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Campaigners set for High Court showdown over Beddington Lane incinerator
CAMPAIGNERS head to the high court next week hoping to scupper controversial plans for an incinerator in Beddington Lane.
The group was granted permission for a judicial review earlier this year and, after months of preparation, the case will be heard on October 9 and 10 at the Royal Courts of Justice.
A judge will rule whether or not Sutton Council followed proper procedures when it granted planning permission for the plant last year. Judge Justice Collins said in June the case was "arguable".
The two-day hearing could have wide-ranging ramifications both for the multimillion pound 25-year deal and for the four councils - including Croydon - in the South London Waste Partnership (SWLP).
Shasha Khan, a prominent member of the local Green Party, has taken sole responsibility for funding the legal challenge, which could cost up to £35,000. His efforts recently received a boost thanks to a four-figure donation from Mark Constantine, the founder of handmade cosmetic business Lush.
Mr Khan, speaking to the Advertiser this week, said he was confident the group, originally formed in 2008, will succeed.
"I believe we have a convincing case that not only was planning permission granted incorrectly but any future application should be rejected because the land is protected," he said.
If built by developers Viridor the incinerator will burn 275,000 tonnes of waste each year as part of the SLWP involving Croydon, Sutton, Merton, and Kingston.
It would replace an existing landfill site but campaigners argue the incineration process presents serious environmental and health risks.
During the planing process the site - Beddington Farmlands - was been deemed to be "safeguarded", meaning it is must be used for the disposal or recovery of waste for the duration of the contract after the incinerator opens in 2017.
The campaign's case will focus on planning guidelines which stipulate the site should be incorporated into the Wandle Valley Regional Park from 2023 and, as Metropolitan Open Land, should be protected. "It's our banker argument," said Mr Khan.
Paul Pickering, chairman of Stop the Incinerator, said: "One of the things we hope the judge decides is that the land cannot be used as anything other than a country park after 2023 and [the council] has given it the go-ahead under false pretenses.
"My fear is that they may rule in our favour but will take issue with relatively minor planning problems and Viridor will come back in a couple of months' time and have sorted them out."
The group will be represented in court by Justine Thornton, the barrister wife of Labour leader Ed Miliband.
Sutton Council, the planning authority, is expected to argue that if the incinerator is not operational by 2017 then each council will face a heft landfill charge.
If Viridor cannot gain permission for Beddington Lane it may seek an alternative site, with a back-up earmarked in Kingston.
Stuart Collins, cabinet member for Clean Green Croydon, said he has sought advice from council officers about the potential implications of the review but, regardless of the result, the authority would not pull out of the £1 billion SWLP.
He said: "Croydon Labour Party's position is we're opposed to the incinerator. Our concern is if there are emissions it could harm residents.
"I can't, however, as a council we can't come out and say we're going to pull out [of the contract] because we would be subject to penalties. It would be tens of millions.
"We still oppose it but we can't risk taxpayer's money."
Phil Thomas, who backed the incinerator as cabinet member for highways and the environment up until May's election defeat, said a high court victory for the campaigners would have "a huge environmental and financial impact on all the four councils in the partnership".
Campaigners will stage a musical protest on the steps of the Royal Courts of Justice ahead of the case opening next Thursday (October 9), including a performance from samba band Rhythms of Resistance.
Experts questioned need
SUTTON Council received expert advice during the planning process which questioned the need for an incinerator in Beddington Lane.
Grant Scott, assistant director of planning at the Greater London Authority (GLA), wrote to the council in June 2010, and advised it would be "difficult" to prove there was an "overriding" need for an incinerator on the site.
Mr Scott also said the incinerator and connected chimney stack would "clearly not fall within the defined acceptable uses of Metropolitan Open Land" and would require "very special circumstances" to justify such an "inappropriate" development.
Jim Redwood, a consultant working for Sutton Council, wrote to the GLA in May 2012 and described Viridor's plan as "visually harmful", that there were "other deliverable alternatives" and the incinerator could "adversely impact on Beddington, and possibly other communities".
Both documents were obtained by the Stop the Incinerator Campaign via the Freedom of Information Act.
Shasha Khan said: "I am stunned by these revelations, quite frankly. These same arguments have been put forward by campaigners all along. However, they have been continuously rebuffed by councillors, ignored in planning consultations and dismissed when submitted as objections.
"Yet, we find that in the past, the authorities quietly agreed with what we've been saying all along."
Sutton Council has yet to respond to requests for a comment.
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Croydon scrap dealer guilty of taking in stolen metal goods
A SCRAP metal dealer has been found guilty of taking in stolen metal at his scrap yard, including crematorium plaques which he cut up into small pieces to try and disguise them.
Joseph Collier, 72, of Woodhall Drive, Dulwich, was found guilty on Wednesday (October 1), of three counts of possession of criminal property, one count of disguising criminal property and one count of attempting to receive stolen goods after a six-day trial at Croydon Crown Court.
Police raided Collier's DSM Scrap Metal Yard in Bensham Lane, Croydon in May 2012 as part of a London-wide crackdown on metal theft, where they also discovered a stolen bronze dragon and a statue of Jesus.
Police were told about Collier's yard after Trading Standards officers from Croydon suspected stolen metal was being accepted there.
When officers entered the scrap yard, they found several bags and boxes containing hundreds of memorial plaques that had been stolen from cemeteries across the south-east, some marked with SmartWater - a liquid that has a unique forensic 'code' that allows police to trace their origin.
Many of the plaques had been cut up into small pieces in an attempt to disguise them.
Officers also discovered a large bronze dragon statue that had been stolen from an address in Teddington, as well as a statue of Jesus, stolen from Putney Vale Cemetery.
In order to identify where the plaques had been stolen from, officers from Croydon spent several hours painstakingly piecing them back together.
Collier was arrested and charged with offences the following day and was bailed pending his court appearance.
CCTV footage at the yard showed Collier overseeing the cutting-up of the memorial plaques by his machines - plaques that he claimed at court, that he had no knowledge of.
In March 2013, suspicious that Collier was continuing to receive stolen goods whilst on bail and awaiting his trial, police contacted UK Power Networks, who assisted them with an undercover operation where an officer sold brand-new copper wiring to him, making it obvious to Collier that the goods were stolen as he was accepting it.
Sergeant George Shannon, of Croydon police station said:"I can only describe Collier's attitude throughout this whole process as brazen.
"He tried to deny any knowledge of receiving stolen items, but some of the memorial plaques even had the mud and wall plugs attached where they'd been prized from the graves.
"There was little doubt that he knew they were stolen and he had absolutely no regard for the law.
"His actions, in accepting stolen metal, have fuelled other criminal activity by thieves stealing metal to make a quick profit by selling it to unscrupulous scrap dealers like Collier.
"Metal theft has a huge impact on society - be it through delays on train networks where cabling has been stolen, or the emotional effects associated with the theft of memorial plaques.
"The majority of registered scrap metal dealers are operating correctly, but we will continue to target those who don't and will bring the full force of the law against them.
"Now that he's been found guilty of these offences, we will certainly be considering further action against Collier under the Proceeds of Crime Act to look at confiscating any assets he has gained through his criminal activity."
Collier will be sentenced on November 3.
Murder charge pair 'shared cigarette after dumping victim in South Norwood skip'
THE pair of "lovers" accused of murdering a man found in a South Norwood skip shared a cigarette after stripping their victim naked, a court heard this week.
Prosecutors claim Arry Green, 22, and Fiona Nalty, 24, kicked Irishman Michael Hunt, 37, to death on March 15 in Station Road after a row in a cab office.
When questioned at the Old Bailey on Tuesday, Green, of Dinsdale Gardens, South Norwood, admitted punching and kicking Mr Hunt, but insisted he was still alive when the pair threw him into the skip.
Green also said he had no idea how Mr Hunt's trousers or underpants came to be removed.
Mr Hunt died in hospital from his injuries, which included a fractured skull and multiple fractured bones.
Prosecutors found a cigarette in the skip with traces of both Nalty and Green's DNA on it, but Green said he didn't remember any smoking or any blood on Mr Hunt.
Green told the court: "I didn't see blood on me. I don't remember all that blood. I thought he was going to get out.
"I thought he would get out of the skip and go home."
Green had been drinking a cocktail of Stella Artois lager, pernod, peach schnapps and vodka before he went out with friends.
He denied the prosecution's claims Nalty was his lover and insisted she was just an "associate".
He admitted prosecution claims he had spat at the cab controllers in Courier Cars on Station Road, where the fight is said to have broken out. He said he had joined in a fight between Nalty and Mr Hunt.
"She was punching him. It just happened out of the blue. When they both fell on the floor I went over," Green said.
"I remember getting him up. I was helping him, just getting him up off the floor.
"Fiona was still trying to punch or kick him. I was grappling with him. We went down towards the alleyway.
"Michael punched me. He hit me in the head.
"I pushed him away from me and I hit him back.
"He dropped on his bum. I started kicking him in the legs."
When asked why he had continued to attack Mr Hunt while on the floor, Green added: "I was still quite angry that he had punched me. Fiona walked into the alleyway. She came round the back of him.
"She pulled him down and started kicking him.
"He was saying 'no' at first. He was lying on the floor. He was trying to protect himself with his arms."
He also admitted throwing the body in the skip but said he did not think father-of-three Mr Hunt was that badly injured.
Last week, Nalty, of Fairdene Road, Coulsdon, accused Green of doing "most of the damage" to Mr Hunt.
The trial continues.
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Rogue landlords fined for failing to register fire damaged Thornton Heath property as HMO
TWO rogue landlords have been fined for failing to licence a house where seven people were rescued from a fire.
Owner Wimalendran Jeyaruban and letting agent Chaudry Amir Ijaz have both been ordered to pay £3,000 for failing to register the property in London Road, Thornton Heath, as a house in multiple occupation (HMO).
Seven people were led to safety by firefighters after a blaze at the flat in January. Five others from a neighbouring property also had to be rescued.
An inspection by council housing enforcement officers found there were five people living in the flat at the time of the fire, all of whom paid £150 per month to Ijaz.
Ijaz, of Bensham Lane, Thornton Heath, did not have a HMO licence, which is required by law when there are more than three unrelated people renting a property.
Jeyaruban, of Langdale Road, Thornton Heath, has agreed to empty the unlicensed flat in 2012 after the council discovered it was being used as a HMO.
Instead he let it out to Ijaz who in turn rented it as a HMO despite the warnings given by the council.
Both defendants were found guilty of running an unlicensed HMO.
In addition to the fines, they were ordered to pay the court £2,500 in costs.
Man pleads not guilty to raping child at address in New Addington
A MAN has denied raping a child at an address in New Addington.
Alex Kwame Baah, 42, is charged with eight counts of rape relating to the same girl between January 2008 and August 2013.
He pleaded not guilty to all counts at Croydon Crown Court on Wednesday (October 1).
Baah, of Bostall Hill, Plumstead, will stand trial at the same venue on March 16, 2015.
The girl was under the age of 13 when the alleged offences began and 16 or over at the time of the most recent charge.
Teenagers deny raping women with learning difficulties in Croydon
TWO teenagers have pleaded not guilty to raping women with learning difficulties.
Nasir Huq and Ameen Noori, both 18, are charged with raping two women at a flat in Croydon in April 2013.
A third man, Ahmad Faiq, also 18, is accused of attempting to rape the women at the same address,
They appeared at Croydon Crown Court on Wednesday (October 1) and pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Noori, of St James's Road, Croydon, is charged with one count of raping a woman aged 16 years or over between April 17 and April 20, 2013.
He is also accused of attempting to rape a woman at the flat between April 4 and April 7, 2013.
Huq, of Neville Road, Croydon, is charged with raping a woman at the address between April 17 and April 20, 2013.
Faiq, of Parry Road, South Norwood, faces a charge of attempting to rape a woman aged 16 or over between April 4 and April 7, 2013.
He is also charged with assault by penetration of a female over the age of 13 between the same dates.
The three college students are due to stand trial at Croydon Crown Court on March 23rd.
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Labour council branded 'hypocrites' over South Norwood homeless families row
ELDERLY residents have labelled the Labour council "hypocrites" after it moved homeless families into their block – despite campaigning against plans to do so months before.
Residents of the sheltered accommodation block Tonbridge House in Penge Road, South Norwood, expected the council to reverse the Conservative administration's plans to move homeless families into their block.
A number were so convinced, they even took to beating the streets banging Labour's drum in the run-up to the election campaign.
But Labour councillor Alison Butler, cabinet member for homes and regeneration, moved in homeless families just weeks after the party's return to power in May.
This has sparked fury from residents, including Bill Ramsey, who said: "This lady does turn. It's a blatant U-turn which oozes hypocrisy and openly displays her lack of integrity, loyalty and any sense of honour to her colleagues."
South Norwood's three Labour councillors attended a scrutiny committee meeting in January where Mr Ramsey, 81, vociferously spoke out against the plans to move homeless families into the house.
Tonbridge House and Gillett House, in Thornton Heath, were two blocks for which the previous council pushed through plans to house homeless families. Tonbridge House has five flats filled while Gillett House has 23.
But Cllr Butler said although it was a tough decision and understands the concerns of the residents, it had to be made due to the homelessness crisis in the borough.
She said: "We did have a long and frank discussion with the residents and most of the issues they mentioned did not have anything to do with the actions of the families."
Cllr Butler also said a lot of the housing problems the new council is facing are related to coalition Government policy. "I think the residents of Tonbridge were disappointed we haven't reversed the decision but I just don't see how we can," she added.
"Is this an ideal decision? No it's probably not but is it better than seeing families in bed and breakfast accommodation? Yes it is."
Mr Ramsey claimed a front entrance intercom door had been vandalised by some of the block's new residents.
Although it was fixed nine days later, the timing mechanism was changed and the door swung closed too quickly for an 88-year-old lady, causing it to be jammed between a door and her mobility carriage.
The lady, who used to go out every day, has brittle bone disease and is now housebound after the leg became infected and five weeks in the AMU unit of Croydon University Hospital.
Mr Ramsey said: "Her whole quality of life has been taken away. She used to go out with a blind man in the block on dial-a-ride trips and they depended on each other. But she is really going downhill now and needs round the clock care.
"He's really suffering as well now. We are very worried."
Coroner warns council over tram line safety after cyclist's bus crash death
A CYCLIST who died after a collision with a bus fell moments before the impact when his bike slipped as he rode across tram lines near East Croydon, an inquest heard.
Roger de Klerk, 43, was trapped under the 410 bus after falling on the lines at the junction of Cherry Orchard Road and Addiscombe Road on November 12 last year.
South London Coroner Selena Lynch today said she will to write to Croydon Council's highways department to ask that they "urgently" look at the provision for cyclists at the junction, and on the tram system in Croydon as a whole.
She added she was "in do doubt whatsoever" the tram lines led to Mr de Klerk's death, which she recorded as a road traffic collision.
"The wheels of his bike came into contact with the tram lines, causing him to lose control and fall on his right hand side into the path of a bus. The bus driver had no time to take avoiding action or to stop."
The court heard how CCTV evidence from the bus and a nearby tram showed Mr de Klerk falling when he pulled away to turn right after both he and the bus were stopped at traffic lights.
Anastasia Maison, a passenger on the bus, said she heard a "crunch" during the collision.
"When he fell, I remember screaming at him falling, then we heard the sound and everyone on the bus started screaming. The bus wasn't moving fast."
The driver of the bus, Laura Leonard, had been driving for Arriva for seven years at the time of the collision.
She told the court: "I saw him at the lights, he was waiting at the lights to the left in front of the bus. As the traffic moved off I checked the van in front had gone and I turned to look and the cyclist had gone, then I moved off. There was no cyclist in view until I saw him fall.
"I was moving from the traffic lights, so I couldn't say exactly the speed I was going, but perhaps around 10 miles per hour.
"I felt something, but I was hoping really it was just the bike. I can't really say much more, because it still upsets me now, thinking about his family."
After being freed from under the bus by firefighters, Mr De Klerk, who was "deeply unconscious", was taken to St George's hospital in Tooting, but died shortly after arrival.
A post-mortem report revealed the cause of death as compression of the head, neck and chest.
Mr De Klerk's mother, Anna De Klerk, described her son, who lived in Forest Hill, as "happy, healthy and active."
"He was always extremely safety conscious, he always wore a helmet and hi-vis clothing."
She said he had phoned her the morning before his death.
"He told me he was going to Croydon to get his mobile phone repaired at a shop near East Croydon station, as far as I'm aware, the day of the accident was the first time he had cycled there.
"He was happy and really looking forward to getting a new work venture set up."
Delivering her ruling, Mrs Lynch said: "The need to keep cyclists away from danger is ever-present. We hear talk about lorries, but it seems to me that tram lines may also be a problem for them, particularly for those not used to cycling where there are tram lines."
Burst pipe floods Wolsey Crescent, New Addington leaving 63 homes without water
Houses in Wolsey Cresent, New Addington have been without water since 3pm today after a burst water main flooded the street.
London Fire Brigade (LFB) were called to the street at 12.46pm where water was lifting the road and pavement and flooding back gardens, leaving 63 homes without water.
The water even went though some gardens to flood the adjacent gardens of King Henry's Drive.
Jeff Hall, Addington station watch manager, said firefighters closed the road and used sandbags to protect houses and redirect the water. They also pumped water from the part of the street worst affected, near Montacute Road, to a drain further down the road.
Water went into the gardens and floors of at least three houses and one house lost electricity.
Four firefighters and one engine were on the scene and had to call in equipment from Sutton.
Mr Hall said: "When we arrived water was coming out of the pavement. Water was gathering and going down the driveways into back gardens.
"We had to order an operational support unit to bring sand bags and a submersible pump, and once we had used up those sandbags we ordered more.
"We made sure no cars drove over the road and that people avoided the pavement."
A Thames Water spokesman said a four inch pipe burst and they stopped water from flowing out of the pipe at 3pm.
Thames Water engineers are currently on site cutting out the broken piece of pipe. They hope to have water back on and repairs finished later this evening.
They could not comment on whether cordons or road closures were still in place.
He said they will not know what caused the burst pipe until the broken pipe is taken away and examined.
Croydon Advertiser nominated for six awards at regional journalism 'Oscars'
THE Croydon Advertiser has been nominated in six categories at the 2014 EDF Energy London and South of England Media Awards.
We are up against the Hampshire Chronicle, Kent & Sussex Courier, and the Kent Messenger in the Weekly (Paid-for) Newspaper category, while our front page following the inquest into the tragic death of three-year-old Olivia Langley is shortlised in the Front Page of the Year category - and award we won last year.
Chief Reporter Gareth Davies is nominated in three categories - Weekly Print Journalist of the Year, Feature Writer of the Year and Digital Journalist of the Year - while Alex Leys, the man responsible for many of our striking, visually arresting front pages, is up for Designer of the Year.
Advertiser editor Glenn Ebrey said: "To get six nominations, in awards which include a string of big daily papers on the south coast, is a wonderful achievement and testament to the hard work and dedication of my team.
"I hope we'll be celebrating next month but, to coin a cliche, I think we're already winners by getting this far."
The awards take place at The AMEX Stadium, home of Brighton & Hove Albion FC, on November 13.