This last year has been particularly busy for us as local councillors.
Coulsdon Town ward covers a large area from Woodcote High school in the north right down to the border with Hooley in the south. But so much of our time is taken up with issues in Coulsdon town centre where our whirlwind tour begins giving you a flavour of our recent activities on your behalf, working of course with local residents’ groups. We’re pleased to report some successes (but, as always, there's more to do).
Let’s start on the left-hand side of Brighton Road by Dobles heading south. You're walking into an area that recently benefitted from one of Mayor Jason Perry's blitz cleans. Trees have been trimmed, pavements and lamp-posts cleaned and pavements repaired. Businesses were given free packs to help them clean graffiti and remove unwanted stickers from their shops.
You’re also entering an area that will benefit from £150,000 of UK Prosperity Fund money bringing new seating, signage and noticeboards making Coulsdon even more a welcoming place to live, work and shop. Coming soon!
You'll walk past the newly opened Costa. Costa recognising that Coulsdon is THE place to invest.
Continuing South bound you'll walk under the bridge. Look up and you’ll see the netting’s been replaced by Network Rail stopping pigeons accessing and doing what pigeons do. You'll walk over the pavement where what those pigeons did has now gone. Our aim in Coulsdon is to please residents not pigeons (although we wish pigeons no harm, we hastily add)!
Continuing our tour, shortly you'll arrive at Aldi. Outside is where we hold our regular surgery. It's much appreciated by residents. Always popular and a great opportunity for residents to raise their Coulsdon and Croydon concerns or, sometimes to just have a chat. Here we are when the weather was a little more conducive….
Parking through the centre has been made easier with the introduction of Ringgo and an end to meter feeding. Free parking for an hour continues. Many predicted we’d lose it.
Look over the road you’ll see the new, popular banking hub envied by many and campaigned for by many.
Then we come to Coulsdon library. Not closed as some predicted. In fact its opening hours have been extended and include Saturdays.
Let’s now turn right onto Lion Green Road trying not to look at Labour’s 5 blocks of Brick by Brick flats. Brick by Brick, we remind ourselves, was a major contributor to Croydon’s bankruptcy under Labour.
Moving out of the town centre for a moment, turn left onto Chipstead Valley Road and you'll approach the Community Centre where a new lease has finally been signed. We have not lost our well used community centre as many predicted.
Back towards the town centre there’s the site of Coulsdon’s new medical centre. Long awaited and much needed. It’s coming soon! Great news for Coulsdon.
Now, we're almost back to where we started outside the refurbished Waitrose in which John Lewis had the wisdom to invest with a multi-million makeover.
So, amidst the doom and gloom, Coulsdon has some good news to crow about, but yes, there's more to do!
Finally, we want to take this opportunity to wish you, your family and friends a very happy Christmas and all the very best for the New Year.
Cllr Mario Creatura Cllr Ian Parker Cllr Luke Shortland
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