HADRA - Newsletter Autumn 2022

AUTUMN 2022 THE HADRA NEWS

Hartley & District Residents’ Association

HADRA JOINS THE NATION IN MOURNING THE LOSS OF HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II

Executive Mayor of Croydon, Jason Perry said: “We will always be grateful for Her Majesty’s seven decades of dedicated service to our country, both in peacetime and war. Her strength and unswerving sense of duty has been a true inspiration, even in the toughest of times.”

Remembering Queen Elizabeth II in Croydon

During her reign, Her Majesty came to Croydon on at least four occasions and many residents will have special memories of her visits. Her Majesty and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh first came to Croydon on 3rd November 1960 for the opening of Croydon College (see picture below).

This was followed by a visit for the opening of The Queen’s Gardens in June 1983, when she also visited Fairfield Halls and had lunch in the Arnhem Gallery.

In February 1996, Her Majesty and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh visited the Whitgift Schools and Croydon Clocktower. You can still see the plaque they unveiled in the Atrium near the museum’s exhibition areas.

Her last visit to our borough was in 2002, as part of her Golden Jubilee celebratory tour. Her Majesty and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh visited The BRIT School and Addington Palace.

Article reproduced from www.croydon.gov.uk

HADRA SUBSCRIPTIONS

www.hadra.org

SALE OF COULSDON MANOR STOPPED THANKS TO RESIDENTS’ CONCERN

The Mayor of Croydon, Jason Perry has listened to residents and Old Coulsdon Councillors Margaret Bird and Nikhil Sherine Thampi and withdrawn the sale of the freehold of Coulsdon Manor and Golf Course.

The current lessee remains but will be expected to keep to the terms of the lease and keep the house under repair and the golf course well maintained during the remaining 101 years of the lease.

Coulsdon Manor was previously Coulsdon Court, built by Thomas Byron in the 19th century.

Cllr Bird has also enquired about getting Coulsdon Manor listed as a historic building following resident requests.

HADRA would like to take the opportunity to thank Councillor Margaret Bird and her colleagues for their extensive efforts in securing this outcome.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF COULSDON MANOR

The Manor of Coulsdon, originally known as Curedesdone (c. 675) was bought in 1782 by Thomas Byron, a wealthy businessman, from the Earl of Radnor. The tithe map of Old Coulsdon dated 1837 shows that about half the parish belonged to Thomas Byron as Lord of the Manor. Manorial lands included such farms as Portnalls, Tollers, Old Lodge, Colegrims, Stoats Nest, Greenways, Garston and Place House. They stretched from Purley in the North to Caterham in the South and from Chipstead in the West to Kenley in the East. The Byron family held the Manor of Coulsdon until 1921. (It is not thought that they were related to the famous poet Lord Byron.)

Squire Thomas Byron died, childless, in 1821. His married nephew, Thomas Byron (MP), became the principal beneficiary of his will and inherited the estate along with considerable wealth.

Coulsdon Court, a c16th/17th century farm of about 1,000 acres, formed part of Lord Byron’s estate. It stood next to

Residents are reminded that the easiest way to pay the £3 subscription* is to set up an annual standing order. We have recently moved our bank account so please note the new details:

Account name: HADRA | Sort Code: 23 05 80 (Metro Bank) | Account number: 41022558

Please quote your postcode and flat/house number in the reference. You can of course use the same details to make a one-off payment. Alternatively, cash and cheques made payable to HADRA can be delivered to 52 Hartley Hill; please remember to include your name and address.

If you have any queries about your subscription, please email treasurer@hadra.org. We are also grateful for any additional donations and appreciate the support of all residents who make financial contributions to help fund our activities.

* The subscription will soon increase to £5 (see overleaf). Any household who finds this unaffordable may continue to pay £3.

If residents need to contact the association, they can do so via email at action@hadra.org

Protecting and Advancing the Common Interests of the Area

COMMITTEE REPORTS & NEWS

INCREASE IN MEMBERSHIP FEE

For many yaers, Hartley and District residents have paid an annual subscription to HADRA of £3.00. This supports the voluntary efforts of the committee members, funds the printing of the bi-annual newsletter and covers other administrative expenses.

At the last Annual General Meeting, held in May 2022, it was agreed to increase the annual membership fee to £5.00 from 1 April 2023.

The committee would like to draw residents’ attention to the change and allow those paying by standing order time to amend their payments in advance of the new financial year.

The last time that the subscription was increased was in April 2006 and whilst reluctant to make this change it was felt necessary to help meet the rising costs associated with running the residents’ association.

Please email action@hadra.org if you’d like to comment on HADRA’s role in the local community or let us know why you are happy (or unhappy) to pay £3 a year.

Old Coulsdon Village Fair

A big thank you to all those residents who braved the glorious sunshine to visit us at the Old Coulsdon Village Fair this year.

After a couple of years’ break (circumstances beyond our control!), we were pleased to meet so many of our members again and it gave them the opportunity to chat with several members of our committee too.

For those unaccustomed to the fair, it takes place on the first Saturday of every July on the village green, adjacent to the picturesque St. John’s Church in Coulsdon. This is a large event with a variety of stalls from local clubs, interest groups and organizations and its usually a great day out for the whole family.

HADRA’s aim on our stall, as always, was to raise awareness of our role in the local community and to provide information on the most recent happenings in the area. Thanks to a wide range of prizes donated, we also held our customary tombola and guess-thepersonality quiz.

This year, all proceeds from the HADRA stall were donated to The Epilepsy Foundation.

Congratulations to quiz-winner Juliana Laidley of Coulsdon who won the £40 gardening voucher!

KEEP UP TO DATE

The HADRA website, at www. hadra.org has lots of information including Police, Planning, Local History, Health and Frequently Asked Questions.

Residents are also invited to join our Facebook group, WhatsApp group and sign up for our monthly eBlast. The eBlast contains details of local events and any urgent issues in the area. You’ll find links to each of these on the homepage of the website. If you have any trouble, please email action@hadra.org for support.

CROYDON PLANNING DEPARTMENT IS STILL UNDER RESOURCED

Emails to the planning department now have an automated response stating, “September/October 2022. We have been experiencing significant delays to our planning application service, mainly due to the Council’s financial situation and the nationwide shortage of Planners. This situation continues, and whilst we are working to resolve it, we do still have a large backlog of planning applications. We are validating the majority of planning applications within 2-3 weeks, but are still experiencing delays in determining planning applications. We are not able to respond to all queries, but will do our best to provide an update on your application or query as soon as we are able to. We will continue to do what we can to resolve this issue and return to determining applications in a timely manner. Thank you for your patience and apologies for the inconvenience caused”.

It is also nearly impossible to contact them by telephone or have any discussion. Planning enforcement continues to be under resourced with complaints not being investigated and any request for updates being ignored.

Supplementary Planning Document revoked on 25 July 2022

With SPD2 being revoked by the first elected Mayor of Croydon, Jason Perry (see report on page 6) and Croydon Council Planning now consisting of four Conservative and four Labour councillors, which is chaired by a conservative after the local elections in May, the borough is now experiencing more undesirable applications being refused at committee and delegated officer level.

However the reasons for refusal are not always detailed or robust enough to prevent appeals being submitted and have also resulted in appeals being granted. For example at 24 Coulsdon Court Road the proposal to demolish the host property and build six terraced houses, having already built nine units in the garden, was granted by the Planning Inspector with the developer also avoiding making any contribution for affordable housing.

An appeal has been submitted to demolish Hartley Court and Ravenswood, which are next to the railway bridges at the bottom of Hartley Down, and build 16 flats.

An appeal has also been submitted for the nondetermination of the planning application for 31 Bencombe Road for the demolition of the existing house and to build four houses which was submitted in November 2021.

Details of the Planning Inspector have not been published for these appeals.

Construction Work

When a planning application is granted, there are a

number of conditions that need to be discharged: A Construction Logistics Plans (CLP) should be submitted and approved before works can commence on site. The planners are now not approving some of these as they are deficient in details; however some sites have started work without an approved CLP. This recently happened at 30-34 Hartley Old Road in mid-September, with no submitted CLP the developer cleared the site, removed trees and hedges and burnt the waste causing excessive smoke and fly ash much to the annoyance of many residents.

Similarly conditions for protection of trees and hedges, Sustainable Drainage Systems, samples of external material, landscaping plans also need to be discharged. The planners do not like residents commenting on these, however if you do your comments/objections should be taken into account.

We have seen the approval of schemes which are deemed ‘on balance acceptable’ subject to conditions, but developers subsequently chip away at these planning conditions so that what is built is somewhat different from what was approved. This situation is exacerbated by the understaffing of the Planning Enforcement team and developers do not shy away from taking advantage of the lack of rigour.

Details of all current planning applications and discharge of conditions can be found on the HADRA planning table, which is updated on the HADRA website every Saturday.

Croydon Council Sale of Coulsdon Manor Lease

In July 2022, Croydon Council issued a notice to sell the freehold to the tenant that currently holds the long lease. The area is currently public open space and the demise for the proposed freehold sale is identical to the demise in the existing long lease of the golf course. A restrictive covenant will be placed on the site to ensure it remains as a public golf course and the existing public rights of way will be retained. A public meeting was held on 29 July 2022 where there were significant objections to the proposal. The sale has subsequently been halted. (See report on page 1 and history of the manor on the back page.)

Colin Etheridge HADRA Planning Representative

AN INTERVIEW WITH THE NEW PRINCIPAL

Stuart Barlow took up the role of Principal at Coulsdon Sixth Form College in September. We caught up with him to find out what brings him to Coulsdon and what his plans are for the future of the College.

What brings you to Coulsdon Sixth Form College?

I am here to ensure the provision of the best possible education for our students. I am fortunate to have worked across many different colleges and hope to bring that knowledge and expertise to supporting the growth of Coulsdon.

What are the main challenges you face?

Our students and our staff, like the whole world, have had to cope with an extraordinarily difficult period of time. We are all still working hard to understand how we need to do things differently so that students can be supported to maximise their potential.

Doing this against a challenging financial backdrop for the sector, with rising costs not being matched by the levels of governmental funding also requires staff to be ingenious in developing new ways of supporting learning, and to be ever more vigilant in identifying and supporting the needs of students.

How do you see the college’s position in 2, 5 or 10 years’ time?

The next two years will be a period of consolidation for Coulsdon, embedding the great stuff that already happens and building a team that is explicitly focused on making sure that every individual student gets the best possible teaching, and the best possible support, on their journey to being the best version of themselves.

We are looking at how we also engage more with our local community, and how we can develop activities and courses that continue to inspire students.

Over the longer-term I want Coulsdon College to fulfil the potential that it has to grow and flourish. I have been fortunate to inherit a committed team of staff and the challenge is to guide them to fulfil the college’s undoubted potential. Doing this will bring a greater diversity of courses, more students and more success.

What are you most looking forward to for the 2022/3 academic year?

I am lucky to be doing a job that I love. In my first few weeks the opportunity to meet with, and chat to students on a daily basis is something that reminds me how much I enjoy being in education – above all I am looking forward to continuing to do that.

Have you always wanted to be a college principal?

Becoming Principal isn’t something that I had ever particularly aspired to – in fact, often the more you rise up in the sector, the more challenging it can be to keep hold of the things that you love about education. For me, that’s working with students and staff. I am fortunate that

Coulsdon provides the opportunity to continue to do those things.

What are the three most important qualities you bring to the job?

I start from a point of believing that everybody, every day, gets up wanting to be the best version of themselves. If they are not showing this, we have a responsibility to identify what is going on for them and support them to overcome those challenges.

Listening – everyone in our community has something to tell us, and something to teach us.

Curiosity – I have a habit of asking ‘why?’ until I understand what is causing a particular thing to happen. If we’re persistently curious, we can really get to the small changes that can have a large impact.

What can the local community expect from Coulsdon College in the immediate future?

Greater contact! I want to get out and meet local community leaders, groups and local residents so that we can understand how we can work better together. We have a lot of young people locally who are yet to make Coulsdon their first choice for study and I want to understand why, and how we can change so that they do. I also want to find ways for our students to enhance the local community – students can get ‘a bad press’ as they are growing up, adapting to the challenges of the transition to independent young adulthood and together we can find ways of supporting them whilst they do that, understanding that sometimes they will not always make the best choices during this time. Our role is to educate and support – our community has a pivotal role in helping us, and we can help them at the same time.

What have been your initial impressions of the College?

The College is a warm, friendly place full of people who want to be the best versions of themselves. I am enjoying being part of it.

REMEMBER THE 5TH OF NOVEMBER

Remember, remember, the 5th of November, Gunpowder, treason and plot.

I see no reason Why gunpowder treason Should e’er be forgot.

Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, ‘twas his intent

To blow up the King and the Parliament

Three score barrels of powder below Poor old England to overthrow

By God’s providence he was catch’d

With a dark lantern and burning match

Holler boys, holler boys, let the bells ring

Holler boys, holler boys

God save the King!

We’re all familiar with at least the first few lines of this poem by John Milton commemorating the failure of the gunpowder plot to blow up parliament during its state opening in 1605.

The aim of course was to assassinate protestant King James I and place England back into the hands of a more Catholic-supporting monarchy, but did you know that ironically, the leader of these 13 men was not actually Guy Fawkes?

Robert Catesby was the leader of this small group of rebellious Catholics and the aim of his plan was to replace King James with the King’s 9-year-old daughter, Princess Elizabeth Stuart, later to become Queen of Bohemia.

The first meeting of the central conspirators (Robert Catesby, Thomas Wintour, Thomas Percy, John Wright and Robert Keyes) took place on Sunday 20 May 1604, at a tavern called the Duck and Drake on The Strand. No longer standing, the exact location of this tavern is a source of discussion and no establishments currently along The Strand are admitting to their involvement in this treasonous act.

During the initial meeting, Wintour took some convincing that the plan, conceived by Catesby, would be effective and should be tried, but Wintour eventually agreed to travel to Flanders and seek help from Catholic Spain. However, Catesby would receive no such support, but Wintour was given the name of a person who may be able to help - Guy Fawkes.

REPORTING CRIME

We see many reports of crime on social media such as Facebook and Nextdoor but the Police don’t monitor these sites so please make sure you also report crimes. This can be done via 101 either online or by telephone call. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can report anything at www.crimestoppers-uk.org 101 is for a nonemergency situation; if a crime is taking place or somebody is in immediate danger, call 999.

Reporting back to the conspirators, Wintour’s news did not surprise Catesby. For despite positive noises from the Spanish authorities, he was aware that since the 1585 Anglo-Spanish war, both countries were signatories to the Treaty of London signed in August which would go on to secure a peace that lasted until 1625. Spain did not want to risk jeopardising the peace between the two countries at this time.

According to Fawkes’ testimony, 20 barrels of gunpowder were brought in to parliament at first, followed by 16 more on 20 July. On 28 July however, the ever-present threat of the plague delayed the opening of Parliament until Tuesday 5 November so that was the date the conspirators had set.

But their plot was foiled. Thanks to an anonymous letter on the night of 4 November, the Gunpowder Plot was uncovered and Guy Fawkes was discovered in the House of Lords with 36 barrels of gunpowder. Had it gone off as he intended, it would have reduced the building to rubble with no survivors.

Fawkes was later tried and executed, as were many of his co-conspirators . To celebrate the foiling of this plot, people across Britain lit bonfires and the annual celebration was remembered the following year and every year since.

Lee Cooper

SAXON GRAVES FOUND

Up to eighteen Saxon graves have been uncovered in Coulsdon. News was released in September that the graves were discovered on the Lion Green Road car park site where 157 flats are being developed.

The skeletons, six of which were found with iron knives in the left hand, are believed to be Saxon.

The remains, which were discovered during excavations carried out by the Museum of London Archaeology, add to previous discoveries which include two late Roman burials, the remains of a dog and a Saxon burial dated to the late 6th/early 7th century.

The news was covered by BBC local news and Evening Standard. A full report can be viewed on the Inside Croydon website at www.insidecroydon.com

What is SPD2 and why should you care?

The recent chatter from developers, architects and many residents’ associations has been about Mayor Perry’s recent decision to abolish “SPD2”.

Contrary to popular belief, this has nothing to do with spuds, the German Social Democratic Party, or even the Society of Paranormal Discjockies, but relates to a planning design guide called the “Supplementary Planning Document” which is often referred to when developers apply to Croydon Council for planning permission.

On 25 July 2022, at the first council meeting following Mayor Perry’s election, Croydon Council agreed on the revocation of SPD2 which means that with immediate effect, SPD2 will no longer be used when considering planning matters.

Why should you care? Because SPD2 was akin to a developer’s charter for Croydon, which supported aggressive development of windfall sites in the HADRA and surrounding areas.

It allowed developers to apply for planning permission for almost anything, almost anywhere and encouraged the replacement of large family homes with gardens, by blocks of up to nine flats. According to one local councillor, the effects of SPD2

“are particularly obvious in Purley, where planning permission has been applied for to replace about 150 homes just since 2018”.

Such developments were rarely in keeping with the local area and often a cause of great concern and frustration to local residents. Having grown up in this beautiful suburban area, many residents were forced to witness their streets and communities being pillaged for the profit of developers who had no local connection.

Comparing Croydon to neighbouring Bromley, there have been more than 5 times as many planning permissions since 2020 in Croydon. The major difference being that Croydon Council, backed-up by SPD2, supported garden-grabbing developments, but Bromley on the whole did not.

Croydon’s aggressive planning policies doubtless played a contributing factor in DEMOC’s successful campaign to get a Mayor of Croydon democratically elected to replace the appointed Council Leader. People had had enough of the planning situation and clearly made their voices heard at the ballot box. The only unfortunate aspect about the abolition of SPD2 is that it will have no impact on planning applications already decided, but that’s a closed chapter now.

Now SPD2 has been buried with its namesake, let’s hope that future planning matters with Croydon Council will be more roses and less thistles.

Lee Cooper

CAKE SALE AT LILIAS GILLIES HOUSE

Lilias Gillies House held a cake sale on 29th July with plenty of cakes baked by both residents and staff. The cakes were really tasty and included brownies, individual victoria sponges, millionaires shortbread amongst many more. There were so many cakes that the sale was extended to the Saturday! There was also a raffle and guess how many sweets in the jar competition, all enjoyed in beautiful sunshine!

Lilias Gillies House is a residential treatment centre in the Croydon area within Community Housing and Therapy (CHT), a registered charity for people who are experiencing severe, complex and prolonged mental health difficulties.

They are raising funds for an outdoor shelter at the House to create a therapeutic space that residents can use to sit together in their garden. Many of the residents feel too anxious and self-conscious to go out on regular walks and some have difficulties with their physical health.

Creating a sheltered outside space that can be used in all weathers will enable the residents to experience the therapeutic benefits of the outdoors no matter what the weather.

Time out in the garden would also create a wholesome space for social interaction for residents, which will positively impact their mental health.

u3a CELEBRATES 40 YEARS

2022 marks the 40th Anniversary of the u3a in the UK. To celebrate the occasion, Croydon u3a offers this recipe for a satisfying and enjoyable u3a experience!

Ingredients and Method:

• Take a varied group of people who are no longer working full time;

• Mix together their different backgrounds, knowledge, interests, life-experiences and skills;

• Stir in a rich blend of activities to suit all tastes;

• Spice it up with a generous helping of good humour, friendship and fun.

Serve it up:

• Make sure all can share;

• Sit back and enjoy!

If you would like to add your interests and enthusiasms to the Croydon u3a mix look us up: www.u3asites.org.uk/croydon or find us on Facebook.

“The garden shelter would be great for bringing the community together as a lot of us love being outdoors at all times of the year. This would make the garden more usable and enjoyable.”

“This would help us to talk to each other and help each other as we sit and chat a lot in the garden”

“The shelter at the moment is not big enough for us all, the new one would mean we could sit together, it is also leaking when it rains at the moment.”

£547.62 towards the £3,000 target was raised through the bake sale and donations, which was a great success for their first fund raiser.

This will make a life changing difference to those experiencing severe, complex, and prolonged mental health difficulties and the community would welcome any donations, big or small, to help them reach their goal.

If you would like to make a donation please go to this link:

https://givi.ng/0tfd

Diane Hearne

THE HIVE

The Hive is Coulsdon’s Community garden project. To find out more or get involved, contact Emily at thehivecoulsdon@gmail.com or follow the group on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheHiveCoulsdon

MARLPIT LANE BOWLING & GOLF

The bowling and putting green needs volunteers either to open The Green for a couple of hours a week or to help maintain The Green.

Please contact Maureen Levy at mcb.l@btinternet.com or 07761 926498 or pop into The Green when volunteers or maintenance crew are there.

Alternatively, go to our Facebook page Marlpit Lane Bowling Green and send a message.

PURLEY IN BLO OM

In 2021 Purley BID launched a 5 year project to transform the appearance of Purley through community participation and providing an environmentally responsible result. They entered the 2022 London in Bloom competition, hoping for a silver medal.

MISSING NAMES ON WAR MEMORIAL

Local historian, Carole Skinner, researched the names on the WW1 War Memorial in Marlpit Lane Memorial Park for the 1914-1918 exhibition. While carrying out her research, she discovered there were 16 names that had not been included. The four Coulsdon residents’ associations decided it would be appropriate to be able to remember them, recognising their sacrifice on our behalf. Carole managed to research and find all the 16 names:

Leonard Barnes, L/Cpl East Yorkshire Regiment, age 31, died 20 September 1914.

James Beckenham, Kings Royal Rifle Corps, age 20 died 20th August 1917.

John Edward Bovington, Queens Royal Regiment, (West Surrey) died 6th November 1915.

Crawford Vivian F S Lt, East Surrey Regiment, died from wounds sustained on active service.

George Albert Crick MM, East Surrey Regiment, age 23 died 12th October 1917.

After a very long wait, the Purley in Bloom team attended the London in Bloom Awards 2022 at The Arts Pavilion in Mile End. Each In Bloom team was scored against a set of criteria under three main pillars: environment, community and horticulture. The Purley in Bloom team was both nervous and excited as this was its first every entry. In recognition of the team’s fabulous efforts, Purley In Bloom was awarded Silver Gilt Medal, as well as a Level 4 ‘Thriving’ award for the Rotary Field! Congratulations to all involved.

Have you spotted any of the improvements whilst out and about in Purley? Would you like to join the team who are making it happen? Register your interest on the Purley in Bloom website at purleyinbloom.co.uk.

Sydney Nelson Crowther Royal Engineers died 18th October 1914.

J. F. M. Gregory, Kings Royal Rifle Corps, age 29 died 2nd November 1914.

John Hayler Driver 38331 Royal Engineers, age 20 died 1st May 1918.

F Lee named on St Andrew’s Church Coulsdon Roll of Honour.

Guy Steer Long 2nd Lt Suffolk Regiment, age 26 died 28th September 1916.

Henry Archibald Long Lt Northumberland Fusiliers, age 31 died 15th September 1916.

Percy Edwin Mean L/Corp London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers), age 26 died 1st July 1916.

William Arthur Mills Sgt Royal Welsh Fusiliers, age 21 died 20th March 1919.

Lawrence Arthur Skeen Pte Kings Shropshire Light Infantry, age 28 died 19th September 1918.

G J Taylor MM Company Sgt Maj. Queen’s Westminster Rifles, age 34 died 10th December 1918.

John Voice Pte Kings Own Royal Lancaster Regiment, age 29 died 2nd September 1918.

All these men were from the local area. English Heritage would not allow any alteration to the memorial itself. However, since the floor had been damaged and badly repaired with concrete, it was agreed that if the floor was repaired with stone, two plaques could be inserted in the floor. It is hoped that a formal dedication ceremony will take place in November 2022.

HADRA COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Chairman

– John Clarke

Phone: 020 8660 0845

Vice Chair – Vacant

Treasurer

– Josephine Hullay email: treasurer@hadra.org Phone: 020 8660 0845

Secretary – Elaine Clark email: secretary@hadra.org Phone: 020 8660 9927

Membership Secretary – Jackie Fowler email: membership@hadra.org Phone: 020 8241 4267

Planning Representative – Colin Etheridge email: planning@hadra.org Phone: 020 8668 3707

Transport & Environmental Representative – Vacant

Health Representative & Minutes Secretary

Rita Lewis

Phone: 020 8668 5520

Newsletter Editor Vicky Burley email: editor@hadra.org Phone: 020 8406 0843

Committee Member

Diane Hearne Phone: 020 8668 1778

Committee Member Lee Cooper Phone: 07506 608582

The HADRA Committee would like to thank neighbours who give up their time in their work as road stewards. Please see p11 for names and vacancies. If you are interested in filling one of the vacancies, do please get in touch with the Membership Secretary (details above).

LIST OF WARD COUNCILLORS

Kenley

Ola Kolade Mobile: 07707 277218

Gayle Gander Mobile: 07716 092482

Purley & Woodcote

Simon Brew

Mobile: 07803 618096

Samir Dwesar Mobile: 07716 092471 Holly Ramsey Mobile: tbc

Old Coulsdon Margaret Bird 020 8604 7035 Mobile: 07710 184942

Nikhil Sherine Thampi Mobile: 07716 092479

Coulsdon Town

Ian Parker Mobile: 07783 152343

Mario Creatura Phone: 020 3624 3142

Luke Shortland Mobile: 07716 092467

Visit www.croydon.gov.uk for a full list of councillors.

Please refer to political parties’ websites for information on their prospective candidates for your ward.

POLICE & CRIME

Please find below some useful contacts:

Emergency Tel: 999 Non Urgent Tel: 101

Old Coulsdon SNT Email: OldCoulsdon.SNT@met.police.uk

Kenley SNT Email: Kenley.SNT@met.police.uk

Coulsdon Town SNT Email: CoulsdonTown.SNT@met.police.uk

Purley & Woodcote SNT Email: PurleyandWoodcote.SNT@met.police.uk

London Borough of Croydon Tel: 020 8726 6000

Council Trading Standards Tel: 020 8407 1311 Email: trading.standards@croydon.gov.uk

Council Antisocial Behaviour Tel: 020 8726 6000 Email: ASBTeam@croydon.gov.uk

Neighbourhood Watch

Tel: 07454 573453 Email: nhw@cbnwa.com Tony Sales, Police Liaison

ROAD STEWARDS

If you are interested in helping out the HADRA Committee by becoming a steward for your road, please get in touch with a member of the HADRA committee (contact details on page 10).

ASMAR CLOSE - Ann Smith

BENCOMBE ROAD - Susan Bentley

BRIGHTON ROAD - Maureen Lee (odds)

BURCOTT ROAD - Alan Lloyd

BYRON AVENUE - John Peachey (evens) | Jackie Smith (odds)

CEARN WAY - Rita Lewis

COULSDON COURT ROAD - Kim Clerkin

COULSDON ROAD - Margaret Davidson

HARTLEY DOWN - Andrew Dunlop (evens) | Helen Ali (odds)

HARTLEY FARM - Sharon Smith

HARTLEY HILL - Nigel Preston

HARTLEY OLD ROAD - Christos Nicoli (odds) | Hel en Moon (evens)

HARTLEY WAY - Terry Barnes

HAYDN AVENUE - Susan Quaintance

HIGHER DRIVE - Sam David

HILLARS HEATH - Elaine Tindall

OLD LODGE LANE - Vacant (1-53) | Sharon Smith (2-58, 55-115) | Valerie Woodley (60-116)

PETERSFIELD CRESCENTAnn Smith

STOATS NEST ROAD - Linda Lawrence

STOATS NEST VILLAGEVacant

ROAD STEWARD LIAISON OFFICER - Vacant

The Road Steward Liaison Officer position is to organise the distribution of our biannual newsletter to our Road Stewards. If you are interested please contact our Chairman.

RULES FOR DOG OWNERS

If you take your dog onto a public road, please ensure it is kept on a leash at all times.

Please clean up after your dog. If there isn’t a bin, take it home. If you don’t do this, you could be fined up to £1,000.

St Johns Church (c1260) in Old Coulsdon and was used as a Court House for the locals. In 1850 the house was renamed “The Grange” and the name “Coulsdon Court” given to the new manor house being constructed. The new Coulsdon Court was built on the site of Old Hartley Farm which can be traced back to 1235 when it was called “Hartlees”.

Squire Byron resented the public road, Hartley Old Road, passing so close to his new house so created a new road called “Byrons New Road” (now called Hartley Down) in 1854. This enabled travellers to bypass Coulsdon Court. He added a gated drive at the head of Hartley Old Road; the line of the carriage road can still be traced across the golf course on the 12th & 13th holes up to the house. In 1856 the family moved into the new Coulsdon Court. Squire Thomas Byron died in 1863 leaving behind his wife Julia and two sons Edmund and Henry. Edmund, then aged 19, became Squire of the manor.

The family remained at Coulsdon Court until 1921. The family crest remains over the old front entrance to the house now covered by the new porch and the family pew and graves remain at the parish church of St John’s. Edmund Byron died, aged 77, in 1921. He was buried in the family tomb.

As Lords of the Manor, the Byrons were local benefactors. They built almshouses for retired staff (opposite Coulsdon Bowls Club) and gave land on which Smitham Bottom School was built. In 1803, Thomas Byron proposed the Coulsdon workhouse, which was built shortly afterwards, and also cottages for the poor.

Following Edmund Byron’s death, the estate was placed in the hands of trustees. On the 24th October 1922, the whole estate was put up for auction including mansion and grounds, farms and residential properties, a total of 1,226 acres. In 1923 the trustees sold Coulsdon Court to a local developer, Charles H Cearn, for £32,500.

In July 1925, Mr Cearn conveyed 220 acres to Coulsdon Court Estate Ltd, a development company, for £70,600. He agreed to lay out a golf course on the 35 acres that he retained whilst the developer agreed to build houses. Mr Cearn commissioned the course to be built by Harry S Colt, a famous golf course architect known for the design of Sunningdale, Royal Lytham St Annes, St Georges Hill and over 300 courses worldwide. His design principle was that the golf course must blend in and not be imposed on the landscape.

The course remained a private one until just before the second world war. The development company, however, pulled out of the housing scheme and Mr Cearn had his 220 acres back in his possession. In 1934, he sold his estate and golf course to Ukrainian Mr Nenski for £62,200 who resold it to a development company, Purley & Coulsdon Estates Ltd that he controlled, for an additional £15,000.

In February 1936, Purley & Coulsdon Estates offered the golf course, land and house for sale to the council who agreed in principle but not to the price. Upon threat of sale to a developer, the Council took out a compulsory purchase order leading to a public enquiry in November 1936 which upheld the order. The price was fixed at

£54,735 for just over 146 acres to include the golf course, house and other buildings. A further £1,600 was paid for certain effects in the house and on the estate and the purchase was completed on the 26th November 1937. Prior to completion of the purchase, the Council appointed the Coulsdon Court Committee to consider the future use of Coulsdon Court. In July 1937 by the casting vote of the Chairman, the Council agreed that the estate should be retained as a public open space. The Coulsdon Court committee was authorised to investigate the possibility of leasing the course to the existing club or opening it as a municipal course. They decided on the latter. The course was opened to the public as Coulsdon Court Golf Course on the 8th January 1938, just before the onset of World War II.

During World War II, Coulson Court was commandeered by the RAF as a mess and leisure centre. The Grange, mentioned earlier, was used as an operations centre for Fighter Command Kenley from September 1940 and was visited by King George the VI.

The Coulsdon and Purley UDC (later to become part of Croydon Council) took the golf course back after the war, filling in some of the bomb craters and relaying the turf where cereals had been growing as part of the war effort. The Golf Course was opened again to the public in 1946.

By 1981, the house was falling into disrepair and threatened with demolition leading Croydon Council to lease out the house and the course to Waites Builders under the name “All Weather Sports”. They created the hotel and increased the capacity by building an extension and squash club with its own bar.

When subsequent plans for a housing development were turned down, the lease was sold to Best Western Hotels. They in turn sold to Marston Hotels who changed the name to Coulsdon Manor Hotel although the golf clubs retained the Coulsdon Court name.

In April 2005 the lease was sold to Swallow Hotels and then again to Oxford Hotels, the current owners. In 2013 Bespoke Hotels took over the running of the hotel and golf course and plans for a further extension are on hold. Croydon Council retain overall ownership.

Adapted by Vicky Burley from an article first written by Tom Searle and Tony Wise and added to by Nigel Messett