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🌦️ CROYDON DAILY WEATHER
🌦️ Today (Friday 16/10/2026): a wet start, with heavy rain around 6am to 8am, then sunny intervals through the day. High of 15°C, low of 6°C, with gusts up to 25mph. Worth a coat if you are out before 9am.
☀️ Saturday 17/10/2026: sunny, 13°C high and 7°C low, with a small chance of a shower late in the afternoon. Gusty at times, up to 28mph.
🌧️ Sunday 18/10/2026: mild at 13°C but turning wet, with light rain building through the afternoon and the chance of rain reaching 80% by late afternoon.
Source: Met Office, Croydon forecast
🏛️ THE HEARTBEAT: SEWAGE FIX BEGINS AT SOUTH NORWOOD COUNTRY PARK
After a five-year campaign by residents, local councillors and Croydon East MP Natasha Irons, Croydon Council has confirmed that repair work has started on a foul sewer fault that has been polluting streams in South Norwood Country Park. The works are expected to finish by Friday 23/10/2026.
The 125-acre wetland reserve is home to many bird species, but its watercourses have suffered from sewage pollution. According to Inside Croydon, Thames Water found 241 appliances wrongly connected to the surface water drains across 16 properties on Cargreen Road, which runs from Norwood Junction station to the park. Much of the blame has been put on the original developer, which has since gone into administration.
Woodside councillor Amy Foster said she hopes the works will bring visible improvements in the coming months, and Ms Irons says she will keep monitoring the repairs until the water runs clean and the reserve is properly protected.
Source: Inside Croydon
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📅 TODAY: FRIDAY 16/10/2026
🎹 Lunchtime recital at Croydon Minster, 1:10pm. Recitals run on Fridays this term and the Minster has not published individual dates, so check before you go. Source: Croydon Minster
🚌 Grand Opening of 'Once Upon a Bus!', 3:45pm, St John's CE Primary School, 38 Markfield Road, Caterham CR3 6RP (map). Ribbon cutting for the school's brand new library, and the school community is invited to celebrate. Source: St John's CE Primary PTA on Instagram
🎨 The Big Make exhibition, 10am to 4pm, Croydon Urban Room, Whitgift Centre, free. Artwork made by people with experience of homelessness alongside local schools, businesses and volunteers, including a display of 4,000 handmade porcelain discs. Open Tuesday to Saturday until Friday 30/10/2026. Source: Inside Croydon
🩰 Children's ballet and tap classes, 4:45pm for little ones, 5:30pm for bigger kids, St Oswald's Church Hall, St Oswald's Road, Norbury SW16 3SB, £11. Classes run on Fridays for ages 2 to 18, so check with the school for availability. Source: Sandra Randall Dancing School (reader submission)
Times can change, so please check each organiser's listing before you travel.
🗓️ WEEKEND AND WEEK AHEAD: SAVE THE DATE
👻 Spooky Quiz Night, Saturday 17/10/2026, 6:30pm, The Ludoquist, 63-67 High Street, £2 a head. Source: The Ludoquist
🎭 Lightstreams, Saturday 17/10/2026, 7pm, Stanley Arts, £17, ages 14 and over. Source: Stanley Arts
📚 Goblin Market: Comics and Zines, Sunday 18/10/2026, noon to 5pm, Stanley Arts, free. Source: Stanley Arts
🎨 The Big Make: free arts workshops, Tuesday 20/10/2026 to Thursday 22/10/2026, Croydon Urban Room, Whitgift Centre, free, for adults and children aged 14 and over. Booking is required, so check the booking page for session times. Source: Croydon Urban Room
⚓ Croydon Sea Cadets: New Cadets Evening, AGM and Social, Wednesday 21/10/2026, 7:15pm to 9:30pm, Arnhem House Barracks, 1 Mitcham Road CR0 3RU, free. Open to prospective cadets and their families. Source: Croydon Sea Cadets
🧡 COMMUNITY WATCH
🏡 Croydon Almshouses has taken over St Saviour's Court in Purley. The transfer took effect on 01/10/2026, bringing the 53 flats at St Saviour's Court together with the 57 flats at Elis David Almshouses in Waddon under one charity. The chief executive says the move doubles the number of almshouse residents the charity can support. Source: Inside Croydon
🤝 Know a local group doing something good? Tell us about it and we may feature it in a future issue.
📰 NEWS AND NOTES
🚋 No trams between Sandilands and New Addington this weekend (17/10/2026 and 18/10/2026). TfL says trams will keep running between Wimbledon and Beckenham Junction or Elmers End, and services through East Croydon and the town centre are unaffected. There are no replacement buses, and normal service is due back at the start of service on Monday 19/10/2026. Source: Inside Croydon
🚧 Longer closure coming. Track replacement work is due to close half the tram network, from Arena to Beckenham Junction and Elmers End, and to New Addington, from Saturday 24/10/2026 to Friday 06/11/2026. Check TfL's journey planner before you travel. Source: Inside Croydon
⚖️ Free legal advice on bailiffs. The South West London Law Centres have published new guidance on what to do if bailiffs turn up at your door after a notice of enforcement. Source: Inside Croydon
💡 DID YOU KNOW?
Croydon Almshouses was founded in 1447 by Elis David, a City of London merchant, so it is older than the better-known Whitgift Almshouses in the town centre. It is the oldest charity in the borough. Source: Inside Croydon
🏫 SCHOOL CORNER AND PTA NOTICEBOARD
🌟 Shout-out to the St John's CE Primary PTA (@ptastjohnscaterham). Turning a library into 'Once Upon a Bus!', a storybook double-decker bursting with books, butterflies and wildflowers, is a brilliant idea and a real labour of love. Congratulations to everyone who helped bring this project to life, and we hope the new reading adventure is a big hit with the pupils. The ribbon is cut today at 3:45pm.
🏪 BUSINESS SHOUTOUT: CHICORY ARTISANAL KITCHEN & COFFEE
Looking for a Friday treat in South Norwood? Chicory Artisanal Kitchen & Coffee on the High Street serves hand-brewed filter coffee and slow-steeped cold brew alongside a menu of small plates, from French toast bites and halloumi fries to pan-fried gyoza and gluten-free fritters.
Breakfast and brunch lovers can also try the sourdough dishes, including avocado on sourdough with rocket and locally sourced organic microgreens.
📍 80 High Street, South Norwood SE25 6EA (map)
🏪 BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: YOUR BUSINESS COULD BE NEXT
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Building a Stronger Croydon, Together
The Croydon Local Pulse Team