A heated standoff erupted at Croydon's first full council meeting since the election when a resident refused to return the microphone after challenging the council over a long-running planning dispute. The incident lasted approximately eight minutes and involved elderly resident John Watton, who confronted councillors about a property at 518 Purley Way.
Resident raises concerns about Purley Way property
Mr Watton submitted the first question during the public questions section of the July 20 meeting, the first full council meeting since Mayor Jason Perry was re-elected in May. He raised concerns about a planning enforcement notice relating to 518 Purley Way, which he said he had been pursuing with the council since 2023. The property is located near the busy Fiveways junction in Waddon.
Mr Watton claimed the property was not fit for habitation due to what previous inspectors described as its “severely oppressive” design. He cited a senior planning opinion from June 2023 that found the building’s conversion to residential use was “unauthorised and therefore unlawful.” He also referred to expert reports raising concerns about inadequate natural light and questioned why the council continued to house people at the property despite a previous planning inspector’s view that it could potentially cause physical and psychological distress.
Standoff over microphone and inadequate response
Halfway through his address, newly appointed Civic Mayor Councillor Mohammed Islam interrupted Mr Watton, asking him to move on to his submitted question due to time constraints. However, Mr Watton was dissatisfied with the written response from Cabinet Member for Planning and Regulatory Services, Jeet Bains, saying: “The summary I have just been handed does not bear a full resemblance to the question I asked, and therefore the answer is inadequate because it does not reflect the agenda.” He added that the response had only been handed to him as he walked into the chamber “five minutes ago.”
During a tense exchange, Cllr Islam attempted to hand over to the council’s Director of Legal Services and Monitoring Officer, Stephen Lawrence-Orumwense, but Mr Watton continued to question him about the enforcement issue. Cllr Islam reiterated that members of the public were required to ask the question they had submitted in advance. Mr Watton responded: “So I’m not entitled to read out the letter which originally raised my questions. Therefore, I’m short-circuited on this because the summary is totally inadequate.”
When Cllr Islam refused his further question, Mr Watton asked why the council had not followed through on a commitment made nearly two years earlier to obtain leading counsel’s opinion on the effectiveness of the planning consent. Mr Watton then refused to hand back the microphone as council staff attempted to move the meeting on. A security staff member tried to take it from him, but he did not relent, saying: “I have waited four months to try and get an answer to this question.”
Resolution and council response
Nearly eight minutes after the exchange began, Mr Watton was eventually allowed to ask his question, which he directed to the Civic Mayor, Executive Mayor and council’s legal department. He asked whether they would honour a commitment to obtain legal advice on the validity of the planning consent for the property. Instead of answering his amended question, Councillor Bains read the original written response published ahead of the meeting. He confirmed the council’s housing team had not directly placed Croydon tenants at 518 Purley Way.
Cllr Bains added that planning enforcement action was discretionary and had to be proportionate and necessary. He said the council had concluded the alleged breaches did not cause enough planning harm to justify formal enforcement action and that no further action would be taken. Mr Watton remained dissatisfied with the response, while Cllr Bains said he would follow up with him after the meeting.
