Niranjan Francis has been an active member of the Gipsy Hill community for the past 10 years, as a local shopkeeper and sub-post master as well as being the chairman for the local Labour Party for the last 2 years and vice-chairman of the Norwood Forum until September 2009. Elected in May 2010, Cllr Francis is always available to help local residents.
Niranjan Francis has campaigned for the local community on various occasions, such as: keeping the local Post Office open; successfully campaiging with MP Tessa Jowell to have CCTV installed on Gipsy Road, having listened to the pleas of the many local people who wanted to increase the well-being of the community and to provide a safe and friendly neighbourhood for all. Niranjan Francis is concerned about the threat of crime in Gipsy Hill from the cuts in our local police announced by Tory mayor Boris Johnson.
Niranjan Francis at the age of 17 began work as a Merchant Navy cadet. He eventually finished his Masters in Navigation and became the captain of a ship with a crew of 40 in 1991. Niranjan Francis then became the proprietor of a care home in Kent, due to his urge to help the aged and support all members of the community. He became a shopkeeper in Gipsy Road in 2000, where he has been an active member of the community for the last 10 years, serving and working for a better, safer and cleaner Gipsy Hill.
Francis says:
“I’ve been a shopkeeper in the local community for ten years and was Sub-Postmaster at the Gipsy Road Post Office for eight years. I am also a previous Vice-Chair of the Norwood Forum. As a local businessman and parent and I am committed to seeing our area improve and have been actively involved in campaigning for more school places, CCTV to make our area safer, better housing and more for young people to do. I’m rooted in the community, working to improve our area and listening to the issues that matter to all of us.”
