Mayor approves £750,000 of TfL funding to support Croydon community

12 March 2018
Funding will provide health and social services support for those affected by the tragic event at Sandilands in November 2016
"It's vital that we continue to do all we can to support everyone affected by the tragedy at Sandilands. The New Addington community has shown real strength in supporting one another, and I'm determined that we continue to be there to offer our assistance in the years to come. I hope that through this funding we can help the local community receive the support it needs"
Sadiq Khan
The Mayor of London

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced that TfL is providing £750,000 in support of Croydon Council's community recovery activities following the tram tragedy at Sandilands in November 2016.

The Mayor and TfL will provide Croydon Council with the money over the next three years to support health and social services in New Addington and the surrounding community, where many of those directly or indirectly affected by the tragedy live.

Croydon and local commissioning groups have proposed a range of action to help local people, including more community and social care and increases to adult and child mental health resources. Potential support may include:

  • Counselling and resilience programmes for students at nearby schools
  • Support for mental health services and alcohol and substance abuse programmes
  • Healthcare professional training to better recognise trauma-based presentations

The Mayor has worked hard to provide the support needed to everyone affected since that devastating day and to ensure that TfL does all it can to prevent such a tragedy from ever happening again.

Additional safety

TfL has sought to support bereaved families and passengers directly affected through the provision of counselling, rehabilitation, financial compensation, free transport and other support.

It is also working proactively with all those affected and their legal representatives to progress their civil claims quickly.

On the tram network, TfL has introduced a number of additional safety measures and continues to work with the wider industry to implement the recommendations set out by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB).

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: 'It's vital that we continue to do all we can to support everyone affected by the tragedy at Sandilands.

'The New Addington community has shown real strength in supporting one another, and I'm determined that we continue to be there to offer our assistance in the years to come. I hope that through this funding we can help the local community receive the support it needs.'

Community recovery programme

Councillor Tony Newman, leader of Croydon Council, said: 'The seven people who lost their lives on that awful day are never far from Croydon's thoughts and I am pleased the Mayor has made this funding available.

'It's been a council priority to ensure those that need additional support receive the right type of help and care, and this money will allow us to work with those affected to best assess how the community recovery programme can help them.'

London's Transport Commissioner, Mike Brown, said: 'Our thoughts remain with all those affected by this tragedy and we continue to do all we can to offer our support.

'We recognise that this has had a profound impact on the local community and hope that our contribution to Croydon Council's community recovery programme helps improve the lives of those directly and indirectly affected.'

TfL and Croydon Council will work together over the next three years on identifying projects and allocating the funds.

Notes to editors:

TfL strongly desires to provide this funding. It is not clear, however, that the activities that the London Borough of Croydon envisages undertaking are sufficiently linked to TfL's statutory powers relating to safe, integrated, efficient and economic transport facilities and services in London. Therefore the Mayor has delegated his wider powers to TfL and directed TfL accordingly to enable TfL to make this payment without risk of challenge.

TfL has introduced a number of safety measures to the tram network, including installing chevrons and speed-activated warning signs at significant bends, lowering the maximum speed limit across the network, and improving the protection that tram windows and doors provide to passengers. TfL has also rolled out a Driver Protection Device that detects the attention state of drivers and intervenes should this fail. TfL continues to work with the wider tram industry on these improvements and will continue to work with them to implement the recommendations from the RAIB's report which apply across the industry.

TfL has sought to support bereaved families and passengers who were directly affected through the provision of counselling, rehabilitation, financial compensation, free transport and other support. So far, TfL has paid more than £2m to bereaved families and passengers and is working proactively with all those affected and their legal representatives to progress their civil claims as soon as practicable. To help this, TfL and the operator of the tram service, Tram Operations Limited (a subsidiary of FirstGroup plc) have admitted liability for the purposes of the civil claims.