About Croydon South
As the Member of Parliament for Croydon South since 2015, Chris has been working closely with Mayor Jason Perry and his team to deliver on the issues that matter most to residents, including reopening Purley Pool; reforming Croydon’s planning system; medical centres; and helping overlooked council tenants.
Reopening Purley Pool
Another key priority for Mayor Perry and Chris has been to reopen Purley Pool– an essential facility neglected and ultimately closed by Labour, used by previously used by 11 local schools, many charities and local people of all ages.
Chris accompanied the Mayor on a visit to the site just five days after the election to inspect the pool, shocked that the previous Labour council did not even bother to bid for Purley Pool for a share of the £100m Government funding pot to re-open leisure centres after Covid.
A new pool and leisure centre will also provide a welcome lift to Purley town centre, attracting more footfall and creating a nicer environment. Chris is determined to see a pool and facilities re-opened in Purley as soon as possible and is pleased that a planning application was submitted in March 2024.
Ending Labour’s Planning Mess
For some time when Croydon Council was Labour-run, planning permission was granted indiscriminately. Indeed, over 90% of all applications were approved by the Planning Committee. Sadly, all too often this meant family houses destroyed and replaced by multiple occupancy blocks of flats.
Neighbouring Boroughs Bromley and Sutton did not allow this practice, and there is nothing in national policy that required it either. Of course, we need more homes, but blocks of flats should go on brownfield sites and sites in Croydon town centre.
Following the success of the local Conservatives at the May 2022 local elections, Chris has been working closely with Mayor Jason Perry and his Conservative administration to ensure the planning system protects Croydon’s character. Chris supported the move to consign Croydon’s hated SPD2 planning document to the dustbin, meaning that gone are the days of Labour using SPD2 as a Design Guide for so many inappropriate developments in Croydon.
Chris is pleased Croydon’s Planning Committee now has fewer Labour members and is Chaired by Conservative Councillor Michael Neal – after eight years of contemptuously ignoring residents and planning policy to pass almost every terrible application, the Committee thankfully has a new approach. At its first meeting in June, four applications (three of which sought to destroy houses built for families and replace them with ugly blocks of flats) were rejected as non-compliant after careful consideration. At long last, Croydon has a new approach to planning!
Protecting residents
In recent years, Croydon Council has not given social tenants the care and attention that they deserve, with residents in places like Regina Road living in appalling conditions. That’s why the new Mayor and his team have begun to visit social housing to listen to residents’ concerns and have adopted a new Residents’ Charter, developed in collaboration with residents and the Housing Improvement Board.
The Charter sets out how the administration will prioritise residents’ needs and outline the level of service they can expect in the future.
Better care at Croydon hospitals
Chris successfully lobbied the Government for the £25 million needed for a new A&E department at Croydon University Hospital (Mayday), which opened in May 2019. Since then, it has given the hospital almost twice as much space to provide better care for patients and also has more private and better facilities for patients, as well as better treatment for children.
Chris will continue to work very closely with the new administration to make sure that the interests of the whole Borough are served. After Labour left the Borough bankrupt there are many challenges on the horizon, but by working together we can overcome them.
Coulsdon Medical Centre
Chris is working to bring a new medical centre to Coulsdon to make treatment access faster and easier. The local NHS won the bidding to buy the site on Malcolm Road from the council. In principle, agreement has been obtained from the NHS for the £9.8m investment needed for the site but final detailed NHS approval and planning permission are now needed. 
Services are set to open in Summer 2025 and Chris will be staying in regular contact with the NHS to monitor delivery against the milestones above which the NHS has committed to. As more news from the NHS on this important project is received, updates will be shared and Chris is doing everything he can to support.
Purley GP Hub
Chris campaigned successfully with local residents to ensure the GP Hub / Minor Injury Unit at Purley Hospital opens 365 days a year, 12 hours a day (8am to 8pm). This is very useful to ensure people can see a GP very quickly if their own one is busy, or get a minor injury fixed without needing to go all the way to A&E in Croydon town centre. More information of the services available can be found in Chris’ update here.
Business rates
Chris has been campaigning to lower business rates to support smaller shops and retail businesses, especially those on the high street, since being elected. The Head of the Purley Business Improvement District, Simon Cripps, has also said said, “Local traders are really appreciative that Chris listened to our concerns about Business Rates and then lobbied the Chancellor so effectively on our behalf. I’m delighted that the Chancellor listened.”
The then-Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, thanked Chris during his budget in 2018, saying “If Britain’s high streets are to remain at the centre of our community life, they will need to adapt. Today, we support them to do so, responding to calls from across this House, especially from my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening) and my hon. Friends the Members for Southport (Damien Moore) and for Croydon South (Chris Philp).” Chris is proud to have supported this leading to lower rates for small businesses across Croydon South.
Coulsdon Banking Hub
After reviewing the access to banking services locally and identifying with ECRA, local councillors and residents, the need for an additional facility to help meet the needs of the local community, Chris is supporting the plans to open a Banking Hub in Coulsdon.
Chris is working closely with Cash Access UK along with local Councillors Ian Parker, Mario Creatura, Luke Shortland, Margaret Bird and Nikhil Thampi to make sure this plan happens as promised. In May 2024, Chris spoke to residents at a local meeting with not-for-profit organisation, Cash Access, who will open a banking centre with cash facilities & banking services from 5 major banks by next March.
Facial Recognition
Chris brought Police Live Facial Recognition to Croydon town centre leading to over 100 arrests of wanted criminals in the last three or four months alone, who would not otherwise have been caught including for knife-related offences. It’s going to keep the public and our families safer.
