Many residents will be relieved to read these reassuring comments above made by the council’s chief executive, Jo Negrini, speaking at an international property conference in Cannes this month.

Croydon is facing a demanding house building programme but without the infrastruture to match.

North  Croydon is bearing the brunt and a recent report revealed that a quarter of the borough’s children grow up in poverty and debt is now one of the major causes of homelessness with many families relying on food banks.

More than 1,000 homes, 50 per cent affordable, are being built by 2019 by the controversial Labour-council backed, Brick by Brick with one  of the sites in Chipstead Avenue, Thornton Heath.

Council Leader Tony Newman revealed last week that within 48 hours of being asked to register, 350 people had shown an interest in the BXB homes.

The council has borrowed £309million  from the government towards funding the ambitious £520million Croydon Growth Zone with the balance made up by contributions from TfL, the GLA or planning obligations towards 46 projects across the borough, the majority of which is being spent in central Croydon.

Over £8 million is being allocated to improving the London Road corridor including the A23 Thornton Heath gyratory.

Other projects for Thornton Heath are yet to be funded, according to the latest Infrastructure Delivery Plan.

These include: a £2million regeneration plan to extend the public realm works along Brigstock Road from the train station to Norbury Brook including shop front improvements and new paving.

The IDP which identifies the borough’s infrastructure requirements reveals a £300,000 project to turn the abandoned Heath Lodge in Grangewood Park, in to four supported living units for people with autism, and combine this with a social enterprise café . The essential works, says the document, would be funded primarily from Section 106 contributions.

It further identifies funding of £9.4million needed for primary healthcare services in the Thornton Heath GP network describing this as ‘critical’ but so far only £1.2million has been sourced.

Thornton Heath has the highest level of diabetes in Croydon and is at the forefront of a cutting edge social prescribing programme led by local GPs  where patients are being referred to community hubs like Age UK (featured also in this month’s edition) where they can benefit from services offering health, wellbeing and advice to reduce preventable diseases.