Come and visit the bloomin’ marvellous gardens of Shirley!
Shirley residents have been busy and they’ve worked hard to put colour into Shirley.
Their gardens are ready to view and you can visit them during our festival of colour which takes place between Monday 22 June to Friday 3 July 2026.
During the period, our judges – two experienced horticulturists – will be out judging the gardens and we’ll announce our winners at the end of the competition. First prize will receive a £50 voucher from The Crown Shirley and the runner up will win a £25 voucher from Eden Park Garden Centre.
Paper copies of our map of gardens are available from Shirley Community Library on the corner of Hartland Way and Wickham Road and you can pick one up for free from Monday 22 June. See below or download the map here
Leading Executive Committee and coordinating sub-committees. Setting vision and priorities. Chairing AGM Writing monthly SPAN column and annual members’ report. Liaising with elected officials
Vice Chair
Deputising for the Chair in all respects. Coordinating special projects
Honorary Secretary
Coordinating Executive Committee meetings – including attendance, agendas and minutes / actions. Planning and coordinating the AGM. Coordinate with SPAN editorial team. Working closely with the Chair
Honorary Treasurer
Preparing monthly and annual accounts. Preparing and monitoring annual budget. Controlling spend on all projects – e.g. Xmas lights, fayres, events etc. Maintaining SPRA bank accounts and controlling signatories. Coordinating with SPAN Finance Manager
Zone & Road Stewards’ Secretary
Coordinating Zone & Road Stewards to welcome new residents, facilitate delivery of SPAN and support collection of annual subscriptions. Work closely with the Chair, Membership Secretary, Honorary Treasurer and IT Lead
Committee Members
Sitting on Executive Committee to provide advice and opinions. Assuming designated Lead roles. Taking on specific projects during the year as agreed
Committee Member roles are for a fixed term of 2 years with effect from the AGM on Tuesday 2nd June 2026. All other roles are for a 1 year term.
Nominees must be SPRA members
To discuss any of these roles or request a nomination form* please contact Julian Roberts at julian.roberts@springparkra.co.uk or on 07802 463817
All nominations to be submitted by Tuesday 26th May to Trevor Ashby, SPRA President, 19 The Grange, Shirley, CR0 8AP
*Nomination forms also available in the May edition of SPAN Magazine
Vince Skinner, whose family have been Professional Growers for 150 years, has some tips for the Shirley in Bloom Competition.
What about geraniums for long lasting colour. I’ve just got mine out of the greenhouse where I overwinter them. You can see the many colours. The ivy leaf varieties can be used both in tubs and hanging baskets. Or try fuchsias. Some varieties are hardy so will come up each year.
Roses are also a great choice. You can see I grow mine in large pots so I can rotate them when a shrub is no longer in flower to provide a constant display. You many have other flowers in large pots in your back garden. Bring them all round to the front to add to your display.
You may impress the judges if you have the rose ‘Shirley’ in your mix. It looks like this.
Any other gaps can be filled with bedding plants. You can find many varieties already in flower. Keep them watered.
Finally, tidy up your hedges, deadhead your flowers and mow the lawn. Smarten up your beds with bark chips and help keep the watering down.
Will you be preparing your garden ready for Shirley in Bloom?
We want to add colour to our fantastic local green environment during our festival.
We’ll be running a “Front Gardens” competition and if you or one of your neighbours’ gardens will be in bloom during our festival dates, you can nominate your own property or someone else’s.
To enter, just email ShirleyinBloom2026@springparkra.co.uk no later than Friday 11 June with your full name and contact details, the garden owner’s name and full address and confirmation you have their permission to enter their garden. Entering the competition means that the resident is giving permission for garden photographs and the winner’s name to appear in SPAN magazine and on Facebook.
The front garden judged best will win a £50 voucher to use at The Crown Pub on Wickham Road in Shirley.Second prize is a £25 voucher for Eden Park Garden Centre.
Spring Park Residents’ Association will be around during the Spring identifying good locations to add colour to our neighbourhood to celebrate Shirley In Bloom.
You too can do your bit to ensure we have plenty of colour this summer in Shirley. We are encouraging everyone to sow seeds for the Shirley Poppy – a hybrid flower produced by famous horticulturist, Reverend William Wilks, one time vicar of St John’s Church in Shirley. You can buy packets of Shirley Poppy seeds and sow them in your garden and around the bases of trees on the pavements in Shirley. They are available from Eden Park Garden Centre.
Let’s get our gardens in shape. It’s going to be bloomin’ marvellous!
Contact ShirleyinBloom2026@springparkra.co.uk for further information.
Inspector Andrew Smith from the Met Police Croydon South Neighbourhoods team has written and asked us to circulate the following message:
Over the evenings of the 11th – 13th February officers from your local teams and supported by officers from specialist commands within the Metropolitan police ran an operation targeting motor vehicle crime.
We are aware that this is an issue that has often been raised to us and we want to reassure you that we are taking your concerns seriously.
During the three nights we recovered 5 stolen vehicles and returned them to their owners, one of these vehicles was stolen just an hour before hand.
Another was a recently stolen van full of parcels that were out for delivery, the van had false number plates on it but proactive actions by officers identified its true identity and arrested the driver for theft of a motor vehicle. The van and its contents was returned to the owner.
Another vehicle was identified as driving on cloned number plates and the driver has been prosecuted, the impact of their actions in driving with duplicate number plates was that an unsuspecting owner received a large number of ULEZ and congestion charge fines despite never having driven in the London area.
Whilst motor vehicle crime continues to be a big issue across the borough lots of work is being done in the background to identify criminals who want to steal cars and bikes.
May I take this time to encourage you to visit Secured by Design – Vehicle Crime where there is a wealth of crime prevention advice.
I would encourage the use of steering locks as a hard protective measure, this unfortunately will not prevent all thefts but the more physical actions you can take the better.
We will be holding ‘surgery’ sessions at Shirley Community Library and welcome any of our residents to come and see us. You might want to discuss something community related (planning, highways, green spaces etc), share an idea for a local event or initiative – or simply find out more about SPRA and what we do. This is very much a pilot and if it’s successful, we’ll hold these regularly. The Library will also make a very appropriate focal point for SPRA too, truly becoming the heart and soul of Shirley.
The first SPRA Surgery will be held on:
Tuesday 10 March 10.30am to 12 noon at Shirley Community Library
Morley’s – who have taken over the old fish and chip shop opposite the entrance to Shirley Oaks Village at 152 Wickham Road – have applied to remain open until 3am. This will be difficult for local residents. Objections can be made no later than 15 February to licensing@croydon.gov.uk.
UPDATE: Morley’s have adjusted their application and are now requesting a licence until 0100 hours on Friday/Saturday and 00.30 on other days of the week. SPRA’s position is that it should be 2300 in line with other outlets.
