A BANQUETING hall and wedding venue in New Addington has applied to host parties at the weekends – including Sundays – until 3am.

The De Royal Banquet Hall, in King Henry's Drive, could face stern local opposition for its application to extend events at the weekend on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The licence application is also for the provision of alcohol and the provision of late night entertainment, including music.

But manager Kayode Adedoje said there had been no trouble since he took over in 2012, despite suggestions from residents on social media that some parties had already gone on until 7am.

Mr Adedoje said: "It won't be like that. I have put lots of measures in place to make sure there is no trouble.

"If the music is too loud, we turn it down and I have to control very carefully any alcohol that is drunk."

Mr Adedoje said bookings for the venue were relatively infrequent and late events would only be occasional.

He added: "Most of the events we have here, people don't even drink alcohol."

The banqueting hall is in the Vulcan Way industrial estate and Mr Adedoje said residential areas should not be affected by noise from the events.

However, nearby residents claimed in the summer there was noise audible until 5am.

On the New Addington Pathfinders Facebook group, Alli Manley said: "My boy's bedroom is on the back of my house and I had to move him into my room every Saturday. It goes quiet at 5am, then all the cars would leave."

The licence request is for live and recorded music from 6pm to 3am on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and until 11pm for the remainder of the week.

An independent Facebook invite for the venue by a group called Visual Bourgeoisie suggested doors for an event in July last year opened at midnight and the party was to finish at 5am.

The application was received on January 23 and is subject to a 28-day consultation, by which date residents have to send in objections.

POLICE have appealed for help to find a 15-year-old girl who has not been seen in three days and they believe could be in Croydon.

Officers are concerned for Lauren Chandler, from Stoneleigh Road, Carshalton, who was last seen in Robin Hood Lane in Sutton on Wednesday morning.

The slim, white teenager has waist length brown hair.

Lauren is known to visit Sutton, Islington and Croydon and police think she may also have travelled to Roehampton.

Anyone able to help police officers from Sutton in their search should call them on 0208 649 0484 or Missing People on 116000, quoting Merlin reference: 15MIS003551.

THE Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning as smatterings of snow in Croydon this morning are forecast to repeat tonight and into Sunday morning.

The yellow warning for London and the South East advises people to 'be aware' of snow and ice as cold weather continues.

Although Croydon has escaped the heavy snow to engulf the north of the country light snow is forecast for the early hours of tomorrow morning.

Temperatures in the borough will stay low with highs of 4° this afternoon, with light rain, and 3° Sunday afternoon.

Overnight temperatures are forecast to drop as low as 1°.

Half an inch of snow to settle in East Surrey has made travelling on some roads increasingly difficult.

Yellow warnings recommend people to keep an eye on weather forecasts, expect minor delays on roads and be aware outdoor events could be disrupted.

A ROOFER helped avert a massive gas explosion in Addiscombe when he went to the wrong address for a job.

Shaun Ingram, 45, was due to visit a house in Dominion Road on Tuesday (January 27) to fix a new flue for a boiler but accidentally took the wrong turning into Laurier Road.

When he knocked on the corresponding numbered house he was meant to visit a road away at around 5.30pm, there was no answer. But when he looked through the letterbox to see if anyone was in, he smelled gas.

Mr Ingram, from Shirley, said: "When I opened the letterbox, I was nearly sick. I've never smelt such a strong gas. It was disgusting."

Mr Ingram, director of Southwood Roofing, rang his friend and colleague Shaun Ottmann, of Logical Heating + Plumbing Solutions, immediately.

At this point Mr Ottmann, also 45, explained to his friend he was at the wrong house and his colleagues were waiting for him round the corner.

Mr Ottmann then rang the police while Mr Ingram banged on the door to see if anyone was in before leaving in his van.

Mr Ingram added: "I can't believe it – it must have been fate that I went to the wrong house. The police rang us up after the incident and told us because the houses were terraced, there could have been four or five houses gone up in an explosion."

Crews from Woodside fire station and Southern Gas Networks attended the house at 6.10pm, with police arriving at the same time to smash the front door down.

The house was made safe and police made the property secure by 7.40pm.

The two Shauns have been friends since they were four years old – attending Spring Park Primary, Shirley High and John Ruskin College together.

Mr Ingram went to visit the woman who lives at the property on Wednesday to see if she was OK.

He said: "She was fine, I think, but a bit shocked by the incident. I'm glad no one was hurt really. We've looked it and thought 'how many lives have I saved?'"

THE founder of Matthews Yard has issued an urgent appeal for people to come forward with funds to ensure its survival.

Saif Bonar, who started the cafe and co-working space back in 2012, said the business needs to secure £10,000 before the end of February to stop it from going into administration.

He launched a loan fund for the flagging business last December to try to raise funds to help with "cash flow problems" and to pay money owed to former staff as well as other debts totalling around £100,000.

Mr Bonar admitted the last year at Matthews Yard had been a "huge firefight", but said restructuring its debt would leave it in a better position than ever.

"Last year we grew too quickly at times, we dropped the ball at times and it caused the business to expand really quickly and then contract really quickly," he said.

"We just didn't know when to expect these rushes of people and we couldn't afford to staff it at the level it needed to be staffed in case they didn't turn up.

"Then, it's kind of a Catch-22 situation."

Mr Bonar took to the Matthews Yard Facebook page last Sunday to make the appeal.

He wrote: "If we are not successful in securing an additional £5,000 in loan funding in January and £5,000 in February we will regrettably be forced into administration at the end of February.

"Please rest assured I am doing everything I can to avert this and we have many promising options on the horizon, however, without the urgent loan funding, we will be forced to close our doors."

Mr Bonar told the Advertiser this week that the financial situation had "come to a head" after staff had left during last year as they went unpaid.

He said: "There was a regular dialogue between us and them, but as each one dropped off they were obviously owed a backlog of holiday pay and actual pay and it came to a head by Christmas when we weren't making payment as we should.

"The loan fund was an idea to carry us through that Christmas period. It's not about increasing the level of debt, it's about getting money to the people it's owed to."

The cafe itself is no longer run directly by Matthews Yard while other small businesses, such as Beer and Burger, are now able to set up in a food court-style arrangement, explained Mr Bonar, who has himself stopped taking a salary.

He started Matthews Yard with just £5,000 in the bank in 2012 and despite its current perilous financial situation, Mr Bonar was upbeat about its future chances, though he himself plans to step down later this year.

"If we'd tried to raise money at the point it was a concrete shell full of rubbish, no-one would have been interested, now you're doing it at a point where there's infinitely less risk," he added.

THE HONEYMOON is over for Alan Pardew as Crystal Palace lost for the first time under his reign as manager, beaten 1-0 by Everton in a drab Premier League clash at Selhurst Park in the Premier League.

Romelu Lukaku's second minute tap-in was all that separated that two sides on a frustrating afternoon for the Eagles, whose final ball time and time again was found lacking in what was in truth, a poor spectacle and Everton's first Premier League win since December 15.

Dwight Gayle replaced Wilfried Zaha in the only change from last weekend's FA Cup win over Southampton.

Palace suffered the worst possible start, going behind inside two minutes. John Stones' through ball caught out Damian Delaney, allowing Steven Naismith in behind. He got to the byline and squared for Lukaku who beat Julian Speroni to the ball to bundle home.

The home side almost responded immediately, Dwight Gayle's header was cleared off the line by Phil Jagielka, with the goal decision technology  showing it was only inches from being over the line.

Soon after, Delaney failed to react when a corner found its way to him in the six yard box, then Gayle was shoved over by Muhamed Besic in the box but Roger East waved the penalty appeals away.

On 11 minutes, Marouane Chamakh controlled a Martin Kelly cross superbly but his shot was blocked by Stones away for a corner.

Chamakh then had to be stretchered off after a nasty clash of heads with Seamus Coleman on 24 minutes, the Palace man coming off far worse. Jordon Mutch replaced the striker to make his Palace debut and was soon in the action, floating a cross over for Yaya Sanogo, who headed wide.

Everton's Steven Naismith failed to take advantage of Scott Dann's slip, firing over from 20 yards wildly. At the other end, Jason Puncheon rasped a 25-yarder on target, pushed behind by Joel Robles.

But overall as an attacking threat, Palace were far from fluent. They did have a couple of chances in injury time when Mutch turned well in the box but hooked his volley well over and Puncheon cleared the bar with his half volley as the half died out.

The second half started at a very pedestrian pace, but Palace started to use the flanks more and whip in crosses and were soon dominating. Gayle chose to shoot from 20 yard, blazing over, when playing in the overlapping Martin Kelly would have been the better option on the hour.

Palace were playing the better football but moves were continuously breaking down in the final third, be it through poor crosses or a misplaced pass. Wilfried Zaha was introduced for Martin Kelly in an attacking move by Alan Pardew.

On 75 minutes, James McArthur stabbed an effort straight at Robles, it was the closest thing to a chance the home side had managed to create. In a rare attack at the other end, Lukaku was only inches away from connecting with Aiden McGeady's low centre.

The Scotsman thought he had scored with 12 minutes to go but his curling effort was superbly tipped away by Speroni at full stretch. Lukaku then fired into the side netting after Scott Dann conceded possession in midfield, leading to a counter attack.

Palace huffed and puffed but they never really looked like scoring as a pretty dire game ended in a first defeat in five for the Eagles.

PALACE: Speroni; Ward, Dann, Delaney, Kelly; Ledley, McArthur, Gayle, Puncheon; Chamakh, Sanogo.  

ALAN Pardew described how Palace lacked that "classic moment" today as his side picked up their first defeat under his stewardship in a 1-0 loss to Everton.

Romelu Lukaku's tap in from two yards inside the opening two minutes was the only significant difference between the two sides on the day.

Pardew said: "It was frustrating. Again we started poorly.

"We conceded the first goal and I had a strange feeling today, even before the goal went it that the first was going to be crucial and it proved to be.

"I thought Everton defended well, they made it difficult for us, frustrated us, and we never really produced a classic moment or a great moment today, which is a shame.

"We had a lot of technical play, a lot of good play but that final pass or idea let us down today."

Palace came close to equalising on a couple occasions, with Dwight Gayle and Jason Puncheon having the best of those chances.

Despite Palace coming from behind against Burnley and Southampton in recent outings, the early goal was one step too far for Pardew's men today.

"[The early goal] affected our confidence today," said Pardew.

"You always want to concentrate as the home team on a fast start and then you go 1-0 down and it's a big blow after two minutes.

"I think we showed enough today. We can change our style a bit, we can control the game, which we had to do.

"The emphasis on us to try and play our way through Everton and we got ourselves in some great situations today but we didn't quite produce it today but on another day, we will."

MAROUANE Chamakh has a suspected broken nose following a clash with Seamus Coleman in Palace's 1-0 defeat to Everton on Saturday.

The Moroccan had to be stretchered off after just 25 minutes and was replaced by debutant Jordon Mutch. His early loss had a big impact on Palace's performance, believes boss Alan Pardew.

He said: "I think the loss of Cham was significant today.

"He's guile and experience around the box would have been important in the 80 minutes or whatever that followed.

"We think it's a broken nose we fear. So it'll be fingers crossed he doesn't get my cold.

"He wasn't concussed but it was a heavy blow to the nose and he's got a cut on it as well. I think he will be OK for Leicester."

SURREY Street traders have accused the council of neglecting London's oldest street market and not wanting it to remain a part of Croydon's future.

Traders told the Advertiser of their frustration at the lack of help for the market, saying their efforts are being undermined by high parking charges and a lack of publicity and investment from the council.

The market in Croydon Old Town is nearly 800 years old, but some stall-holders say they no longer feel wanted.

Terry Lancley, 46, known to customers as Fred, has worked on Surrey Street since he was 11, and is now one of the market representatives.

"I don't think the council want the market here," he said. "They are not willing to help us, they are more of a hindrance but they don't want to be seen to take the market away from Croydon."

Mr Lancley said the traders have watched the rest of the town centre improved by the council while Surrey Street gets more run down.

"The market doesn't get any favours from the council," he said. "They've re-done North End and South End, they're improving everywhere else but not the market. We want them to improve the street and make it look better."

Ali Ali, 40, who has been on Surrey Street for 30 years, said the council is not interested in helping the market.

He said: "I don't think they want us here, they don't do us any favours. There are no signs, no advertising. We need a sign at the top of the street saying 'Surrey Street Market'."

But the council said Surrey Street was an important part of Croydon's future. The council's market team have joined the National Market Traders Federation and a spokesman said £1.6 million will be invested in Old Town to improve streets and shop fronts, although he could not confirm how much of this would go to Surrey Street.

There are also plans to realign stalls to make it easier for shoppers to get around, and events at Easter and on St George's Day are planned to draw in more customers.

In November, the council opened Surrey StrEatery, an indoor food hub selling street food made from ingredients from the market, but Mr Lancley said it had fallen foul of poor marketing.

"The StrEatery was a good idea but people don't know it's there," he said.

In the next few years Croydon town centre will benefit from £1 billion investment in the form of the Westfield/Hammerson development on the site of the Whitgift shopping centre.

Market traders were upbeat about the development, but said they did not know how they will survive the years of disruption before it is completed.

All traders spoken to by the Advertiser said they had not been consulted and did not know how Surrey Street would fit into the plans.

Mr Lancley said: "It's a good idea to improve the town centre, but what will happen to us while they are improving it? Will we still be here? I'm not looking forward to it. Once customers get scared off they disappear. Croydon needs the development, but at what cost? Any disruption and I will lose my living."

Croydon's Westfield/Hammerson Partnership said it has consulted the Croydon Old Town Business Association over the past two years and the area is key in its community plan. A spokesman said: "The partnership has been working closely with the council to ensure the scheme complements the wider town centre and brings maximum benefit to the community, including increasing footfall."

And stall-holder Leon Andrews, 24, said flats built with the development could bring students looking for a bargain to the market.

He said: "I think it will have a good impact on Croydon. University students trying to not spend much money could come to the market because it's cheap down here, cheaper than the supermarkets.

"Whether we will benefit or not we will see."

But Mr Lancley warned the attractive prices are being undermined by the cost of parking in the town centre.

"If the council could reduce the parking costs that would help us," he said.

Toni Letts, cabinet member for economic development, said she "never" wanted to see Surrey Street market close.

She said she wants to see more stall-holders selling different products.

"I wouldn't want to see a brand new district centre and Surrey Street down the road looking sad. That won't happen," she said.

"We want to create a market where you can go and get your shopping, get a bite to eat and rest your bones."

PALACE'S newest signing, Pape Souare, could be the next Yohan Cabaye reckons boss Alan Pardew.

The Senegalese international, who has been away representing his country at the African Cup of Nations could feature in Palace's next match at Leicester on Saturday.

Pardew said: "He's a full-back who's experienced at left-back.

"He's played a good level at Lille. It's a club I know well and I've taken some good players out of there and hopefully he can follow in the footsteps of Mathieu Debuchy and Yohan Cabaye.

"We've sent him home this week again to get himself together and he'll be back in on Tuesday for training and we're looking forward to seeing him.

Asked if the manager was going to be making any final deadline say signings he said: "We will keep our eye on the market to see where it goes but we've got a strong healthy squad."

Palace remain 13^th in the table despite their narrow loss to Everton on Saturday, and with five teams below them all losing,  the luck of other results going Palace's way are in high favour.

PARK Hill Park will host a four day literary festival for Croydon schoolchildren as part of the borough's Heritage Festival this summer.

The Flower Fairy Festival, inspired by the books of Croydon author Cicely Mary Barker, will aim to teach children about literature, gardening and science.

The free event, planned for June 20-21 and 27-28, coincides with what would have been Barker's 120th birthday.

A professional story teller from Penguin publishers will be joined by actors and writers at the festival to bring the tales to life.

There will be beekeepers, Indian dancers and gardeners on hand to teach and entertain, and there will even be a specially brewed Flower Fairy beer for parents.

The park will be transformed into a fairy world for the two weekends with a Fairy Hall next to the water tower.

The festival, aimed at primary school children, has been organised by the Friends of Park Hill Park & Recreation Ground.

The team is hoping for £4,000 of council funding to host the event, but organiser Josie Kiss said most of this is just for portable toilets.

Ms Kiss said: "It will be an imaginative few days with art projects and storytelling.

"We are trying to put the fun back into reading books. Books make the imagination work so much harder than a PlayStation.

"There will be lots of running around. A lot of children from Croydon live in flats with no gardens and we want them to experience nature and books."

Ms Kiss said every fairy in the books was based on a Croydon child, and the festival hopes to bring the stories home.

More on the heritage festival - page 36.

MISSING teenager Lauren Chandler, who police believed could be in Croydon, was found safe and well in Tooting today.

Police were searching for the 15-year-old after she was last seen in Sutton on Wednesday.

Lauren was known to visit Croydon.

Officers thanks the media for helping to find her.

THE board of governors at a primary school has been replaced because it did not effectively investigate an admin error which led to the annulment of its maths SATs exams.

An Interim Executive Board (IEB), a type of temporary governing body, has taken over the running of South Norwood Primary School.

Its Key Stage 2 SATs results were declared void in 2013 after the Standards and Testing Agency found evidence that raised doubt over the validity of the children's maths results.

A council spokesman confirmed this week that Nicky Morgan, Secretary of State for Education, and Ofsted had given the go-ahead for an IEB to take over. The governors were replaced on January 20.

The school's head teacher, Della Williams, said the imposition of the IEB had been "unsettling for all members of the school community", but she reassured parents over the change.

She said: "As a staff we are continuing to provide the very best learning for every single one of our children. We are a 'good' school and we continue to provide good and outstanding teaching to all of our children."

Mrs Williams also said she was working with the IEB to ensure the school was being run smoothly.

The board is due to meet with parents and an introductory letter was sent out to parents after their appointment, she added.

One mum at the school, Lucy Senior, said she was "shocked and saddened" that the governors had been replaced.

In a letter to Nicky Morgan, she said: "I feel that you are trampling over my wishes and feelings as a parent without even bothering to find out what they are."

South Norwood Primary was rated 'good' by Ofsted following its last inspection in 2012.

The council's spokesman confirmed the imposition of the IEB does not mean the school has been placed in special measures.

He said: "The Secretary of State for Education, Ofsted and Croydon Council have agreed that the previous governing body of South Norwood Primary did not carry out its duties effectively in investigating the maladministration that led to Key Stage 2 SATs maths tests being declared void in 2013.

"Governors at every publicly maintained school have a duty to complete all internal investigations, and to do so in good time.

"These new, vastly-experienced governors have written a letter to introduce themselves to all staff, pupils and parents.

"Croydon Council will support this temporary board of governors, and we have every confidence they will work to bring a rapid and thorough conclusion to their investigation while they continue to lead the school for the benefit of all pupils and staff."

A NEW café in Purley town centre is feeling blue for all the right reasons.

Nathan Beck and wife Debbie, from Old Coulsdon, took over Café Nino in Brighton Road, Purley, six months ago and relaunched as Café Blue at the beginning of the year.

Café Nino had been in Purley for seven years but Nathan said the regulars have responded well to the change and still come in every day.

"We've taken the best of what Café Nino was doing and added our own stuff," said Nathan.

The 44-year-old gave up working for a media company in London to open the café with former full-time mum Debbie, 45. The couple have two daughters, Zoe, 12 and Eloise, 10.

Nathan went to an elite school of food before buying Café Nino so he could work close to home and "get out of the rat race".

"I wanted to do something completely different," he said. "It's fantastic working with Debbie, I love every minute of it. It can be stressful at times but we always wanted to work together."

Janet Francis, 65, from Caterham, was impressed, up to a point. "I think places like this are needed but it's not enough. For people like me it's fine, I have got the time to sit and have a coffee, but the town needs to give the young people something."

Purley resident Norman Pollard, 87, added: "It looks alright, but the important thing is the quality of the food and drinks. It looks like they are trying to copy restaurants in France, whether it will go down in Purley we will have to see."

Café Blue's menus are all created by Nathan, and with Costa just across the road he said the homemade meals keep customer coming back.

"A lot of people are turning their back on big chains," he said. "We provide fresh food, homemade soup and lasagne and burgers which Costa don't do. I think people keep coming back because the food is better."

Nathan said the new bright blue shop front has helped draw people into the café with more customers since the relaunch. "I have a background in marketing so I wanted to create a strong brand and we have gone for something modern," he said.

Nathan said the long term plan for the café is just to be a success. He hopes to host more private functions and business meetings – they have continued hosting Purley Breakfast Club once a month – and promote the café in the community.

CRYSTAL Palace striker Kwesi Appiah scored his first goal for Ghana this evening to help book his country a place in the semi-finals of the African Cup of Nations tournament.

Appiah, who was playing for non-league Margate just three years ago, has continued his development superbly since moving to the Eagles and with a number of loan moves to Football League sides.

However, the 24-year-old netted his first goal for his country on his second appearance after making his debut in a 2-1 win over South Africa on Tuesday.

It caps off a wonderful week for Palace on the international scene following Mile Jedinak's Australia winning the Asia Cup tournament on home soil, with the 30-year-old skipper lifting the trophy.

By Mark Ritson (Twitter @MR_LWMedia)

HOPES are rising that an extension to the new East Croydon rail bridge down to Cherry Orchard Road will be built.

But at this stage it looks that it will be a temporary solution and that commuters will have to wait a few more years before a permanent bridge becomes a reality.

Network Rail and Croydon Council worked together on the provision of the £13 million first stage of the bridge, which now links Lansdowne Road with the station and spans the six platforms.

Historically, it has been dubbed "the bridge to nowhere" because it was supposed to stretch to Cherry Orchard Road, improving pedestrian links from Addiscombe to the station and the town centre and easing pressure on the existing ticket hall.

Its provision has been dependent on work beginning on Menta's residential tower building next to the station.

Under the council's Section 106 agreement with Menta, the developer pays for the bridge extension, but money cannot be claimed until the development is under way.

On Wednesday talks between the council and Network Rail threw up the possibility of a temporary extension.

A statement read: "The council is keen to see a permanent extension to the bridge into Cherry Orchard Road.

"The East Croydon masterplan identifies this link bridge as an early priority objective for delivery to unlock development and improve east-west routes across the town.The council met with Network Rail today and proposed that we both work together on producing up-to-date cost estimates for a temporary bridge link.

"These costs will inform how the council then decides to commit to help deliver this with Network Rail."

It is understood the cost of a temporary bridge could be in the region of £2 million, while a permanent structure would have an £8 million to £9 million price tag.

In a separate statement, Network Rail said: "We have offered our project management and engineering expertise to help finish the bridge that residents of Croydon want to see.

"We have also offered two potential solutions. First, building a temporary extension, using third-party funds, to provide access while a longer-term solution is found.

"We could also look at options to explore whether we could construct a more permanent bridge, provided that we had a firm guarantee of being repaid at a later date."

Menta boss Craig Marks said this week that he hoped basement works on the tower would start in 2016 but he would not say when he expected the project to be completed.

Croydon Central MP Gavin Barwell, who has organised a petition – signed so far by about 1,000 people – calling for a rapid solution, said: "I think it bizarre the council is not prepared to take up the suggestion of a permanent solution.

"If they are not going to do that, it is essential my constituents have the temporary solution as soon as possible and I shall be pursuing the council on this very vigorously."

FORMER Crystal Palace boss Dougie Freedman has been appointed the new manager of Nottingham Forest.

The Scot, sacked earlier in the season by Bolton, takes over from Stuart Pearce, who has been shown the door after Forest endured a terrible run of results.

Freedman, 40, made 70 appearances for Forest during a spell at the City Ground club as a player in the late 1990s.

He joined Bolton from Palace in controversial circumstances in October 2012, moving north despite his cult hero status in SE25 and Palace's position at the top of the Championship.

Freedman was fired last October, two years after he took over, with Bolton in the Championship relegation zone, but he will now have the chance to resurrect his managerial career in charge of a Forest side which has slipped to mid-table after a fine start to the season, with just three wins in 23 games.

Pearce, a hero as a player at the City Ground, has been offered an advisory role with the club.