summer edition #105 100 YEARS OFCROYDON COUNCIL MARKS A CENTURY OFHOUSING RESIDENT MEMORIES Welcome to this special commemorative edition of Open House in which we are marking the one hundred year anniversary of the 1919 Housing Act, which gave rise to the widespread construction of social housing after the war. Don’t miss our exhibition celebrating 100 years of council housing on show in Clocktower between 2-31 August. Photos of estates under construction from the archives, residents’ stories OPPORTUNITY TO BUY YOUR OWN HOME and memorabilia will be on display. (Read Centenary Stories p2-3). UNDER SHARED OWNERSHIP SCHEME Croydon Council has welcomed The three affordable rented BIDS INVITED FOR the first batch of affordable homes homes will go to people on the now available to Croydon residents council’s housing waiting list. COMMUNITY HOMES through developer Brick by Brick. The council set up housing Croydon community groups can Work is being finalised on turning the development company Brick by now put forward bids to build site of a derelict former care home Brick in 2016 to boost local housing

their own affordable homes on off Chipstead Avenue in Thornton supply by developing more a council-owned plot of land. Heath into Flora Court, a scheme than 2,000 good-quality homes, In January the council approved a consisting of 24 shared ownership including affordable homes, with project where local groups can design flats and three affordable rented flats. any profits from development and develop their own community- The shared ownership part of the to be returned to the council to led homes on borough land. scheme is now available. Prices for reinvest in the borough. Bidders will also receive design and homes start from £315,000 but will www.bxbdevelopment.com development support from Brick by only cost £78,750 for those buying a Brick. (Continued on p8 of OH eXTRA). 25% share. FOR MORE PHOTOS CHECK OUT OUR FACEBOOK PAGE www.facebook/croydonresidentinvolvement

CENTENARY STORIES RESIDENTS REMEMBER CHANGING TIMES The 100 years of coucil housing I remember my grandfather telling desperate it just wasn’t suitable. In KEEP YOUR HOME exhibition will feature a range of me about a time he was at his those days you were only given two memorabilia including first hand front door talking to a friend and chances but luckily the second time FIRE SAFE accounts from people who lived in five minutes after going indoors, the council offered us this house in Friday 14 June marked the two year council homes and their relatives. a bomb blew the front door off its and I’ve been here anniversary of the Grenfell Tower Croydon has provided homes to hinges and broke all the windows. ever since.” tragedy in which 72 people lost their many families over the years. Here, Luckily everyone inside was OK. lives. Since then Croydon Council have we give you a taste of the exhibition I loved staying at my grandparents been working hard to ensure that your as some of our residents look back on house. I always woke up to the smell JEAN’S STORY homes are safe from the risk of fire. their experiences, bearing witness to of bacon frying. My grandmother was Jean is a resident in one of Croydon have been a pioneer in the a changing town. a great cook who made brilliant pies. Croydon’s sheltered housing and installation of sprinkler systems to high I have very happy memories of that has lived in Croydon all her life. rise blocks across the borough. In June, house.” a chip pan fire in one of these blocks was ALBERT & LAURA’S “We moved from Wentworth Road successfully supressed by the sprinkler STORY when I was a year old, after my dad system. spoke to somebody who worked But over the last few months there Paul Bradshaw contacted us through at the council. He was digging his have been several other incidents After fire caused by candle our Facebook page to share a garden in the Swan and Sugarloaf where tenants have contributed to the moving account of his grandparents pub and my dad asked him if we spread of the fire. Please help to ensure both yours and your who lived in a council house in could get a council house. Two weeks neighbours’ safety by: 26 Granden Road in for later we were given a three bedroom 54 years, from 1919 to 1973. house in . You couldn’t • Never leaving an open flame unattended do things like that these days. My • Putting candles and cigarettes fully out “My grandmother came to Albert and Laura Price dad used to tell me that story. • Never propping open a fire door or removing internal doors from Bedfordshire to be a cook in a He was born in Wentworth Road. My • Making sure communal areas are clear or items could: family home of a pianist. She met my gran was pregnant with my dad when o Burn grandfather in London who was an my grandfather died of tuberculosis. o Block the fire brigade from moving through the building electrician on the trams. She brought up four boys on her o Slow your escape own. We had an open fire which For more information please follow the link to advice from My mother and her sister were both BRIGID’S STORY was a black stove with different www.london-fire.gov.uk/safety/the-home/ born in that house. My grandmother, ovens and cupboards to heat the Join our new online resident health and safety panel, Laura Price nee Brand, was 43 Brigid has lived in a Croydon room and warm our clothes, and a covering all aspects of health and safety including fire, when she had my mother with my Council property since moving chimney. My dad used to find bits gas and electrical safety, asbestos, legionella/water grandfather Albert Price, aged 45. in with her husband in 1969. It of old wood and coal as he worked and potential hazards such as trips and falls. Contact has been her home ever since. on the railway. You didn’t have the [email protected] to find out more. I can remember the neighbours money then to buy a lot of coal. It next door. The Rickets were “We were living in a flat above the was so cold at night we had coats on on one side at no. 28 and Mrs South End Road post office, opposite the beds. The milkman, baker and FIND OUT Peters on the other at no. 24. the Swan and Sugar Loaf pub. We greengrocer used to come round stayed there until I had my sixth child on cart and horses but we couldn’t The inside of the house was very but the landlord wanted the flat back afford to use them every time. There old fashioned. It had a ‘copper’ (a for his own family, so he forced us were no local shops, except a grocers in Croydon libraries, museums and parks tank to boil water) in the kitchen. out by turning off the electricity and who would deliver by bicycle but with If you wanted a bath, you only had gas. It was December. It was really rationing there wasn’t a lot to buy. SUMMER OF FUN GUIDE a cold tap and took your hot water nasty as he made us homeless and We used to take a barrow to for lots of free and low cost activites from the copper in a bucket to tip we had to farm out the children to the market and had to walk Images from top, left to right: Tylecroft Road; Northbrough PICK UP A COPY FROM YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY into the bath. They had a coal fire friends while we stayed in a hotel. because there weren’t any buses.” Road; Beulah Grove; Northbrough Road. bombed housing prior which changed to gas once they The council offered us a flat in (Read more of Jean and Brigid’s to buidling of the Handcroft Estate, prefabs in Auckland Rise; Or go online at: www.croydon.gov.uk/leisure/libraries/libraries- news-and-events made London a smokeless zone. Moorland Road but although we were memories on p8 OH eXTRA). Violet Lane 2 3 eXTRA INVOLVED RESIDENT HOUSING ROUND UP QUICK FIX TIPS # 1: HOW TO TEST A CARBON MONOXIDE ALARM YAW NEW (Please note: to play this video you will need Adobe Reader software which uses a Flash player) STAR SURVEY Over the coming months we’re OH GIVES YOU eXTRA TLP CHAIR conducting a survey in partnership INTERACTIVE FEATURE with Acuity to find out what you This is the first in a series of At April’s Tenant and Leasehold- think about the housing services instructional videos brought to er Panel (TLP), Yaw Boateng you receive from us. A random you by the council’s repairs team was elected to chairperson. He selection of residents will receive and Axis to help you with a range tells us why he took the posi- a phone call asking for feedback of every day DIY tasks. tion and what he gets out of be- on a range of issues from safety to repairs. We’ll feedback what coming an involved resident. The videos, presented by Axis you tell us and how we’ll address any issues you’ve raised in Open apprentices, explain the tasks in “It’s an honour to be elected to this role, a position my predecessor House. Watch this space! an easy to understand step-by- Marilyn Smithies executed with such dedication and commitment. step way. I’ve been involved with resident participation since 2013, serv- ing on the council’s housing scrutiny panel, complaints pan- SURE TO SAVE The advantage of this is that you el and now TLP. I am also a member of ARCH, (Association of The WaterSure Plus scheme is get to rewatch the video as many Retained Council Housing) Tenant’s Group and sit on the See Thames Water’s social tariff that times as you like! the Person (formally Benefit to Society) national committee. gives low-income households a discounted rate on their water bill. If you have any ideas for future Getting involved has helped me understand how the council This year, the discount is 50%. A videos, contact our repairs team: works and influence how it delivers housing services. The Ten- low income is considered below [email protected] ant and Leaseholder Panel represents all council tenants and £19,201 for Croydon residents. In order to qualify, we will need leaseholders, so I love that I am able to make a positive differ- to do some data checks to PLUG IN PARKING (Continued from p ence not only for myself, but also for the community around me. verify your income and ensure 4) eligibility. For more details visit: The first eight new Source London TLP is held at the Town Hall and is open for anyone to attend. www.thameswater.co.uk charging points have been installed It’s also broadcast live on the council’s website at (www.croydon. on Edridge Road, Tavistock Road and gov.uk/democracy/dande/broadcasts). If there’s something you’d Colson Road. In potentially popular like raised at the next meeting, on 15 Oct at 6.30pm, just email PLUG IN PARKING locations, Blue Point London will [email protected] or call 020 8726 6100 ext. New charging points for electric install one or two charging points, vehicles are currently being and prepare the ground to add more installed across Croydon, as part of the borough’s commitment to as needed. have 400 public charging points by 2022. To request a charging Rapid (50kW) charging points are point location near to your home being installed by Transport for JOIN OUR TEAM OF INVOLVED RESIDENTS or business, please record your London on the main Red Routes, suggestion at: including London Road, Thornton Sign up to get involved at: www.powermystreet.co.uk. Road in Thornton Heath, Brighton www.croydon.gov.uk/residentinvolvementform (Continued on p5 OH eXTRA) Road in Purley and Godstone Road in . . RESIDENTS CLEAN UP THE TOWN JOIN OUR NEW GROUP Local residents came together to clear Dumped tyres which were found OH eXTRA! Registered private hire vehicle drivers We’re on the hunt for residents with an eye for To continue reading p5-8 of our historic fly tipping and vegetation will be used as part of a community can email strategictransport@ detail to join our new performance monitoring new online supplement, or to from the green space at Wingate planting project. croydon.gov.uk for details of lower group. You’d look at how your housing download this edition, visit: Crescent (leading to Mitcham www.croydon.gov.uk/environment/ cost cab charging. services are performing and work with council www.croydon.gov.uk/housing/ Common). During the two hour clean dontmess/dont-mess officers to improve them. Interested? Contact residents/ohnews Government grants are available for up, the group filled almost two caged [email protected] or call 020 households with off-street parking vehicles with waste. The team were To sign up to receive Open House and businesses. www.government/ 8726 6100 ext. 47350. online and our e-newsletters helped by the housing bulk refuse collections/government-grants-for- visit www.croydon.gov.uk/ crew and Veolia, who collected the residentinvolvement. low-emission-vehicles waste. 4 5 eXTRA WALL TOGETHER NOW COMMUNITY VALUES INSPIRE TOLLERS YOUTH ART PROJECT

During Easter half term, the council’s youth engagement team joined up with young people living on the Tollers Lane Estate, aged 11-19, to create a mural on building hoardings around the temporary community centre on Goodenough Close. Participants discussed what the mural would look like and what it should represent, agreeing that identity, community and friendship were key themes. The mural depicts a cherry blossom tree because these HOME IS WHERE are a celebrated natural feature on the estate. The mural A portrait of Croydon rapper was created with the help of professional artist A. Dee Stormzy with his mother is (the Artful Dodger) and supported by Brick by Brick, who drawing crowds to a FREE engaged with local residents. THE IS ! exhibition at the Museum of Croydon from 4 June-28 ART .Croydon’s youth engagement team offer a range of September celebrating ‘home’. services for young people in the borough, including It’s on loan to the museum from free community outreach sessions. To find out more the National Portrait Gallery. visit: www.youngcroydon.org.uk; email youngcroydon@ You too can become part of the croydon.org.uk; tel 07729 445 983. exhibition by writing what home means to you on one of the cardboard ‘bricks’ which spells TOLLERS RESIDENTS WIN FUNDING out the word ‘HOME’ on the A community group on the Tollers estate are outside of the exhibition space. celebrating following news that they’ve twice won www.museumofcroydon.com bids for community funds. £10,000 awarded by the All National Lottery fund will go towards supporting local projects. Young people who participated in the CYPHER Music Project and submitted an application to Croydon Young Mayors Fund, have a conditional offer of £2,000 to reimburse a grant from Play Place Innov8 to set up music and media projects and a community channel. Find out more about Community at Tollers: [email protected].

6 7 eXTRA COVER STORIES CENTENARY STORIES FROM FRONT TO BACK (Continued from p2) BIDS INVITED FOR COMMUNITY HOMES BRIGID’S STORY “When (Continued from cover story) we moved into our council The first such site is at The Lawns in Upper house it had no furniture Norwood, and is suitable for around four houses. and in those days there The eight-week bidding process is available via was no central heating so the Greater London Authority (GLA)’s Small it was very cold. Sites Small Builders online portal, after which a A man from the council used to collect the rent in shortlist will be drawn up and bids for The Lawns person. They helped us to decorate our homes. We will be assessed for viability, design and the had to choose what wallpaper we wanted in each council’s other community-led housing criteria. room from a book of samples with a set number The scheme is open to all kinds of interested of patterns. The front doors in our street were organisations, which can range from residents’ limited to four different colours. Ours was pink but associations to faith groups. I repainted it, which you weren’t supposed to do. www.croydon.gov.uk/planningandregeneration/ There was a very uniform look to the street as there regeneration/developing-new-homes-in-croydon/ was a hedge outside every house and they were all community-led-housing a similar height. Back then there were no fences between gardens, COUNCILLORS MARK MILESTONE just some posts with wire between them.” IN NEW LEISURE CENTRE BUILD A traditional construction ceremony celebrated a major milestone in the development of ’s brand new leisure and community centre. The ‘topping out’ marked the completion of the building’s outer structure and was the latest step JEAN’S STORY “I left school to work at 13 in the major regeneration project which will radically to work. My first job was at Woolworths. transform the area. My mum used to put my bus fare on The modern leisure centre, with extended sports the mantelpiece. I walked one way and took and leisure facilities, will include a 25-metre, six-lane the bus back because I was tired after being main swimming pool and a learning pool, a fitness on my feet all day. I got married when I was suite, sport halls and multi-purpose activity studios. nearly 18 in St George’s Church, Waddon. I also worked as head cook in a school for children with disabilities. I asked one of the FREE HOLIDAY KIDS CLUB BOOST men who worked for the council to get my Thousands of Croydon children will get free husband a job with the schools repairs team. summer holiday activity clubs and healthy meals I had my first baby when I was 21 and we got after Croydon Council and national charity new flat in Lodge Lane in Addington in the 1950’s. Family Action, jointly won Government funding There was a pram shed downstairs because to offer sports activities, healthy food classes and prams were so heavy in those days. Then when welfare support for up to 9,000 young people and I fell pregnant with my third child, we moved into their families throughout the summer holidays. a two bedroom house in Windham Avenue in This £657,000 programme is funded by the Addington, where we lived for 12 years. It was Department for Education and will include around much bigger with a long lounge and a nice garden. 7,000 children who qualify for free school meals. Then we moved to Waddon, where I began to Organisations interested in applying to be involved foster children. I’ve been here for 21 years. can email [email protected]. Waddon hasn’t changed a lot but Croydon has.”

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