Letter on sports teams being left out in the cold.

http://www.croydonguardian.co.uk/display.var.918644.0.sport_teams_left_in_the_cold_by_60m_school.php

Dear Editor,

I read with dismay your piece on ‘community sports clubs and societies being left out in the cold’, since the opening of Ashburton Learning Village. We are regularly reminded in the media that our children need exercise and to participate in sports. A la Jamie Oliver, former Crystal Palace striker Ian Wright is using factual TV entertainment to expose the issues surrounding the fitness and health of our kids.

However, in your example, it appears the local community is being excluded by a lack of facilities and a hike in charges.

The Addiscombe Corinthians football team, a local netball team and a dance school say they have been forced out since the school was taken over by Jarvis PLC.
It is obvious that Jarvis PLC is required to provide a dividend to their shareholders. Therefore, in order to prevent the local community being priced out, councillors should have sought assurances from Jarvis before signing a £60 million contract with them.

Using Private Finance Initiative projects, and similar schemes, to fund community facilities is not the answer to decades of underinvestment. It would be better if community facilities, such as this site on Shirley Road, were publicly owned in order to guarantee the level of service required by the local community.

Hopefully the users of this facility have reached an agreement with Jarvis or at least found a suitable alternative.

Yours sincerely

Shasha Khan
Croydon Green Party


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Tags croydon, greenparty

Mobile phone mast protest.

Steve Harris (left)


Shasha Khan joined Green Party candidate for Croham ward Steve Harris, to protest against the installation of a 3G mobile phone mast on top of South Croydon Sports Club.

Steve has been working hard to keep the local residents informed of the developments and yesterdays turnout is testament to his efforts.

There has not been nearly enough research into the health implications of masts. Phone masts should not be put up in residential areas, near schools or hospitals until conclusive research has been carried out to prove that they are safe. Moreover the "international guidelines" on EMF levels - which the UK subscribes to - are very misleading. In fact acceptable levels vary wildly between each country: Switzerland's levels are 100 times lower than the UK's levels.

The whole area of mobile phones has developed too fast. International guidelines have been hastily assembled without sufficient research being done. Of course there are many economic and social benefits to the modern telecommunications systems, but these must be balanced by the guaranteed health and safety of local people.

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Tags croydon, greenparty

Green Party Conference

Megan and I went down to Hove on Friday for the Autumn National Green Party Conference. It's always a good opportunity to catch up with colleagues.

For me, the highlight of the conference was a presentation given by James Humphreys on, 'The Greens and Labour'. James
James Humphreys was a strategy adviser in No 10 Downing Street from 1997 to 2003 and a former DEFRA official. He is now a full and active member of the Islington Greens and has stood as a candidate for The Green Party. His presentation illustrated the failings of the New Labour project with respect to the environment and identified how the the Labour Party had lost touch with it's more traditional voters.

Megan found the ‘The future of public services’ discussion chaired by Jean Lambert MEP very informing. Essentially, we were told that the European Commission will meet in the winter to issue a new directive which says that the public services demand for EU citizens should be met by the internal market. What is worrying is that people already see schools or hospitals being financed with private money. However, the actual EU directive for these measures is yet to come!



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Tags croydon, greenparty

Mobile Phone Mast Protest

Local Residents will be holding a protest rally on Sunday 24th September at 11am, Beech Copse, Birdhurst Rise, South Croydon to protest against a mobile phone mast on top of South Croydon Sports Club. Many residents are angry at not being consulted or advised.

For more details of the location of the mast, visit their web site
No Beech Copse Mast.

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Tags croydon, phone mast, croham

More newspaper coverage for the victory!

http://www.croydonguardian.co.uk/news/localnews/display.var.922042.0.victory_for_protesters_against_new_home_plans.php
Victory for protesters against new home plans
Upper Norwood residents were celebrating last week when Croydon Council's planning committee rejected a proposal to develop 30 new homes on a site in Beulah Hill.
Last month, residents took to the streets of Upper Norwood to protest about over-development in the area, wielding banners demanding "Save Beulah Hill" and "No more traffic".
And at Thursday night's meeting around 50 residents who sat in the public gallery to hear the decision cheered as councillors on the planning committee rejected the plans.
continued...

Committee member councillor Vidhi Mohan said: "It seems to me that this development is still completely out of character with the other buildings in the area."
It also emerged at the meeting that only 40 per cent of the proposed development would be dedicated to affordable housing.
A spokesman for developer Barnfield Homes said: "The development is only 30 units so we don't actually have to provide 100 per cent affordable housing, in fact we don't have to provide any at all."
But despite his argument - and following representations from Upper Norwood councillor Pat Ryan and residents - the committee voted to reject plans for developing the site for a third time.
Speaking about the decision, Green Party member Shasha Khan, who has been supporting residents in their campaign, said: "I pay tribute to the resilience of those who declined to be bulldozed by those in favour of the proposal."
However, he also warned that future plans would be submitted: "It is clear that the planning committee has very limited grounds on which they can consider such developments and these need to be expanded considerably."
3:45pm Friday 15th September 2006

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Tags croydon, greenparty, Upper Norwood, Beulah Hill,

Newspaper coverage on Beulah Hill

http://www.croydonguardian.co.uk/news/localnews/display.var.922042.0.victory_for_protesters_against_new_home_plans.php

Victory for protesters against new home plans
Upper Norwood residents were celebrating last week when Croydon Council's planning committee rejected a proposal to develop 30 new homes on a site in Beulah Hill.
Last month, residents took to the streets of Upper Norwood to protest about over-development in the area, wielding banners demanding "Save Beulah Hill" and "No more traffic".
And at Thursday night's meeting around 50 residents who sat in the public gallery to hear the decision cheered as councillors on the planning committee rejected the plans.
continued...

Committee member councillor Vidhi Mohan said: "It seems to me that this development is still completely out of character with the other buildings in the area."
It also emerged at the meeting that only 40 per cent of the proposed development would be dedicated to affordable housing.
A spokesman for developer Barnfield Homes said: "The development is only 30 units so we don't actually have to provide 100 per cent affordable housing, in fact we don't have to provide any at all."
But despite his argument - and following representations from Upper Norwood councillor Pat Ryan and residents - the committee voted to reject plans for developing the site for a third time.
Speaking about the decision, Green Party member Shasha Khan, who has been supporting residents in their campaign, said: "I pay tribute to the resilience of those who declined to be bulldozed by those in favour of the proposal."
However, he also warned that future plans would be submitted: "It is clear that the planning committee has very limited grounds on which they can consider such developments and these need to be expanded considerably."
3:45pm Friday 15th September 2006
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Tags croydon, greenparty, Upper Norwood, Beulah Hill

Green Party Photographic Success!

Link to newspaper article

http://www.croydonguardian.co.uk/display.var.919610.0.eye_for_history.php

Eye for history
By Kim Theobald
Old and new: Shasha Khan's winning image of George Street
Shasha Khan is well known within his local community as treasurer of the Croydon Green Party and is regarded as a local campaigner.
He has stood in general, local and London Assembly elections.
Shasha, 34, can now add winning photographer to his list of accomplishments. He said: "I am thrilled to have won and to have my photograph displayed.
"I'll have to take a photo of my photo while it's displayed in Allders window."
continued...

Shasha, of Windmill Road, Croydon, moved to the borough when he was 11-years-old and has lived here ever since.
Shasha is very proud of Croydon and its history and it was this that influenced his choice of shot.
"Within the borough there is great diversity of cultures which should be celebrated. Hidden among the hustle and bustle, modernity and homogeneity there are some pockets of peace, heritage and even counterculture.
"I also live within walking distance from a massive shopping centre, which at times I take for granted.
"There is a popular misconception about the people of Croydon, especially its young people. Not all of them are chavs'.
“I’ll have to take a photo of my photo while it’s displayed in Allders window.”
Shasha Khan continued,
"People do recognise that there is a need for an additional set of values to be properly recognised and it's not just about the latest car, mobile or trainers."
Danny Brierley, assistant editor of the Croydon Guardian, explained why the committee chose the picture.
"Sasha's image was one of several that immediately caught our eye. It had an interesting juxtaposition of the old and the new, the famous Almshouses and a busy shopping street.
"This clever contrast was the reason the committee felt it should be our winner."
Shasha's winning entry is being prepared so that it can be displayed in Allders window. It will also feature in a Croydon Champions 2006 souvenir magazine.
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Tags croydon, greenparty

VICTORY FOR THE LOCAL RESIDENTS

PRESS RELEASE

8th September 2006


VICTORY FOR THE LOCAL RESIDENTS


There were scenes of jubilation in the public gallery of Croydon Council Chamber when councillors on the Planning Committee sided with objectors on the proposed development at 66-70 Beulah Hill.

Croydon Greens had joined forces with local residents to stop any further developments on the road without a comprehensive traffic and environmental assessment (1). In addition, Croydon Green Party had called for a holistic approach to all new developments in the borough, taking into account the optimum population size for each ward.

Shasha Khan of the Croydon Green Party commented, “This is a triumph for the local people. I pay tribute to resilience of the local residents who declined to be bulldozed by those in favour of the proposal.

However, it is very clear that the Planning Committee has very limited grounds on which they can consider such developments and these need to be expanded considerably. Planning applications must be considered from a holistic perspective – for example, in terms of their impact on traffic levels and local infrastructure and in light of other proposed developments in the area.”

Ends

(1) Demonstration on 24th August covered by your newspaper


Tags croydon, greenparty, Upper Norwood, Beulah Hill

STOP PRESS: Councillors vote NO! to new development!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have just returned from the Planning Committee Meeting. There were scenes of jubilation in the public gallery when the councillors on the committee voted against the development at 66-70 Beulah Hill.


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Tags croydon, greenparty

Beulah Hill is an accident hotspot!

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Tags croydon, greenparty

Water Fountains letter published in local paper

Online version of letter

Water fountains at all-time low
Sep 1 2006

Your story regarding the withdrawal of drinking fountains at Westcroft Sports centre in Carshalton comes at a time when the availability of public water fountains must be at an all-time low since they were introduced.
Why Sutton Council couldn't simply take steps to ensure that the water in the fountains wasn't too warm is not revealed in your story, but the bigger story is the steady switch to expensive, environmentally damaging plastic bottles of pretty much identical water, as several studies have revealed.
I suspect many others of my generation share my aversion to shelling out a lot of money for a packaged version of what was until recently available freely as a public service.
This is one Victorian value that Sutton Water company and Sutton Council might do well to embrace.What about a campaign to bring back our drinking fountains to our parks and High Streets?

Bob Steel
Sutton and Croydon Green Party

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Tags croydon, greenparty

Newspaper coverage

http://iccroydon.icnetwork.co.uk/advertiser/headlines/tm_objectid=17688104%26method=full%26siteid=53340%26headline=neighbourhood%2dat%2d%2dbreaking%2dpoint%2d-name_page.html


Croydon Advertiser Online Article

Coverage in the Croydon Guardian & Croydon Advertiser
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Tags croydon, greenparty