THE council says a mysterious incident involving a member of staff and a "burglary" at a town centre business was a "simple misunderstanding".
Saif Bonar, owner of Matthews Yard, complained to the council after one of its employees turned up unannounced at the cafe and work space and said he was "investigating" police reports of a burglary.
When the council officer was informed there had been no burglary he left, leaving Mr Bonar confused and concerned.
He raised the issue with councillors and was later told by council chief executive Nathan Elvery by email that he had "instigated an investigation".
The plot thickened when the Advertiser started asking questions about the incident last week only for the council to refuse to comment on the record, even to confirm whether the employee - Dayo Ogunmuyiwa - had visited Matthews Yard on January 26, the day in question.
That was until last Friday when the Advertiser published a story about what had happened, prompting the council to take the unusual step of uploading a press release to its website responding to the article.
The council responded to the story in a press release
To date this press release has not been sent to the Advertiser - unlike every other announcement the council makes - or Mr Bonar.
It said: "In response to today's report in the Croydon Advertiser...the council investigated the matter after it was brought to our attention by Mr Bonar.
"It was quickly established that the situation was a simple misunderstanding and that there was no cause for any further action."
Mr Bonar has yet to receive a response from Mr Elvery but did receive an explanation from Lisa McCance, head of economic development, who said Mr Ogunmuyiwa had received a voicemail from the police about a break-in at Matthews Yard in 2014.
She offered to share the voicemail with Mr Bonar but this has yet to happen.
Unsatisfied, Mr Bonar has submitted a Freedom of Information request to the council to try and get to the bottom of the incident.
He also plans to escalate his complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman.
"The facts surrounding the event remain unexplained and the voicemail from the police which reportedly proves beyond any doubt the purpose of Dayo's visit has never been produced," he said in a further email to Mr Elvery.
"While it may be your opinion that the matter is now closed, I do not feel the response has been satisfactory and I feel I have no alternative but to escalate the issue.
"I'm sorry the council has responded in such a strange way to a simple request and that an issue which could have been resolved in ten minutes continues to drag on.
"Please be under no illusion that I will continue to seek answers on this issue."
