AGM 30th April 2024
It was a full house at KENDRA’s Annual General Meeting. Chair, Christine Heal, welcomed more than one hundred members and guests, including Chris Philp MP, Steve Dennington, LBC Head of Spatial Planning, Officers from the Metropolitan Police and our local Councillors Ola Kolade and Gayle Gander.
POLICE
First to be invited to speak was Local Police Team Sergeant, Tony Brown. Much of his address was concerned with speeding and the regular checks carried out in the Kenley area. Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) was a useful tool in catching illegal drivers and he recalled one case where a pursuit led to an arrest of a man who was driving whilst disqualified and without insurance. The driver had committed several other offences in the lead up to his apprehension.
Sergeant Brown said Kenley Ward has the second lowest recorded crime in in the Borough, after Sanderstead. He suggested Kenley might like to take that position from its neighbour. Burglaries were now more often conducted in daylight hours than at night. He advised residents to lock up their property and set the alarm, even if popping out for a short while.
He intimated that Kenley’s police officers may move closer to Kenley than their present base in New Addington, but it would be possible only if funds were available. There was a general view that his officers wanted to be more engaged with residents and be more accessible.
KENDRA was grateful to the officers for attending the meeting and reassured they were listening and responding to the needs of Kenley residents.
CHRIS PHILP MP
Chris Philp, Member of Parliament for Croydon South, and Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire, gave an energetic follow up on crime in Croydon. He extolled the virtues of facial recognition software which he said had led to many criminals being arrested in Croydon. More widely, he gave an example of how facial recognition technology had been used to identify an assailant involved in a stabbing. Shortly after the incident police arrested the assailant at his home, he still had the victims blood on him. The process had already resulted in much lower levels of criminal activity in Central Croydon. Mr. Philp reassured members that facial recognition images that are not linked to criminals are deleted immediately.
He then moved onto the planning and development. Since the balance of power in Croydon had shifted, he noted most of the aggressive development proposals had ceased. Mayor Perry’s cancelling of SPD2 (aka the Developers’ Charter) and ‘character’ being taken into account in planning applications, had put off developers seeking to demolish family homes and replace them with blocks of flats.
Chris Philp was enthusiastic about the redevelopment of the Purley Pool and Sainsbury’ site. It is likely that the pool will be built first, providing local residents with a much-needed leisure facility. The development will include retirement flats and parking for about seventy cars. He was critical of Mayor Khan’s assertion that no parking should be provided in such developments and warned that the plan could be vetoed by City Hall.
Asked about the future of Croydon town centre development and the involvement of Westfield, Chris Philp said that owing to the new economic situation that exists in retail, a new, less expensive option to redevelop the old Whitgift Centre site was more likely.
LOCAL COUNCILLORS
Our two local Councillors Gayle Gander and Ola Kolade were pleased to highlight what they saw as the main achievements since the last AGM. One was the flood relief in Kenley Lane which had at last been resolved. No more incidents had been noted despite heavy rain.
The 434 bus issue is still unresolved, but Croydon Council and TfL were now working towards a solution, albeit adding another six-week-long consultation period. (Sighs of frustration from members). Gayle Gander expressed her annoyance that she had been told the bus was on its way, and then told it was to be cancelled, days before it was due to run.
STEVE DENNINGTON
The Borough’s Head of Spatial Planning, Steve Dennington, was next at the microphone. His subject was the Kenley Good Growth Fund (KGGF). He outlined what the KGGF had achieved, including the building of a new ‘community hub’ at Old Lodge Lane Baptist Church and the long-overdue refurbishment and updating of Kenley Memorial Hall. Another, soon to be completed project, is the ‘Pocket Park’ on the parade in Old Lodge Lane.
(Members might be forgiven for being confused about the many initiatives and their ambiguous titles; Kenley Good Growth Fund, Connecting Kenley Programme, The Kenley Community Plan.)
Another possibility is changing the 40mph speed limit on Hayes Lane around the Airfield to 30mph, this is under review. (There have several collisions on the bends in the past. Visitors to the Airfield parked in either of the two designated parking bays risk being hit by passing vehicles at speed. It isn’t unusual to witness children being loaded and unloaded on the off-side, into the road, door wide open.)
Two ‘initiatives’ of the KGGF are the green signposts that have sprung up over the ward and the cycle hub at Kenley Station. Most members appear to be confused or bemused by the first. And of the second, usage has been minimal, to put it mildly.
Unfortunately as time was running short further questions were not possible . However members should know that the KGGF is holding further consultations with Kenley residents about safer streets. (Members are urged to take an active role in the consultation to ensure decisions benefit Kenley residents).
ACCOUNTS
Christine Heal then resumed the agenda items. AGMs are needed to ensure the business of an association is transparent and correct. This is especially true when money is involved and our (soon to stand down) Treasurer, Angela Morris, presented KENDRA’s accounts to the end of 2023 for approval.
Accounts were voted on and accepted (View a copy End of Year accounts 2023 PDF or WORD DOC.)
Angela has been a vital member of our Association and she will be missed. Her departure is due to work commitments and she will hand over her role as soon as a suitable candidate is found. (Could it be you?)
PLANNING
Our Planning Officer Geoff James made two short statements. On ‘Planning’ he reiterated that the worst of the Planning frenzy had gone away due to the changes mentioned earlier and that developers no longer see Kenley as their hunting ground.
MEMBERSHIP
Geoff made a plea to members to not pay subscriptions by cash, cheque or BACS if they could avoid it, but instead use the online Mojo and pay by credit card. He stressed KENDRA will always accept cash when there is no alternative. He made it clear that cash makes extra work for a Committee that is already struggling due to its diminished numbers.
Where cash is the only option he asked members to pay their subscription for 2025 by the end of January. At the end of February the system assumes that any unpaid memberships have expired and they are deleted from the membership roll. (This may sound brutal but under the previous system we had members up to two years in arrears, which for a small membership association is unsustainable).
Geoff pointed out that the MemberMojo system allows effortless commmunication, enabling KENDRA to contact its members via email. MemberMojo sends out membership subscription reminders by email automatically. Members can pay their subs online with minimal involvement by KENDRA.
COMMITTEE ELECTIONS
As is required, Committee members have to be re-elected every year at the AGM. All previous Committee members stood for re-elction with the exception of Angela Morris as Honorary Teasurer.
Mike Lott was elected to the Committee and will take up the role of Police Liaison Officer. Paul Keating has taken on the additional role of Vice-Chairman. All nominations were put to the vote and carried. A full list of Committee members and their respective roles is below. Gayle Gander was elected as KENDRA President and Ola Kolade as Vice President, both honorary positions without voting rights.
Nominees for KENDRA Committee 2024/25
This is a Summary of the AGM and a full Minutes will be available in due course. Apologies for any errors or omissions.