Along with the photographer from the Croydon Advertiser, SNTB went along to Love Lane and the Bunny Hole for some promotional pictures for Friday’s paper. Imagine our horror when we saw the filth and the squalor that blights the area – it was suggested that you would need a Has-Chem suit to enter the Bunny Hole! It was just as difficult to take a picture by the Love Lane street sign for all the rubbish that had been shoved in every conceivable gap. A Romantic location it is not no matter how good your imagination.
Whilst the Council had told us they had cleared up some items, whatever has gone on in this area since they last looked is a travesty. This is the email that we sent to several people within the ‘Don’t Mess With Croydon’ Council yesterday:
We have just had a look at the area from the top of Love Lane down to the other side of the Bunny Hole and the area is actually a health hazard, and dangerous for anyone who walks by, let alone holding a community event. In its current state there is masses of broken rubbish all over, let alone the stench of the Bunny Hole.
As you know we were planning on holding an event there, celebrating one of the quirky historic aspects of South Norwood but it would contravene all health and safety standards to encourage anyone to even enter the area. As it stands we are going to have to cancel our plans and think of an alternative, as we believe it would be unhygienic for all and dangerous for any children to be around there; our liability insurance is only valid with a detailed risk assessment in place. Currently, as the event can’t take place we will have wasted over £300 of community funded money, as we had arranged for lots of materials to make the event fun and memorable for all who came.
This is a really sad day for South Norwood and on the face of it undermines the Councils ‘Don’t Mess with Croydon’ Campaign; I appreciate fly tipping is an ongoing issue but we raised this as an issue which was put forward by Kathy Bee on the 9th January 2015 – over a month ago.
Our trusted comrade Anthony Brooks (Director of Environment) responded immediately, stating he will ‘Get this looked into ASAP’, but noone else.
SNTB are furiously coming up with Plan B as the show must not go on – but not in squalor!
South Norwood Tourist Board 
It looked a right old mess on Tuesday morning when I walked through! Sorry, I should have warned you but I thought maybe somebody was aware how bad it had got and how much rubbish had been dumped.
We were aware that there was some stuff but not quite how bad, I emailed them after a comment on Facebook (by yourself?) and they said they would get the bed removed and do final check tomorrow. It now needs a full on rubbish removal team.
A romantic boat trip on one of our glorious lakes instead?