CRYSTAL Palace midfielder James McArthur helped Scotland to a 1-0 win against Georgia in their Euro 2016 qualifier tonight (Saturday).

McArthur came on as a substitute ten minutes from time to help Gordon Strachan's men close out the win at Ibrox, while his team-mate at Palace, Barry Bannan, was an unused substitute.

CROYDON'S Ben Haenow made an impressive start to the X Factor live shows on Saturday night.

The 29-year-old gave a typically powerful but note-perfect rendition of Simon and Garfunkel classic Bridge Over Troubled Water - earning the first standing ovation of the series from his mentor Simon Cowell.

Louis Walsh and Cheryl Fernandez-Versini were also impressed, with Cheryl saying Ben had given one of the top three performances of the evening.

However, fourth judge - Spice Girl Mel B - was less positive saying that, while she likes Ben voice, she found his performance "boring" and would have taken him "in a different direction" when it came to song choice.

In all, sixteen acts performed on the first live show, with a theme of Number Ones, which lasted two and a half hours. These include four wild cards, brought back into the show in addition to the initial 12 chosen by the four judges.

Two acts will be booted off in the first results show, from 8pm on Sunday night.

The current bookmakers' odds have Ben, who lives in Shirley, as second favourite to win the show at odds of 4/1, behind hot favourite Andrea Faustini (15/8) who gave the performance of the night in closing the first show with his take on Michael Jackson's 1995 chart-topper Earth Song.

THE embattled head teacher of two schools whose exam results are under investigation by the Department for Education has said she feels like a "sitting duck".

The Standards and Testing Agency (STA) is assessing discrepancies in a small number of SATs papers taken at Heavers Farm Primary School, in South Norwood.

It has now begun a second investigation after receiving an allegation relating to staff conduct during this summer's exams at Selsdon Primary School.

Susan Papas, the head of both schools, told the Advertiser the allegations are "lies" but she feels unable to fully defend herself or her staff until the investigations are completed.

"I'm caught in this really difficult situation. The bottom line is that whatever the STA is investigating at Heavers Farm is really minor. I expected it to be dealt with by now because it's a really simple thing to resolve," she said.

"Because they are taking such a long time it has given someone the chance to start rumours and those have spread to Selsdon.

"There was nothing going on at Selsdon, absolutely nothing."

Ms Papas has taken legal advice after allegations made by an anonymous parent against staff at Selsdon were printed in another Croydon paper.

Claims about her personal life have been posted online in response to the stories, leading her to think she is the victim of a personal vendetta.

The Advertiser reported last year that Ms Papas had been subjected to anonymous abuse by anonymous parents at Selsdon after banning smoking outside the school gate and allowing a mum to sell cakes once a week in the playground.

"Someone is posing as an anonymous parent," said Ms Papas about the latest incident. "I'm so fed up with it. I don't know which way to turn.

"I've got a pretty good idea who is behind it. It's straightforward payback and it's affecting everyone around me."

Heavers Farm's SATs results are being withheld while the STA completes its investigation. The situation did not affect pupils' secondary school applications.

Last week, two investigators from the council were sent to Selsdon on behalf of the STA to interview every member of staff involved in the exam process. They will now report back to the STA.

Ms Papas said: "It's really distressing. Our staff work so hard. That they had to go through all this is awful.

"They've been so supportive, absolutely amazing.

"There's this feeling that people don't want Selsdon to succeed.

"We've worked really hard this year and its being undermined. It's so unnecessary."

Ms Papas took over as executive head at Selsdon last September and was tasked with raising standards after several years of decline. It posted significantly improved SATs results in August, with 82 per cent of pupils reaching at least a Level 4 in English and maths, an increase of 21 per cent.

Phil Thomas, councillor for the ward, visited Selsdon on Tuesday to speak to Ms Papas.

He said: "I was very impressed with what was going on at the school and with the head. She came across as someone who wanted to change the school for the better.

"I discussed the concerns that have been raised and I'm now waiting for the council to investigate those claims."

To add to the schools' issues, Heavers Farm head of school Andrea Cousins resigned earlier this year and a deputy head is on long-term sick leave.

Ms Papas, who says the exam concerns and the senior management changes are not connected, has vowed to continue her work at both schools.

"I've been told by the local authority that they are behind me and that I shouldn't walk out of the door. There's no way I am going to do that, even if I have felt like it at times," she added.

"I fully expect to be exonerated but until the schools are cleared we have to cope with all the rumours and accusations. That's really hard."

A DfE spokesman said: "We have recently been made aware of allegations of maladministration at Selsdon Primary. We take all allegations very seriously and are currently investigating."

TO MARK Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the Advertiser is running a series of four articles examining an issue which a Croydon police chief recently branded 'an epidemic'. TOM MATTHEWS begins by examining the borough's DV statistics...

IT CAN be a devastating crime, leaving victims fearful of those they love and even stripping them of a safe home and without somewhere safe, even in their own homes.

While many other types of crime in Croydon have fallen over the last two years, there has been a sharp rise in domestic violence.

In July, both council leader Tony Newman and borough commander Andy Tarrant singled out the issue as one that requires special attention, from both the Metropolitan Police and the council.

In September last year, former borough commander David Musker said domestic violence was at "epidemic" levels – and it has risen since, according to the latest crime stats. The figures show that 3,095 domestic crimes took place in the 12 months up to August, a rise of 23 per cent rise on the year before. previous period.

According to estimates in a recent report by Croydon's Health and Wellbeing Board published earlier this year, there are around 22,500 victims of domestic violence a year.

The report concluded there was "massive under-reporting" in the borough, and Detective Chief Inspector Sian Thomas, who leads the Met's Croydon community safety unit,, tasked with dealing with domestic crime, agrees. "Even though there has been a rise, I would still suggest that it's massively under-reported, as is any crime type where victims are vulnerable and feel nervous coming to us," she said. 

"The rise in the stats is hopefully a sign that there is more confidence in being able to come and speak to us. At least the rise means more people are coming forward and receiving help."

DCI Thomas said there was a wide range of reasons why sufferers of domestic violence or abuse are reluctant to seek help. 

She said: "Often you're talking about a family member, very often someone you live with, very often you have financial reliance upon them. You may have children together, there may be a feeling of embarrassment, of vulnerability, the thought that if you come in and make that report your life may change forever.

"It may be due to the nature of the relationship, it's very often very coercive, very controlling, and very often people feel that they just can't make that decision to ask for help. And so part of the work that we're trying to do is to give people that bit of confidence for to come forward and ask for assistance, because it is a big decision to come and say 'I need your help'."

DCI Thomas added that over last two years there has been a change in how the problem is approached by police and other bodies.

Rather than take an individual approach, organisations now aim to work in conjunction with other agencies, such as through the Safer Croydon Partnership. Such work allows the police to refer people to the appropriate services where criminal action may not be appropriate.

DCI Thomas said: "A positive intervention in a case of domestic abuse doesn't always mean a positive conviction, because different people need different interventions. Prosecutions in court are always what we want where there has been a crime, but in many cases, intervention, like a referral to the Family Justice Centre (FJC) where someone can help, is what we need to look at."

The approach has seen a large rise in the number of people using the FJC. Just two years ago, the centre averaged around 12 visitors a week. Advocates based there now see around twice that figure every day.

Asked how she will know if the approach is working, DCI Thomas said it won't be a fall in the figures.

"I'd be more worried if there was a massive decrease, because we would know, as all the research shows, that it is still going on. One of the things we look with these sorts of cases are repeat offenders, who work and try to successfully break that cycle.

"Another thing is simply the number of referrals to the FJC. Also, simply the feedback we get from victims if they say we've made a positive difference in their lives."

THE NUMBERS

IN 2013/14, 68 people from Broad Green sought help at the Family Justice centre for domestic abuse or sexual violence for the first time, more than in any other ward.

In the same year overall, 2,159 people used services at Croydon's Family Justice Centre.

In the year to August 2014, police recorded 3,095 domestic crimes, up 22.5% from the previous year, compared to a rise of 19% across the Met as a whole.

The majority of victims are aged 40 and under. 92% of those seeking help at the Family Justice Centre were women, while 88% of recorded perpetrators were male. When it comes to sexuality, 98% of people using the FJC identified at heterosexual, with the other 2% saying they identified as homosexual or bisexual.

A report by Croydon Health and Wellbeing Board estimated the issue costs the borough £37 million, with £65 million in human and emotional costs.

'Body cameras will help police make more progress'

WHEN police officers in Croydon began attaching video cameras to their uniforms in August, it was hailed by borough commander Andy Tarrant as something which could help deal with domestic violence cases.

A couple of months on, DCI Sian Thomas says it's already had an impact. "We've had some really positive cases where the officers first turn up and the video is there to film that scene which makes much more of an impact then a couple of days later when you got to CPS or the court because its captured."

She added the evidence could prove especially useful in cases where victims were unwilling or unlikely to assist police in a prosecution.

"I've no doubt over the next few months to a year, when every officer has them, that we'll be able to use them in victimless prosecutions and say, this is what we actually turned up to."

YOU know the story of the Emperor's New Clothes?

It looks like Boris Johnson has been weaving a pretty canny web of bluster, nonsense and – some would suggest – bare-faced lies in recent years.

In 2011, Boris said we'd get a Croydon to Crystal Palace tram extension.

In 2012, he said the same thing – posing with thumbs-up in front of a tram with the words 'CRYSTAL PALACE' on it, in case you didn't quite get the message.

Later that year, lo and behold, the much-hyped Tramlink failed to appear on the mayor's transport plan for the next decade.

But fear not – in March this year, the bluffing bouffant strode back into Croydon and announced a Crystal Palace tram extension was back on the agenda – though we might have to wait until 2020 for it to materialise.

Now, it seems Boris has gone off the idea again – he's led us all down the Piccadilly Line, but set off down the Bakerloo instead.

Literally, in this case, as a seemingly ambitious/unlikely aim to extend the Bakerloo Line has suddenly been thrust ahead of any tram extension.

Does Crystal Palace need a tram? It could be argued there are more benefits in extending the link to, say, South Croydon or Sutton.

But this isn't the point. It isn't that Boris Johnson has said no to a Crystal Palace extension, rather he's flip flopped his way from one position to another and, frankly, misled the people of Croydon.

He blusters in, flicks his blonde locks and honeytraps us all like lovesick teenagers: "Boris is going to give us a tram extension, isn't he great?"

In reality, we've all just been suckered in and taken for a ride. Perhaps we were the silly ones for taking his claims and photocalls at face value.

As we said at the outset, it's The Emperor's New Clothes – and we've been left as the poor peasants.

COLUMNIST Zoe Messenbird thinks Crystal Palace need some extra firepower - and who better than a man already on the club's books to provide it...

When Glenn Murray went on loan to Reading back in August, I was less than shocked that we had let him go. It was obvious that after returning from his injury he was struggling to fit back into the squad, a loan move to Reading seemed the perfect choice for our much loved striker.

When it was announced that he would leave, there were mixed views among Palace fans. Some felt he was not given a chance to prove himself since coming back into the squad, but I personally felt it was the right move for him and our chances of survival. 

But my feelings on Murray's departure rapidly changed as deadline day came to an end back in August, as I realised we had actually managed to the window with a worse set of strikers and had weakened our team. The point to make here is that losing Murray could be accepted if we had replaced him with better.

I don't mean to sound disrespectful to any of our players, but I cannot understand why you would let Murray go, if you are simply going to replace him with the likes of Kevin Doyle, Frazer Campbell and Andy Johnson. Losing Murray is simply not worth it if we are not blown away by his replacements.

As Doyle's loan deal is also up in January, the same time Murray's is up at Reading - despite it looking like Reading wanting to make his move a permanent one - I really think we need to bring him back to Palace. 

Having made five appearances for the Royals, and scoring three goals, I think it is fair to say that Murray is fully fit and could easily make a return to our team. 

I fully understand others reservation's that he is not cut out for the Premier League, but I cannot see the sense in a permanent move to Reading when we are crying out for a proven goal striker to provide some magic in the box. 

BALANCING raising a family with bringing home the bacon is one of the great difficulties of modern life.

Long hours and exorbitant childcare costs make starting a business while trying to bring up children a seemingly almost impossible task.

But now, one Croydon businesswoman is trying to make the balancing act a little easier – drawing on her own, very personal experience.

Yuliana Topazly suffered with post-natal depression after the birth of her daughter, Jessica, three years ago.

In her darkest hour, it was the world of business and establishing her own firm – Phase One Enterprise Training – which helped rebuild her confidence.

Yuliana explained: "After I gave birth to my daughter I was diagnosed with post-natal depression and the one thing that got me back on track was starting up my own business.

"Mums in my position often lack the self-confidence to go back into work."

Now, Yuliana has launched a new venture called MyOutSpace, which opened on September 1 above the Beanies Cafe in Croydon town centre, to help parents juggle raising a family and running a business.

The shared work-space has a play area for children aged three months to eight years, open the same hours as the centre.

It means businesspeople can hold a meeting in one room, while their little ones are happily playing in another.

"I found it hard to know where to go," Yuliana said of her own experience.

"Office space is prohibitively expensive and often I felt it would be easier if I stayed at home with my daughter.

"But as much as I tried I couldn't work productively at home. There were too many distractions and I found it isolating and lonely at times."

Croydon Council has provided some assistance, but the project is mainly geared to be community-funded, via the Crowdfunding platform.

Yuliana added: "There was definitely a gap in the market and the feedback has been very positive so far. I hope to give people confidence that you can still have a career after having children."

MyOutSpace is located on the second floor at 3 Middle Street, Croydon. Spaces in the play area must be booked in advance.

For more information, call 0203 603 1140, e-mail yuliana@myoutspace.co.uk or visit www.myoutspace.co.uk

A FIELDWAY resident who reached her century last Saturday (October 4) has "never" been ill in her life.

Iris Deadman marked turning 100 with a special party attended by relatives and neighbours.

Mrs Deadman lives alone in a flat in Fieldway and still does all of her own shopping, laundry and housework.

She claims to have never been ill during her long life, which she puts down to "the luck of the draw".

And longevity must run in the family as her older brother Percy died earlier this year aged 102, while her sister Eileen, 91, lives in Canada.

She moved to the New Addington estate from Upper Norwood when it was being built in the 1950s with her husband Bob, who was a London Transport wages clerk for 51 years.

Unfortunately, Mr Deadman died 34 years ago.

Mrs Deadman, daughter of a former Mayor of Battersea, was also sister to former New Addington councillor and Croydon magistrate Arthur Edwards.

An early member of the New Addington Women's Social Club, she lived with her husband in a cottage in Addington Village for many years and has one daughter and two stepsons, with three grandchildren and five great-grandchilren.

FORMER Crystal Palace striker Dele Adebola has issued a clarification on Twitter - after a joke about his name led some to believe he was suffering from the Ebola virus.

The joke - which goes along the lines of: 'Have you heard about the former footballer Dele? He Ad-ebola' - was widely circulated on Twitter, with most taking it with the pinch of salt is was intended.

However, a few failed to see the joke - leading the former Crewe, Nottingham Forest, and Birmingham target man to Tweet: "Why are people tweeting me #PrayForDele? There's nothing wrong with me guys :-) use your prayers to good effect Dele :-)"

Adebola played 39 times for Palace in 2002/2003.

ROY Keane has admitted he treated Crystal Palace defender Damien Delaney poorly when they worked together at Ipswich - because the pair are from the same part of Ireland.

Rumours abounded at the time they worked together at Portman Road that Keane and Delaney didn't see eye to eye, with reports the pair even engaged in a training ground scuffle at one point.

In a typically honest extract from his new autobiography, Keane admits he regrets the way he treated the centre back, now enjoying a late career renaissance at Selhurst Park.

He wrote: "Damien Delaney came in and did OK. I was hard on him, probably because I knew him and he was from Cork. 

"I went over the top."

COMPANIES worried their future is under threat by redevelopment plans for their business centre should have nothing to fear, the developers behind the scheme are claiming.

But Roy Ledgister, business development manager for Caridon Property Services, has admitted the company has not done a good job in letting firms involved know what is going on.

Caridon has permitted development approval for turning the first and second floors of the Croydon House business centre in Peall Road, Thornton Heath from business office premises to 34 studio flats.

Mr Ledgister said it expects to complete the purchase of the building from receivers, Investec Bank, within a few days.

But companies using the offices and those occupying the ground floor of the building have said this week they have been kept in the dark about Caridon's plans.

Vijay Latchman, who runs IT firm Mirage Tek Global Resources Ltd from the second floor, said the company operates on a licence lease which meant they could be told to get out very quickly.

Mr Latchman said: "We were told by the management here recently that we would have to leave within four or five weeks and we have just had somebody turn up and ask if he could measure up the premises."

He added there had been no direct contact with Caridon to discuss what was going on and the company's future.

Mr Latchman said: "You need businesses in an area like this to help keep the local economy going.

"Whether the development goes through or not, I don't want to stay here. No-one has talked to us and my loyalty to the centre has counted for nothing."

While not directly affected by Caridon's plans Ian Ashby, who runs a recording studio on the ground floor, is also considering a move.

He said there was bound to be disruption during building work and it would be impossible for him to make music if he had to cope with noise and the problem dust getting into his sensitive recording equipment.

Mr Ashby said: "The first time we knew something was happening was when a notice appeared on a lamppost outside the building. I have heard nothing from the developers."

He, like Stacey Williams, who runs the Aelfa Academy of Dramatic Arts with her sister Emma, is also concerned about what future plans Caridon might have for the ground floor.

Ms Williams said students had to pay for courses in advance and she worried that some would be put off if they thought the future of the academy was in doubt.

Mr Ledgister said only five of the 30 units on the first and second floors were occupied and negotiations had already been completed with three of the occupants to move to the ground floor.

The ground floor businesses were not affected, he said, and Caridon would talk to them about keeping any disruption during building works to a minimum.

Mr Ledgister said: "We could have been better at communicating with the businesses and we will make sure we have a lot better communications in the future."

A HEAD teacher whose pupils will spend two years in temporary classrooms says the school has opted for substance over style.

Harris Invictus Academy opened last month in grey portable cabins, of the style you might expect to find on a building site rather than a secondary school.

In fact, the school, on the former grounds of Croydon General Hospital in London Road, will be surrounded by a building site until its permanent home is finished in 2016.

Wooden hoardings currently separate the construction area from the school's small, tarmaced playground which merges with a staff car park where vehicles are parked like Tetris blocks to give the 160 Year 7 pupils as much space as possible.

The school does not have a kitchen so meals are bussed in by a catering company working with Harris Academy Purley.

The largest room on the site doubles both as the school hall and a seventh classroom.

When it is time for a PE lesson, pupils collect equipment from a container crate and are then taken to another school by minibus.

Principal Edward Evans says Invictus may look unorthodox but the students will benefit because money has been spent elsewhere.

"The children's experience is of being inside the classrooms learning rather than being outside looking at the aesthetics of the buildings," he told the Advertiser during a visit last Friday.

"I can only speak for the parents we have and, you are right, there were some concerns about the building.

"I reassured them and the feeling I have got is they understand the potential disadvantage of having a school next to a building site is outweighed by the fact it is in their local community."

Carol-Anne Alcock, executive principal at Invictus, said a deliberate decision was made to go for the "standard" temporary classrooms, the same used at Purley, where she is the head teacher, so more could be spent on resources.

"You obviously have a certain amount of money and the decision was made to put it into the infrastructure," she said.

"We put the finance we had into what's inside the classrooms. All the children have laptops and the staff have interactive whiteboards.

"Our IT is extremely whizzy; the children can log on in 40 seconds. To us that is really important.

"The children have access to a huge amount of resources and, for the first few years at least, they can flourish and express themselves in a way they would find it harder to do in a larger school."

The site, which has its entrance on Lennard rather than London Road, is currently designed for 180 students and, next year, will be expanded to take that number again.

Architects are currently putting the finishing touches to the design for the permanent building which is due to open the following September.

"The aesthetics of the building are important but what is key is that this is a temporary situation," said Mrs Alcock.

"We had 157 applications this year and we didn't even have a building. Now we have a building, will it put people off? It will be really interesting when we get those figures in March."

Relying on temporary buildings did have one unwanted side effect. When they did not arrive on time the school opened late, meaning the children missed three days of learning. Mr Evans said the time will be clawed back from staff training days later in the year.

The couple of days extra wait is unlikely to have worried the group of parents who first applied to the Department of Education (DfE) to open Invictus in 2011.

That bid was turned down so they sought the help of the Harris Federation, which has nine schools in Croydon, and Mrs Alcock, who re-wrote the application.

The revised plan retained the name, the purple uniforms and the focus on business. Up until Year 9 every pupil will be taught enterprise lessons and will be encouraged to take up business or economics at GCSE.

The aim is for every child to leave Invictus with the skills they need to set up their own business as well as compete in the job market.

The school's catchment area focuses on four points around West Croydon, Norbury, Selhurst and Thornton Heath – an area Mrs Alcock says Harris were keen to open a school in.

"The decider was that all Harris schools are so heavily oversubscribed," she explained.

"At Purley we had 2,100 visitors at our opening evening and around 800 applications for 180 places. Where were those parents going if they want their child to go to a Harris?

"The common ground among our first group of pupils is that they had two or three other Harris academies on their list. They were after Harris but they were too far away from Crystal Palace and from Purley."

The signs are Invictus's building issues have not deterred interest, with 850 parents attending a recent open evening. Mr Evans says the school will be ready to meet their expectations. "The goal in the first year is to create the best possible educational environment we can," he said.

"I don't mean a building. I'm talking about the circumstances which allow for children to do well, such as fantastic teaching and great attendance. We also want to make sure we have a full cohort next year and, beyond that, we look to the future and becoming an outstanding school."

'I thought we'd have lessons in tents'

HARRIS Invictus Academy's first pupils told the Advertiser they have been pleasantly surprised by the school since they started in September.

The Year 7 pupils we spoke to all had preconceptions about what temporary classrooms would be like (even though none had been taught in them before) with descriptions ranging from "cramped" to "squished".

"When they said temporary classrooms I expected to be taught in tents," said Samuela Arhin, 12. "Actually they're quite nice."

Cole Reid-Holden, 11, said: "I wasn't expecting the facilities to be as good as this. I thought it would be a one-deck cabin with three classrooms and 60 children.

"I was worried because I thought there wouldn't be enough space for us to play, but the playground is good."

Ben Wilcock, 11, said: "I thought there would be a couple of classrooms and everyone would be squished inside. Then I realised it was just Year 7 so we wouldn't be getting barged around on our way to lessons."

The group we spoke to liked the playground, which circles one of the large buildings and includes a ping pong table and a basketball net. They also appreciated being the only pupils at the school.

Parents wanted a boys school

SOME of the parents behind Invictus wanted the business-focused academy to be a boys school.

The group thought the school would help address gender imbalance in education attainment, particularly among white working class and black pupils.

"We believe it is time to take our son's futures back," said a blog by Dr Dola Imona, one of the parents, in 2011.

Ewemade Orobator, who is on the board of governors at Invictus, said he was not disappointed, however, that the school ended up being co-educational.

He told the Advertiser: "It was never about who ran the school or which pupils went there.

"Ultimately it's about the standard of education it offers, which will help address the imbalance even if there are both girls and boys in the school."

GUIDED tours might be more synonymous with pensioners' holidays, but potential investors in Croydon are being wooed with just that.

Representatives from a diverse range of businesses, from housing associations to equity firms, all took part in the fifth tour last month, which is designed to win their hearts and minds and convince them that Croydon is the best place for them to do business.

They took in the rooftop view from the council's Bernard Weatherill House, an "exclusive" tram ride and tour of the New South Quarter near Wandle Park, and a talk from Westfield/Hammerson representatives at the Whitgift Almshouses.

The tours are run by Develop Croydon, a forum of businesses which work together to market the town.

"It's been about changing the perception of Croydon to encourage people to come and invest or move in," said Richard Plant, the group's chairman and partner at Stiles Harold Williams.

"Initially in the early days it was about changing the perception to get investors like CarVal or Canmoor to come to Croydon and invest in things.

"Now, it's more about changing the perception to get the occupiers in and convincing people that Croydon is a good place to live."

The group were keen to keep businesses who were already in the town happy "to stop another Nestle", he said.

"One of the ways you do that is by telling them what's happening and giving them the story about the improving environment.

"While all these changes are taking place a lot of our work will be about keeping the people that are already here comfortable with what's going on."

Pointing to how nearly half of the units in the Saffron Square tower were occupied already, Mr Plant was sure Croydon's reputation has "completely changed".

He added: "The perception was bad, most people would move here because of the price point and not because it was where they'd choose to live.

"It really has changed. We went to a conference in Celtic Manor and when people saw we were from Croydon they'd say 'oh everything is happening in Croydon now'.

"It's gone from the perception of being a place with loads of sixties housing to a place where everything's happening and there's loads of investment, and that's brilliant.

"If you get more people, you will find it easier to employ better staff. If you're a local business you'll have more customers. The economy improving in a town like this benefits everybody, in all walks of life and at all different levels."

One group hoping to play a key role in that improvement is the Croydon Partnership, the joint venture between Westfield and Hammerson to transform the town's retail centre, which gave an update on the progress.

Speaking on last month's tour, Carolyn Kenney, development director of Hammerson, said they were now looking to start on site in early 2016, with the intention to open in autumn 2019. She said: "We are confident that with the investment we bring, we can reinvigorate the town centre and it will mean other people are prepared to come into Croydon and invest and develop."

Steve Yewman, her counterpart at Westfield, added: "What we're now seeing is things are happening in Croydon. We've been working with Croydon for the last 18 months to bring forward further infrastructure funding.

"Croydon is already a distinctive area in its own right and now really is the time to act."

The latest tour, held on September 23, was also attended by key representatives from Croydon Council, including Tim Naylor, head of spatial planning, and executive director for development and environment Jo Negrini.

IT DOESN'T seem to matter if you are travelling by train, tram or automobile this morning – you may struggle to get to work on time.

Services from East Croydon station are subject to long delays, alterations and cancellations while the roads around the borough are jam-packed with traffic.

There were scenes of chaos in East Croydon as commuters were advised to listen to announcements as services were arriving at unadvertised platforms with less than a minute's notice.

Journeys from Penge to Croydon were said to be taking as long as 50 minutes and there is solid traffic on the flyover.

Trams were also running a five or six minutes behind schedule.

Crystal Palace midfielder Jonny Williams is out of Wales' Euro 2016 qualifier against Cyprus tonight.

The 21-year-old starlet, on loan at Ipswich, suffered an ankle injury in Wales' 0-0 draw with Bosnia-Herzegovina on Friday night.

The extent of the injury is not known at this stage.

CROYDON College has submitted its proposals for a new secondary school to the Department for Education (DfE) today (Monday).

It outlines the plans for the New Croydon Academy (NCA) free school, which the college hopes to open in 2016.

The NCA, which would be managed by a trust, and will sit alongside the college, University Centre Croydon and Croydon School of Art in a new building opposite the campus.

If approved, the next stage would be an interview with the DfE before it hears if the proposals have been approved.

Frances Wadsworth, Principal and CEO of Croydon College said: "We have had so much support for NCA; MPs, councillors, businesses, primary schools and of course, parents. We still have a way to go to realise our ambition, but with all the support and good feeling we have encountered, it's a journey I think we're all looking forward to."

To find out more visit www.croydonacademy.org.uk

ADVERTISER columnist and Crystal Palace fan DAN GIBBS looks at the involvement of Eagles stars past and present in this week's internationals - but is frustrated by the lack of game-time for Nathaniel Clyne...

It's been far too long since a Palace player kicked a ball in a Palace kit to be honest.

It feel like ages ago that we slumped to a defeat at Hull. A weekend without club football is just not the same.

I think I'm one of the rare fans who enjoy watching England play but let's be honest, it isn't as fun when you're playing a team of PE teachers and waiters.

What makes watching an international game, especially a qualifier, a lot more exciting is when you can watch a Palace player or even ex-player on international duty.

Neil Warnock travelled to Ibrox to watch Barry Bannan and James McArthur in action against Georgia, although disappointingly only the latter made an appearance for the last ten minutes of the game.

Kevin Doyle featured in Republic of Ireland's 7-0 thrashing of Gibraltar whilst Welshmen Jonny Williams, Joe Ledley and Wayne Hennessey all played for their country with the keeper producing a man of the match performance.

With our other home nations all being represented by Palace players it left England without one. Nathaniel Clyne was the closest link to Palace in both of England's qualifying games.

I was delighted when I heard Clyne had got the call from Roy Hodgson to be selected. Having represented the England under 21's on a number of occasions and for the past couple of years putting in consistent performances at Southampton.

But why does it take a 30-yard screamer from the 23-year-old against Arsenal to get the England boss to sit up and take note?

Clyne was selected in Hodgson's initial squad but with John Stones getting injured, Arsenal right back Calum Chambers was called up and went straight into the starting XI.

I'm still yet to see the sense behind the ludicrous decision that saw Arsenal sign him for £16 million having made just 25 appearances for Southampton, with Clyne making more.

The Arsenal right-back has youth on his side and the fact he can play at centre back too but if it's a world class right-back England are looking for in the near future, Clyne is that man.

Palace boss Warnock praised Clyne on talkSport this week.

He said: "I've been praising Clyne for years. He's the best defensive right-back there is.

"He's done it the right way as well. He stayed at Crystal Palace, when he could have left, and played a couple of hundred games. Then he moved to Southampton and now he's with the England team.

"He's such a level headed lad, I'm delighted for him. Once he's given an opportunity, whether it's against San Marino or anybody else, Roy will see [how good he is]. He'll become a [permanent] fixture over the next few years."

He spent four years at SE25 and is still one of the best right-backs I've witnessed in a Palace shirt.

His reading of the game is second to none and his technical ability on and off the ball is pinpoint. I've noticed his attacking game develop whilst being at Southampton with him always looking for one-two's down the wing to provide a cross to his team mates.

The only downside to his game is perhaps his heading ability and his strength but at 5ft 9 it's to be expected. What he lacks in physical presence he more than makes up for in tactical awareness.

Sadly, Clyne could have to score a few more 30-yard goals and earn a big-money move to a top-four club before Hodgson realises the talent he's missing out on.

A MAN accused of stalking a schoolboy from Croydon has appeared in court for a second time. 

Adam Hinkly, 48, who is also charged with making indecent photographs of children, attended Croydon Crown Court last Wednesday (October 8).

It is alleged that the self-employed programmer, of Deans Close, Croydon, approached the 15-year-old boy on several occasions at Sandilands tram stop between January 1 and February 16 this year.

He is also accused of making 12 indecent images of children at his home on March 30.

Hinkly was given conditional bail ahead of a plea and case management hearing on December 17. 

A TEENAGER from Thornton Heath has appeared in court charged with stabbing someone during a fight.

Police found a man collapsed in the street suffering stab wounds to his shoulder and torso on July 24.

He told officers a man had chased him into Thornton Road, Thornton Heath, and that he had used his belt to fend him off.

The alleged victim did not want to press charges and was told he would face no further action. The police then began an investigation into the stabbing.

Pascoe Petgrave, 18, of Thornton Road, was arrested and charged with causing actual bodily harm and threatening a person in public with a pointed article.

He appeared at Croydon Crown Court last Wednesday (October 8) and was given conditional bail until a plea and case management hearing on January 5.