AN ACTIVE council on the side of the community and local businesses will be a central aim of a Labour council if elected in May.
So says Labour leader Tony Newman, who also claims immediate action would be taken to clean up the borough and tackle antisocial behaviour.
His pledges came as the party launched its election manifesto, titled 'Ambitious for Croydon', this week.
Cllr Newman said Labour would set out to ensure that everyone in the community benefited from the predicted growth in Croydon's fortunes and his party's intention to make the borough a better place in which to live and work.
He said: "There is a lot of talk about future investment and we want to see all the people of Croydon benefit from that.
"We want to ensure that investors like Westfield and Hammerson provide quality local jobs and training opportunities in their developments."
The manifesto also ups the stakes on affordable housing, with Labour pledging to push for 30 per cent affordable homes in new developments. Cllr Newman said: "It is exciting to have housing developments but we don't want to see Croydon becoming a place where overseas investors buy up entire blocks before they are even built."
He added: "We also recognise that with thousands of new homes planned there has got to be proper policies in terms of school and health provision."
Cleaning up Croydon is seen by Labour as a policy which can be implemented quickly and would be, Cllr Newman said, a response to pressure from residents.
The manifesto says immediately after an election victory, Labour would launch a "Don't mess with Croydon" campaign tackling head-on "those who think they can blight our borough without consequence."
Cllr Newman said: "We will be taking a very hard approach to tackle fly-tipping and dropping litter. Keeping streets cleaner will also be a priority. I am sure most want us to clean up Croydon and put some pride back in the borough."
Cllr Newman, who previously led the council between 2002 and 2006, admitted the authority would face a tough financial time over the next year or so.
Labour is already committed to freezing council tax again next year but he said policies like a cleaner Croydon had been fully costed. He said: "We believe there are savings to be made on the £20 million a year the council is spending on consultants and on IT contracts.
"We have said we don't think the Tory council should have borrowed money to pay for its luxury new headquarters.
"If we decide to borrow money, the key test will be is the borrowing for an investment for the greater good of the town."
