst Flag The garden of England 07 Jul 21 5.08pm Send a Private Message to cryrst Add cryrst as a friend

Down here in chavam the verges have been cut and strimmed. They look very pleasant I might add.
Croydon is a s*** hole and has been for 20 odd years.
Get out while you can as the purge is still only at the planning stage!

 

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View Spiderman's Profile Spiderman Flag Horsham 07 Jul 21 5.26pm Send a Private Message to Spiderman Add Spiderman as a friend

Originally posted by Mapletree

I don’t think you’re keeping up

Along with many others we are now letting our back lawn revert to grass and wild flowers. Parks and verges should be the same.

‘The reason for thinking twice about our mowing habits comes down to stark facts. According to a report in the journal Biological Conservation, 97 per cent of British wildflower meadows have disappeared since the 1930s. A recent study published in the journal Nature Communications shows that many British pollinating insects are in decline, with rarer species, such as the red-shanked carder bee, really struggling. Between 1980 and 2013, every square kilometre in the UK lost an average of 11 species of bee and hoverfly. The reasons behind this are the use of insecticides, habitat loss and an overall reduction in biodiversity.’

[Link]

It’s time we all did our bit. Also, longer grass is more prone to getting trodden in and sequestered as carbon. I hope at least you stuck to no mow May.

Nice patronising start to your post again I see. Bloody farmers, eh!

Edited by Spiderman (07 Jul 2021 5.34pm)

 

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View Spiderman's Profile Spiderman Flag Horsham 07 Jul 21 5.27pm Send a Private Message to Spiderman Add Spiderman as a friend

Originally posted by dannyboy1978

Its Not moaning, the football pitch at Rickman Hill Park where the kids play Football in the goals supplied by the council us up to your waist.
It's not good when kids can't use their local park.

Perhaps Maple kept getting hit on the head by footballs whilst he was kneeling?

 

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