We can’t wait to welcome Croydon Pridefest back to Wandle Park tomorrow for the first time since the pandemic – with fun, food and entertainment it is a fantastic celebration of our LGBTQ+ communities and a great day out for all.
With the holidays around the corner, we’ve been working with our partners across Croydon to ensure a summer of fun for children and young people. We’ve distributed around £1m government funding to more than 40 community groups, so children and young people in receipt of free school meals can enjoy free activity clubs with healthy food included. There’s plenty going on for all children and young people, from £1 swim sessions at our Better leisure centres to the Summer Reading Challenge, in our libraries – or exploring Croydon’s 127 parks and green spaces – discover a new one this summer.
We’re also set to announce further funding opportunities for community groups to deliver activities for young people this summer in the coming days, so I encourage community groups to keep their eyes out for further details regarding eligibility and next steps.
As mentioned above, our parks and green spaces are great places to explore and getting them in better shape for summer is one of my top priorities. I have asked council teams to continue tackling the backlog in grass cutting to ensure residents can once again enjoy our public spaces. We have increased the number of seasonal staff working on grass cutting and are hoping to catch up on last year’s work as soon as possible.
Finally, there’s a Met Office red weather warning on the way so take care of yourselves and others – our public health team have advice for staying safe during a heatwave. If you can, help us look after some of our younger leafy residents – when the weather is hot and dry, our trees need as much watering as possible. Our teams have stepped up watering, but if you spot a young sapling looking thirsty, please do give them a top up – let’s keep Croydon green together.
Jason Perry
Executive Mayor of Croydon
