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ABOUT THE
RIDDLESDOWN
RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION
ABOUT RIDDLESDOWN
AND ITS COMMON
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
RRA Pick
New 26/11/24
A big thank you to all those residents; the beavers, cubs and scouts from the 19th Purley Scout Group; the two Purley Oaks & Riddlesdown Ward Cllrs; and some members of the RRA committee who attended the litter pick on 16 November -
Litter was collected in a number of areas, and about 30 bags of rubbish were left in two locations for Veolia to collect.
The farm field opposite the shops in Mitchley Ave was particularly bad this time and the opportunity was also taken to cut back the blackberry brambles that were overhanging the footway near to the Doctor's surgery and a danger to pedestrians, which the landowner has failed to undertake, despite the RRA asking via the Council.
Also, special thanks to Tracey from the Council, for supplying all the equipment. The next RRA litter pick will be on Sat 5 April 2025 at 2pm..
RRA Litter Pick
New 6/5/23
A big thank you to the 30 or so residents (including those from the 19th Purley scout group and three Ward Councillors; Hale, Redfern, & Llabutti) who turned up at the RRA litter pick on Saturday 29 April. For a change, it was a lovely day, weather wise!
And thank you as well to Tracey Bellamy from the Council for supplying all the equipment.
We collected in the region of 30 bags of rubbish, a metal safe, and a road barrier. It is quite noticeable that the volume of rubbish being collected is reducing on each litter pick, and this may be because Tracey is also now holding regular litter picks with the Collegiate students.
Riddlesdown Collegiate -
New 10/3/23
Over the last six weeks or so, students in Year 7, from Riddlesdown Collegiate have been carrying out litter picking near to the Collegiate building, ably assisted by Tracey Bellamy, the Council's Street Champion Co-
They have carried out litter picks, 30 students at a time, and they have litter picked for an hour, choosing to pick up litter, on the 'White Path', the footpath from Dunmail Drive to Grisedale Gardens, Honister Heights, the footpath to Hamsey Green on the 'Common' and the farm fields opposite the Mitchley Avenue. This has resulted in over 60 bags of litter between the groups. This is throughout the year with Year 7 students.
We are told, all the students have embraced this activity and been really interested in the effects on the environment of the litter they have been finding.
On behalf of the RRA, well done to all students who took part and to the Staff at the Collegiate for supervising.
Photos; Credit and permission from Lee Harkness, Head Teacher -
RRA Litter Pick
Posted 10/4/22
Thank you to the 30 or so residents (including those from the 19th Purley scout group) who turned up at the RRA litter pick on Saturday 9 April.
A big thank you as well to Paul from the Council (who had to deputise for Tracey at the last moment),for supplying all the equipment.
We collected in the region of 30 bags of rubbish, 4 tyres, a green wheelie bin and the remains of a metal sprung bed mattress! A few photos from where the rubbish was left at both locations and then collected by Veolia.
RRA Litter Pick
Posted 16/10/2021
A big thank you to the 45 or so people (including those from the 19th Purley scout group) who turned up at the RRA litter pick this afternoon.
Due to Covid restrictions, this was the first litter pick in 2 years.
The photo of the rubbish is about 75% of the litter picked, as some was left at another location in Mitchley Ave to be collected. A big thank you as well to Tracey Bellamy from the Council for supplying the equipment and Veolia for collecting the rubbish.
Are you interested in becoming a Street Champion?
Updated 19/11/16
We are sure many of you agree that some parts of our area are badly littered, but this has slightly improved recently, with all the litter clean ups. Most of this litter is on private land. But not all. Some is on the highway. The Council have now cut back on street cleaning to most streets in the Riddlesdown area, to every 6 weeks, rather than every 4 weeks. However, the group of streets south of Mitchley Ave, close to the Collegiate are still on 4 weekly clean, i.e. Honister, Ingleboro, Derwent, Grisedale, Buttermere, Eskdale and Dalegarth. However this 4 weekly cleaning doesn’t include the main thoroughfares of Mitchley Ave, Rectory Park or Mitchley Hill!
Tracey Bellamy at Croydon Council, is the Clean and Green Champion Co-
Tracey has already made contact with Riddlesdown Collegiate and her aim is to work with the school to encourage the pupils to take pride in the beautiful environment that their school sits within. We believe quite a proportion of the litter in this area originates from the 2,000 school children who visit the area, but they are not the only ones who litter! Visitors to the shops in Mitchley Ave and Lower Barn Rd, together with commuters to the Station, as well as some of our own residents don’t help! Some of the litter is also wind blown from the recycling boxes!
The RRA would like to know whether any residents and/or groups are interested in becoming Champions to help keep our streets and green spaces locally, clean and tidy.
As well as maybe litter picking some streets (which we know some residents already undertake) we are in particular concerned about the following Green Belt areas which seem to be badly littered:
This is the link for further information on this scheme to the Council’s website and we would like to know the amount of interest in this, and whether residents would like to become “street champions.”
For anyone who is interested in becoming a Champion, perhaps you can leave Email us and we will respond in due course. Please also let any friends or family who live in Riddlesdown know, who you think may be interested.
Overhanging hedges, shrubs and trees
We would like to remind residents that the RRA do receive a number of complaints/comments, about some households within the area, who allow vegetation, like trees, shrubs, bushes, hedges, and roses from their gardens to overhang the pavement. This vegetation can in particular, cause inconvenience for people with buggies, in wheelchairs, the disabled and more importantly the visually impaired, who could walk directly into the vegetation and injure themselves. All property occupiers are legally responsible for ensuring this does not happen and could possibly have damages awarded against them by a court for any injury caused.
The Council also have the power under Section 152(1) and Section 154(1) of the Highways Act 1980 to serve a notice on the household and, if necessary, undertake the work themselves by removing the danger and charging the owner accordingly. They usually write a letter first asking for the occupiers co-
If you want to report an overhang to a particular property to Croydon Council, it can be done on the Council’s website by going to this Highway ‘Report it’ section. Or alternatively telephone the Council on 020 8726 6200 and ask for the Area Enforcement Officer for South Area. Or perhaps if you know the person concerned, have a word with them and point it out to them.
Bushes and Shrubs on Grass Verges
There are also in our area a number of shrubs and bushes which are set on the grass verges which are on the public highway. These grass verges and shrubs/bushes are the responsibility of Croydon Council to maintain.
Some residents advise us these shrubs are now getting tall and do obstruct their sight lines when exiting their driveways. Some of the streets particularly affected by this, are Lower Barn Rd, Borrowdale Gardens, Ingleboro Dive, Derwent Drive, Grisedale Gardens, Eskdale Gardens, Holmwood Ave, Tandridge Gardens and Buttermere Gardens.
If any resident is experiencing problems with sight line obstructions because of these shrubs and bushes then the RRA would suggest for residents to contact Paul Rest in the Development and Environment Department at Croydon Council direct e-
Bonfires wood burning equipment -
The RRA receive many complaints from residents about bonfires and wood burning equipment, which seem to be happening more recently over the last few years! The smoke especially in the valleys of Riddlesdown can spread for many hundreds of metres from the source of the bonfire and wood burning equipment.
The RRA would like to remind our residents about their responsibilities. The following advice is taken from Croydon Council’s website.
“Coronavirus (COVID-
“Smoke control areas
Under the Clean Air Act 1993, Croydon declared the majority of the borough as a smoke control area. To find out if you are in a smoke control area please contact the Pollution Team using the contact details below.
If you live in a smoke control area you must comply with the following:
- It is an offence to emit smoke from a domestic chimney.
- It is an offence for any person or company to obtain or deliver unauthorised fuels to a building, unless an exempt appliance is in use. Ordinary wood and bituminous coal are not authorised fuels.
- Smoke control areas only restrict smoke from domestic chimneys and do not cover garden bonfires or bonfires on building and construction sites. For further information on bonfires see 'Are bonfires necessary'.
For more information on the location of smoke control areas, approved fuels and a list of exempt appliance, see UK Smoke control areas or download the 'Using wood and coal for home heating'
“Are bonfires necessary?
Bonfire smoke can have damaging health effects and although serious harm is unlikely if exposure is brief, it can cause significant problems for people with asthma, bronchitis, and heart conditions.
Bonfires generate around 30,000 nuisance complaints to local authorities each year. As well as causing health problems, smoke prevents neighbours from enjoying their gardens, opening windows or hanging out washing.
Please note: you should never burn household or commercial waste on a bonfire, only garden waste. However, we encourage more environmentally friendly ways of disposing of your garden waste. For more information see Garden waste collection.”
Lighting bonfires
If you have a garden bonfire please observe the following:
- burn garden waste only
- site the bonfire in a remote area of the garden where the smoke will not blow onto neighbouring properties -
consider the direction the wind is blowing - douse the fire with water once the material has been burnt to avoid smouldering and fire risk
- never leave a bonfire unattended
- be considerate to your neighbours.
Fines for unlawful bonfires
The council can issue legal notices to people having nuisance bonfires. Offenders can be prosecuted and fined up to £5,000 for residential properties and £20,000 for businesses.”
We have a very good Recycling and Reuse Centre available close to us at Purley Oaks, so please consider using that facility first before lighting a bonfire. An annual green waste collection is also made by the Council.
Further information is on this link to Croydon Council Website
The telephone number for the Council’s Pollution team is 020 8760 5483 and e-
