H O M E  P A G E


FACEBOOK


REPORTS FROM THE RECORDER & ADVERTISING RATES

The Riddlesdown Recorder
 On Line


PLANNING APPLICATIONS

Weekly Planning List

Streets A-L


Streets M-Z


Non-residential Nearby


PLANNING ADVICE ON

Planning Applications


Building Control Applications


USEFUL LOCAL INFORMATION & LINKS

Croydon Council Facilities,

Council Information, MP

and Contact Details


Information on Local Healthcare, Leisure,

Facilities & Shops


Police Contact Numbers;

CBNWA Crime

and Scam Information


Transport - Rail, Road & Bus Information & Reports


Events


Community Page
(Things to do, join and help with)


ABOUT THE

RIDDLESDOWN

RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION

Payment of Subscriptions


A Brief History


The RRA Area


The Committee


Collegiate Liaison Officer


RRA AGM Minutes


Latest accounts


History from the Recorder


ABOUT RIDDLESDOWN
AND ITS COMMON

A Description


Short Walks


Picture Gallery


CONTACT US



Privacy Statement & GDPR


Terms of Use



Founded 1937

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required

Please select all the ways you would like to hear from Riddlesdown Residents' Association:

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. For information about our privacy practices, please visit our website.

We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp's privacy practices here.

RRA AGM Minutes


AGM Minutes - 2023 - Link


AGM 2024

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE

RIDDLESDOWN RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION (RRA)

Held on: 17 April 2024 at 7 pm

At: St. Edmund's Hall


Apologies were received from: Sanderstead Ward Councillors Lynne Hale, Yvette Hopley and Helen Redfern; and Purley Oaks and Riddlesdown Councillors Endri Llabuti and Alasdair Stewart. Also from Helen Chase, Jenny & Roger Boff.

The meeting was opened by Brian Longman, RRA Chairman.


Minutes of the previous AGM

The chairman presented the minutes from the last AGM 2023 (proposed by Phil Thomas and seconded by John Placek), which were accepted by the meeting:

Action items:

No new items.


Treasurers Report overview

The Treasurer John Placek presented the accounts for 2023: Link to accounts

Expenditure – £2,309.30  

Income -          £3,487.50                   £2,837.50 from membership subscription   

Bank account balances

Woodland Account (Ring Fenced for Green Belt)   £24,722.00

Current account £20,406.65

The accounts have been audited by Angela Green


Actions Completed


New Actions

None recorded


Brian proposed that the report be accepted, seconded by Janice Kedwards


Chairman’s Report

Brian gave thanks to the committee, which had been very active during the year, especially John Placek, who as well as continuing as Treasurer is also the Data Protection Officer. Brian noted that many members are still paying cash, although some are paying by Standing Order/Direct Debit.

Last year there was only one issue of the Recorder magazine, which will continue to be the case this year and future years. It was noted that this year the Association had broken even, but had benefited from the increased subscription rate of £5, up from £3 previously.

Brian noted that we were lucky to have our Road Stewards, who do a good job. The Association still has a high proportion of the 1,400 households as members (the figure has been as high as 90% in the past) but this has reduced considerably since the pandemic.

Thanks were given also to Neil Tarrant, who produces the Recorder and organises the Children’s Christmas Party.

John Rapp and Keith Powell were thanked for their work on train and bus issues, trying to improve services for everyone.

And finally Phil Thomas, now the Vice Chairman and Planning & Environmental Officer, who has a wealth of knowledge on these matters. He is also responsible for the E-Blast, which is now received by 250 subscribers and the website.

There seem to be more issues since Croydon Council issued a number of Section 114 notices. For example a car that had been abandoned outside the Lower Barn Rd shops took about 2 months to be removed, due to the Council’s inefficiency. It was only after the RRA’s persistence that it was removed by the Police and not the Council.

Brian advised that two people had joined the Committee after the last AGM, which was welcome, but the Committee still needed new members.

Transport and parking: it was noted that the current proposal for a new Purley Leisure centre would severely reduce the current number of parking spaces, and inconvenience not only potential users of the pool, but also user of the town centre along with the staff and patients at the nearby Purley Hospital. See Vice Chairman’s report below for more details.

Flooding also continues to be an issue, and seems to be getting worse, despite the recent flood alleviation works in Lower Barn Rd and on Mitchley Ave. It seems the new design of culvert easily gets blocked with leaves.

Brian advised that following the changes to the Ward boundaries, Riddlesdown was now represented by five councillors (the Purley Oaks & Riddlesdown Ward (2 Cllrs) and the Sanderstead Ward (3 Cllrs)).

Brian concluded by observing that the RRA sometimes joins forces with other Residents’ Associations, especially those in the south of the borough on issues such as the Purley Pool and planning. We are part of a group of about 17 RAs called CARA (Croydon Alliance of Residents Associations).


Vice Chairman’s Report

Planning rep, Phil Thomas began with a description of the proposals for the Purley Pool Leisure Centre site: "demolition of the existing buildings and new 5 to 12 storey buildings to provide a leisure centre, commercial unit, an Integrated Retirement Community comprising a mix of Specialist Older Persons Housing and Care Accommodation for older people, car parking (78), landscaping, and associated works."

Public car parking would be reduced from 424 spaces to only 45 plus 5 disabled - total 50. It is proposed there be only 28 parking spaces for 220 flats. Seven local RAs have come together to raise objection to the scheme.

The seven RAs believe the Council should also take into account the development at 26-52 Whytecliffe Road South & Purley Station Car Park for the "demolition of the existing three terraces of houses, redevelopment of these and the existing station car park. A new 6/part 8/part 9 storey building and separate part 4/part 5 storey building to provide 238 residential units together with replacement station car park 125 spaces  (down from 165)” which has now been granted by the Council.

The availability of Council public car parking within the Purley District Centre will be severely reduced from 547 spaces to 173 spaces if this Pool application is approved by the Council. It is the RAs belief that the Council cannot rely on other private car parks to provide the shortfall in public parking within the PDC.

The Purley Mosque site in Whytecliffe Rd South is currently being constructed. This new building has no parking and the RAs are aware from the current usage at the former Coulsdon & Purley Town Hall building, which is being used as a temporary mosque, that especially on Friday mornings, parking is very hard to find around this location.

Construction of both developments will take about 3 to 4 years. Where are visitors to Purley DC meant to park during the construction period?

We've all seen what has happened to the trade in Croydon town centre and the RAs are fearful Purley town centre will follow the same way, should long term public parking be severely reduced.

Have the Council done any surveys as to the demand for these type of flats for the elderly, especially in high rise blocks?

Mobile Phone Masts: we are aware that the four main mobile phone companies have their masts and equipment located on the roof of the multi storey car park and that these will need to be removed from when demolition takes place. Where are the replacement mobile masts to be located within the town centre as a temporary measure, and then after completion of the new complex? Surely this is something that needs to be taken into account at the design and planning stage, as any masts located on the roof of the tallest block (or other blocks) could have an impact the aesthetics of the scheme?

Cycle Parking: the RAs note a total of 39 long stay cycle parking spaces and 41 short-stay cycle parking spaces are proposed for residents.

The public consultation closes on Thursday 25 April. The seven RAs do have a meeting with the Executive Mayor Jason Perry & Chris Philp MP, 23 April to discuss the matter further.

End of Vice Chair’s report


Woodland Fund

Brian Longman then gave a ‘potted’ history of the Woodland Fund, and stated that the Green Belt was still a priority for the Association.

Brian emphasised the importance of social connections, and as an example the Children’s Christmas Party, which had been going for over forty years. The Fun Day which was also much missed – but it needed lots of work to be a success, and needed more volunteers to work. The Association had wanted to run a Film Club for the elderly, but no funding was available from the Council, so was not viable.

Brian reported that the hall at St. Edmund’s might be refurbished in the near future although this was not certain. In the past, the hall had hosted the RRA local Dramatic Society, the “Riddlesdown Players”, and Brian had available some mementoes of this. It was noted that the Collegiate had a new Principal, who was keen on integrating the Community.


Elections

Phil Thomas thanked Brian for his 25+ years on the Committee and then proposed that he be re-elected as chairman, which he was, unanimously.

Brian nominated John Placek as Treasurer – seconded by Phil Thomas - Unanimous

Brian nominated Phil Thomas for the post of Vice Chairman, seconded by Keith Powell -Unanimous

The rest of the committee were voted in en bloc – proposed by Brian Longman, seconded by Neil Tarrant - Unanimous


Full Committee of elected members

Brian Longman - Chairman & Collegiate Liaison

Phil Thomas - Vice Chairman; Planning & Environmental; Website Editor

John Placek - Treasurer and Data Protection Officer

Berni Munt - Minutes Secretary

John Rapp - Public Transport and Membership

Keith Powell - Public Transport Concerns

Neil Tarrant - Riddlesdown Recorder Editor

Janice Kedwards

Jan Powell

Ann Shepherd

Joyce Boakye-Ansah


Questions from the floor

None.

Any Other Business

Brian advised that there was to be a littler pick on Saturday 20 April 2024 at 2pm.


Meeting closed at 8pm.

Minutes taken by Berni Munt



Back to Top of Page


Back to Home Page