The court judgement established the boundaries of Ms Zs house. Water leaked from lights and into sockets, leading her to unplug her fridge to avoid electrocution., And reporter Hewitt said, Walking into that flat and seeing not just appalling, squalid conditions, but the fact that it was quite obviously dangerous and Fransoy was living there with her two little boys., The most angry I have ever been: reporter Dan Hewitt with council tenant Fransoy Hewitt in Regina Road in March. Tenants need to know who to contact when things are going wrong when their council isnt delivering services appropriately. There is no discretion in that. This latest Ombudsmans decision against Cheesbroughs department would appear to contradict that contention. We will also ask you to keep a record of the noise and how it affects you on diary sheets for a few days or weeks, depending on how often the noise occurs . This form can be used to report a number of problems relating to the environment, that is in your neighbourhood, on the streets and roads, in parks, woodlands and public areas, which you think should be brought to our attention. The council respond directly to you with further enquiries or to update you as the rubbish is cleaned up. On July 3, I was phoned by Mr Newlands, who told me that all the trees on the site were being cut down. The My Croydon app has a decibel meter that measures noise and informs users whether it is loud enough to be classed as a nuisance. We will normally only consider complaints about things which happened in the past 12 months. Croydon CR0 1EA I got quite a waft from the other side of the road as it hit the ground. Call 999 if the crime is still happening or 101 to report a crime later. having more team managers respond to complaints. The councils decision should therefore be revoked under Section 97 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. 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. The council found the size of the garage then under construction exceeded that allowed under permitted development rights, where a developer does not need any planning permission. The planning committee approved the application. Hide, Send feedback directly to the content team using our website feedback form. The site now floods on a regular basis. Based in Croydon and edited by Steven Downes. News & events from Croydon Council. Also the same problems with the complaints process they dont follow their own complaints process. CROYDON IN CRISIS: If 2020 was Croydon Councils 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. Based in Croydon and edited by Steven Downes. The complaint included reference not only to the unlawful tailpiece but also to what I maintain were misleading statements made by the applicant, the agent and council planning officials alike leading up to the committees decision. A planning officers report accompanying the decision noted Mr X and Mr Ys objections, based on their ownership of some of the land on which Ms Z had built the garage. The council said the next phase of its Streetspace scheme will launch on 28 September and will use planters and signs to 'transform four more streets into places to walk, cycle and exercise while maintaining car access for their residents'. The other key Legislation is the Party Wall Act , affecting construction on and near boundaries. It will add to the already overloaded drainage and sewer systems and should be refused.. We didnt and were still waiting. 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. We certainly think so, and wonder how or why she was persuaded to make such a flagrant error of law in this case. Labour councillors in several wards have lodged formal complaints on behalf of their residents for months on end, as the homes security is being placed at risk, and break-ins at the blocks have become more frequent, vandalism and drug-dealing has been an issue. Night hours are 11.00 pm until 7.00 am. The only responsibility the Planning System has is to ensure that correct notice has been served on land owners. . A Croydon house known for drug-taking, harassment and antisocial behaviour has been boarded up by council enforcement officers. giving feedback Consequently, Mr X returned to court seeking an order for their removal. By law, they had 20 days to respond. There's no charge for making a complaint or sending us feedback. This is well established.. The council failed to reply to any of them. They say this is necessary as the existing court orders do not allow them to remove the further building work undertaken by Ms Z after she received planning permission.. Removed all the trees they were not going to move !!! That email included . Fifteen million Brits plan to celebrate the Queens 70-year reign wi Normally a Councillors mail bag is full of important, but not life threatening, mail and emails regarding missed bin collections, planning issues and complaints about noisy neighbours. Of all the things most taxpayers would want is for people who are council tenants to have homes that are safe to live in. He has build wall in my front garden in my property. There was not, and has been no sign of any action by the councils planning enforcement officials. There is a culture of not taking their complaints seriously., And Hewitt has a worrying message for Croydon Council and other social housing providers who fail their tenants. What a shit show the planning department is. Hewitt has spent most of the past year researching and following up countless other instances of appalling conditions in council and housing association homes. croydon council complaints about neighbours. The councils Housing Revenue Account is a ring-fenced fund used to run the boroughs council homes. A Croydon Council spokesman said: "We apologise for any harm caused to the couple in this instance. Their reports are deliberately written in a dry, officialese. They own land built on by Ms Z. You can complain to your council about a hedge over 2 metres high or a tree that could damage your property. The problem is we will never get rid of the shit people in the council, because no other borough will recruit from such base material. It's all public. Updated 16:31, 17 OCT 2022. Yet when it comes to using HRA money to improve the living conditions of existing council tenants, officials at Fishers Folly seem remarkably reluctant. If your neighbor complaint is more of the barking dog Croydon Council installed a new CCTV camera in the town centre, on Charles Street, in November 2019 following complaints about inconsiderate parking by the Q-Park car park. Which, for most reasonable people, might have been a starting point for a radical improvement in the councils care and attention to its tenants. Get the most out of your neighbourhood with Nextdoor. Tweets & replies. Planning delivery has always been a weakness at Croydon Council and is the major factor in the recent referendum for a mayoral election. 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.. another ruling from the Local Government Ombudsman against Croydon Council. The two neighbours who really owned the property even had a court ruling in their favour over the incursion on to their land. A Croydon Council spokesperson said: "'Our successful Trees for Streets scheme helps the council go above and beyond the hundreds of trees we already plant each year. The complaint was addressed to Townsends boss, Cheesbrough (who is still working at Croydon after her new job in Redbridge had somehow fallen through). The only leaks that Steve Reed, Hamida Ali and their chums at the Town Hall should be worrying about are the ones in the council flats in South Norwood, one Katharine Street source told Inside Croydon this week, as the local Labour Party continued in its course of vendettas, internal wrangling and self-destruction. Or they could do the work and charge for it. With her application, Ms Z presented Certificate A saying she owned all the land covered by development, the Ombudsman writes. please note that the Stage 1 Complaint was addressed to YOU and it is from YOU that we expect a substantive response . Ministers have sent in a taskforce to oversee Croydon council after an audit report revealed the Labour-run authority is on the verge of bankruptcy following a . This DCP supplements and supports the Ashfield Local Environmental Plan (LEP) 2013. He has built out building in his back yard without lawfully planning. Ms Z partially removed two of the three stanchions and left the third one standing complete. A nuisance tenant who terrorised his neighbours, making their lives a misery with his persistent noise and anti-social behaviour, has been barred from his home by a court ruling. This was a blatant breach of Condition 15 of the planning permission, which was meant to prevent any work on the trees during the bird-nesting season. The fla Seller type Agency; Date available Date available: 17 Nov 2022; Property type Flat; Number of . If theyre going to hire more managers isnt it better that they understand quality management , ISO 9001 and all that, to ensure that complaints seldom arise in the first place? 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. Talk to your local police about ongoing crime and anti-social behaviour issues: Contact your police safer neighbourhoods team, NEW Help improve this site by 8.00am to 2:00am. 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. They can refer you on to environmental health if the problem is serious enough. If you live in private rented accommodation, please contact your landlord or managing agent. Inside Croydon understands that council tenants affected by the neglect and disrepair of their homes had not been given the courtesy of first sight of the report.. Councillor Ali - who, after six weeks, has yet to fulfil her promise to meet in person . 11 hours ago 11h. If you are a Council tenant or leaseholder please contact your Tenancy Officer or call 0208 726 6000. On December 3, 2018, a decision was made by Lincolnshire County Council to reduce the speed on High Road and Low Road from 40mph to 30mph. News, views and analysis about the people of Croydon, their lives and political times in the diverse and most-populated borough in London. The ruling stems from a long-running boundary dispute between three neighbours, where one of them started to build a garage on land that they do not own. It goes on and on. If your neighbours complain to the Council, you may find the Environmental Protection department writing to you asking you to take action to avoid causing a nuisance. Sadly there isnt a bottomless pit in which to cast the lot of them. The CLP application, which amongst things includes articulated lorries drawn half-size and site cabins positioned in areas due to be protected during construction (for the sake of the one remaining tree), has quite rightly not yet been approved. There is a borough-wide issue in council blocks with damaged and vandalised security doors. Noise nuisance. The you can get help for rough sleepers through StreetLink. Contact details of agencies and organisations which can help with anti-social behaviour. The Ombudsman says that there were two key points that the council ought to have considered. Stalling: the Newlands letter to Heather Cheesbrough, after the council somehow managed to ignore their formal complaint for three months. 3 1 March 2021. Considering what was now occurring on the sites next door and opposite, disgust is probably too mild a word. No reply: Katherine Kerswell is the 192,000 per year chief exec of a council that is slow to respond to resident complaints. Normally a Councillors mail bag is full of important, but not life threatening, mail and emails regarding missed bin collections, planning issues and complaints about noisy neighbours. At times the flooding in Lower Barn Road and Mitchley Avenue is so bad that it cuts Riddlesdown in half., And Hale concluded, The whole scheme does absolutely nothing in terms of sensitive optimisation it is pure maximisation of the site to the huge detriment of the green and open local character. Croydon Shire Council PO Box 17 Croydon QLD 4871 (07) 4748 7100 (07) . Croydon Council. 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. Class E buildings etc incidental to the enjoyment of a dwellinghouse Why havent they been made to stop work? Section 65 of the 1990 Town and Country Planning Act requires that a council shall not entertain a planning application that does not meet the certification requirements set out in the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015. 8 Mint Walk The Planning department can advise on height of wall needing Planning Permission (PP) , which will depend on whether the wall is alongside a highway. 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 . We are committed to making our website accessible to all visitors. To reduce noise nuisance from houses and premises, the law defines a maximum amount of noise which is acceptable during night hours. Posted. Croydon council has declared effective bankruptcy for the third time in two years, saying it faces an "existential question" after collapsing under the weight of a "toxic debt burden . In the instance the council agrees with you, and the noise is a deemed a "statutory nuisance" (ie that it is a nuisance under law), they can issue an "abatement notice" which tells your neighbour that unless they stop they will be prosecuted and might end up with a fine of 5,000 for domestic premises and 20,000 for industrial or . A ward councillor, Lynne Hale, spoke at the meeting and raised a series of concerns regarding the overdevelopment of the site. Follow these steps if you have a dispute with your neighbour. Read more: Feeble planners allow builders to get away with (tree) murder. A party wall agreement, covered by the Party Wall Act covers shared walls in between semi-detached and terraced houses, or structures such as the floors between flats or maisonnettes, plus garden border walls. How things have been allowed to get so bad is beyond belief. If your issue is not listed above, use our formal complaints form. COMPLAINT 202004576. If it's an ongoing situation, keep a record of the events in a diary noting . 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. But even as the Newlands were being forced to cope with all the nonsense and nuisance next door, they were faced by the prospect of yet another block of flats right across the road from them, at 89 Hyde Road. Complaints can also be submitted in writing or by telephone to: Complaints Resolutions Team. Heather Cheesbrough was in charge when Planning Policy SPD2 was written. Hide, Send feedback directly to the content team using our website feedback form. Other Council workers seem to get more sympathy from this website, but not the Planning Department. Mr X also contacted Ms Z directly asking her to stop the trespass. No thought for the environment, the local infrastructure, parking, GPs schools or transport. Dan Hewitts first report on the News At Ten was the start of an odyssey that would go on to highlight cases of poor social housing conditions across England. The Inner West Comprehensive Development Control Plan (DCP) 2016 for Ashbury, Ashfield, Croydon, Croydon Park, Haberfield, Hurlstone Park and Summer Hill came into effect on on 10 January 2017.. And according to the reporter who broke the story which shocked the nation on ITVs News At Ten on March 22, theres still a lot more to come. No care or accountability. Walls tend to stay put. In May 2018, the council opened a planning enforcement investigation to consider various potential planning breaches committed by Ms Z. Births, deaths, marriages and citizenship, Support is available for you or someone you're worried about, contact our Single Point of Contact (SPOC) team, Report and request removal of offensive graffiti, If you are a Housing Association tenant, please report the issues to your Housing Association, If you are a Council tenant or leaseholder please contact your Tenancy Officer or call 0208 726 6000. We aim to give all our customers a good service, but sometimes we make mistakes. Often this solves the problem. 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. 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. As a last resort you can take legal action through the courts. They made the council aware of the dispute over land ownership and the 2018 court judgement. It's how to get the most out of everything nearby. Croydon Council Bernard Weatherill House 8 Mint Walk Croydon, CR0 1EA. After the Croydon housing scandal had led the News At Ten on Monday night, the council published the following statement, "Croydon Council has launched an urgent inquiry into conditions caused by water leaks at a council high-rise block in the borough. On the allegation of racism in the handling of Leroy's complaint, Croydon Council did not provide a response. Show The leadership is helpful, creative and always supportive. You have rejected additional cookies. only to leave after less than six months without any obvious sign of actually achieving anything. Developers break the law with impunity as demonstrated time and time again. Abandoned vehicles. This time, through a relatively minor boundary dispute between neighbours, the Ombudsman has exposed massive levels of incompetence in the councils planning department. 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. If you are experiencing ant-social behaviour there are many organisations which can help, depending on the situation: If you are a Housing Association tenant, please report the issues to your Housing Association. Mr X has previously gone to court and won orders declaring Ms Z has built on his land and entitling him to remove structures built there. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Officers up to chief executive level seem determined to continue with their couldnt-care-less attitude, while Mr Snodin has apparently decided that this is a good time to leave the Councils employ. Designed to abuse the local voters. After further complaints from the resident the neighbour was issued with a Section 154 notice by the landlord ' s Public Safety Team. We can then serve a legal notice under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 requiring the offender to stop causing a nuisance. If you are a tenant or live in a strata scheme you may have other options for . The law uses the word shall, meaning it is mandatory on the council to reject such an application. Taxpayers seem happy to allow their money to be thrown around paid to service providers without any regard for whether suppliers are doing a good job.We need tighter controls to improve standards. London. The council also apologised to a couple who complained to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. Following complaints from neighbours about vandalism, broken windows and doors and fly-tipping, in 2013 the council began negotiations with the owner to get the property done up and then transferred to council control. 28 June 2021 . Heather Cheesbroughs standard response is to convert residents letters, without their agreement, into formal complaints effectively kicking them 5 months down the line. Check benefits and financial support you can get, Find out about the Energy Bills Support Scheme, View a printable version of the whole guide. But this was changed to general boundaries in 1875 which are only indicative and open to challenge. Monument Beach Bourne, Ma, As many as 450,000 complaints are investigated each year by councils. Croydon Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. So typical of croydon council planners to approve such ugly large developments in a quiet residential area. "Led by an independent external housing specialist, the inquiry will look at what has . Other than essential front line services, Planning is the thing that Croydon Council has let down the people of Croydon the most on and continues unaddressed at a high level in the council. Croydon Councils antisocial behaviour officers have been busy helping residents in their battle against criminal and offensive neighbours, successfully securing a number of Premises Closure Orders (PCOs). animal camouflage reading comprehension; . Class B means of access to a highway. If you're unhappy with something we've done, please let us know. It is up to the applicant to make sure they have all the other permissions in place, such as the permission of the land owner, Building Regs etc. CR0 1EA. The report said that a planning permission would not define the property boundaries. tenancy document that obliges the resident to behave in a way that is not antisocial or causes a nuisance to your neighbours. Re Mr Patels comments above, it is actually frightening as to how much of the plot that can be filled up with sheds, under what is termed permitted development under The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, Worth looking up the UK Government Website, under its pages titled:-