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Rates relief for more than 1,000 Croydon small businesses
The Budget is widening Small Business Rate Relief from April 2027, and Croydon looks set to be one of the biggest winners. Shops, cafés, pubs, salons and other retail, hospitality and leisure businesses with a rateable value of up to £18,000 will pay no business rates, up from £12,000 now. Inside Croydon reports that 1,057 Croydon businesses qualify, more than a quarter of the borough's shops, cafés, pubs and salons, with an average saving of about £4,279 a year each.
Two catches for owners: relief usually has to be claimed from Croydon Council, so check your rates bill and apply rather than waiting, and the £18,000 line is a hard cut-off. Read more at Inside Croydon.
Quick hits
Weather: A sunny, dry Friday with a high of 16°C and a low of 5°C, and light winds. Saturday stays sunny at 15°C, so Halloween looks dry. Sunday is sunny intervals at 13°C with a 20% chance of rain around 8pm. (Met Office)
Trams: No trams run between East Croydon and New Addington, Beckenham Junction or Elmers End until Friday 6 November while track is replaced. A power failure at Therapia Lane this week also cut services towards Wimbledon, so check TfL before you set off. (Inside Croydon)
Fares: From Sunday 1 November the adult bus and tram fare, including the Hopper, rises by 10p to £1.85, and the daily bus and tram cap goes up by 30p to £5.55. (Inside Croydon)
Remembering Sandilands: Croydon Council will hold a public ceremony at 11am on Monday 9 November at the memorial at Central Parade, New Addington, ten years after the tram derailment. It will include a reading of the names of the seven people who died, a period of silence and floral tributes, and the council says support is available for anyone affected. (Inside Croydon)
Council Tax Support: The consultation on changes is open until 10 November, and you can respond on the consultation page. Remember to confirm your email address afterwards so your response counts. (Inside Croydon)
Introducing Fair Game from Vanity Fair
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On every episode, Vanity Fair pulls back the curtain on how some of the most interesting and powerful minds in our society work – and where they see us going. On Fair Game from Vanity Fair, no subject is off limits.
On this week
Today, Fri 30 Oct, 11:30am: Craft Club: Creepy Crafts, free drop-in for ages 5+, Atrium, Croydon Clocktower (CR9 1ET). More info.
Fri 30 and Sat 31 Oct, 8pm: Halloween Fancy Dress Disco at The Dog, £5.50, with a best-dressed competition and a prize draw. Details.
Sat 31 Oct, 11am to 11pm: Family Feastival for BOXPARK Croydon's 10th birthday, free. Details.
Sat 31 Oct, 6pm: Dracula screenings, David Lean Cinema, £6 to £10.50. Details.
Sun 1 Nov, 12pm to 4pm: The Kids' Table, free, BOXPARK Croydon. Details.
Thu 5 Nov, 7:30pm: Steeleye Span, Ashcroft Theatre, Fairfield Halls (CR0 1JD). Tickets.
Sun 8 Nov, 10am to 3:30pm: SoCro Art Fair, 50+ local makers, free, Coombe Wood School (CR2 7HY). More info.
Tue 10 Nov, 2pm to 4pm: Free Seed Swap with free refreshments from A Little Blossom, St Mildred's Church, Bingham Road, Addiscombe. More info.
Food & Drink Focus
Halloween in the pubs. The Crown & Pepper's Haunted Pub Party on Saturday 31 October is free to enter, with DJ Rhino from 9pm, free face painting from 9pm, prizes for best dressed, and two cocktails for £18.50 from 7pm. To book a table, call 020 8688 7507. More on Croydon BID. Trickle is also running a Trickle-Treat Halloween Special tonight from 5pm to 11pm (details).
BOXPARK turns 10. The Family Feastival on Saturday runs from 11am to 11pm and is free to enter, so it is an easy way to eat your way round the containers on the venue's birthday. The Kids' Table is back on Sunday afternoon.
Still on the list: Anything Yuh Like. The new Afro-Caribbean bar-restaurant at The Corner House, 1 South End (CR0 1BE), is open today from 3pm to 9pm and on Saturday from 12pm to 4pm. Inside Croydon's reviewer rated the suya lamb chops and jerk chicken but flagged some service problems, so go with a little patience. Mains from £15.95. Read the review.
Sunday sorted. The Sunday Quiz at The Spread Eagle starts at 7pm and costs £2 to play. Details.
Good news for the local pub and café. If you run one, the widened rates relief in today's lead story could apply to you from April 2027.
Business Spotlight: Mindful Sound Journeys
Mindful Sound Journeys offers sound baths and guided meditation for people who want to switch off, ease stress and reconnect with themselves. Founder Justyna Grucela runs group and one-to-one sessions across South London in calm, welcoming spaces, and brings experience from careers in hospitality management, criminal justice and now the NHS.
What makes it different, she says, is that the sessions are built around genuine connection rather than a one-size-fits-all wellness product, blending yoga, mindfulness and sound healing with her own lived experience.
📍 CR0 · 🌐 mindfulsoundjourneys.carrd.co · 📸 @mindfulsoundjourneys on Instagram and Facebook
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Building a stronger Croydon, together. The Croydon Local Pulse Team.