Councillor Richard Clifton and Councillor Heather Honour

This is a picture of me setting out to tour the Ward on my beloved Dawes Galaxy bike, on which I once cycled from our home in Sutton South to Chartres in France. Bike is by far the best way to get around Sutton South Ward. Gloria and I are great “eco-nuts” determined to save the planet by our own example. We have two solar water heating systems and a “hybrid” car, useful when it’s too far to go by bike.

I hope that anyone who looks at this blog will read what I say about myself on the “Who are we?” page. I am a retired senior civil servant who spent my career working in the institutions of the European Union and in UK central Government. It is such a pleasure that the electors of Sutton South have given me this opportunity for public service for an entirely local community in the area where I live.

In this blog I:

- describe the Sutton Council and other local committees I sit on, the speeches I make at Council meetings and the work I do as a Councillor

- give an account, in a diary section below, of the things that have taken up my time on a day-by-day basis, back to about autumn 2010 when we first developed this website, having been elected the previous May, and then describe some other ways I serve the community

- at the very end of the Blog, provide an annual report on my work in 2011.

I frequently make speeches at Sutton Council meetings. These have been on subjects as diverse as the importance of localism in the criminal justice system, the dangers posed by loan sharks, the planning system, helping local businesses, parking, project management, work organisation and health and safety.

On 30 April 2012 I made a speech on helping local businesses, and the measures required to assist in the regeneration of commercial shopping centres in the UK.

On 5 December 2011 I made a speech to Sutton Council about the importance of attention to health and safety at work, despite the way some (including David Cameron) seek to ridicule those who see this as important. I made the point that it is still the case that about 200 men are killed every year in industrial accidents that, research shows, could have been avoided.

On 17 October 2011 I made two important speeches at the meeting of Sutton Council, one on planning and one on project management. I atttach particular importance to the speech on planning since I was able to set out in a comprehensive way my views on the strengths and weaknesses of the planning system. Have a look at the page on “Planning” to read the speech in full.

Here are some of the things I do on a regular basis:

I am the vice-chair of the HOUSING, ECONOMY AND BUSINESS COMMITTEE (HEB), which involves me closely in the issues of economic regeneration and planning, both major personal interests. I am involved in day-to-day planning decisions as a member of the DEVELOPMENT CONTROL COMMITTEE and in economic regeneration as a member of the SUTTON TOWN CENTRE PARTNERSHIP.

I am the chair of the Sutton Joint HEALTH AND SAFETY COMMITTEE, which is a forum for Councillors and recognised trade unions to meet to discuss the safety and occupational health problems of the Council’s workforce, including those who work in schools. I have a long-standing interest in the issue of industrial safety and was at one time chair of the Board of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, based in Bilbao (Spain), as you will see if you read what I have written on the “Who are We?” page on this website.

I am a member of the Council’s STANDARDS COMMITTEE and the SCRUTINY COMMITTEE.

As a Councillor, I believe I have made a reputation for commitment, hard-work and an intelligent approach to the issues we face. This was recognised in that after both my first and second years of service I was asked to take on additional responsibilites, joining.

Heather and I both represent Sutton South Ward on the South Sutton, Cheam and Belmont LOCAL COMMITTEE. On joining the Committee when elected in May 2010 I wrote a paper for the committee analysing the characteristics of our area and suggesting priority areas for attention. I have reproduced that paper at the end of this blog.

Heather and I both sit on the local POLICE consultative panel for Sutton South Ward. I regard this as a very important group. Our reports on these meetings can be found on the page of the website devoted to Sutton police. 

I represent the Council on the DOWNLAND PROJECT BOARD. The Downland Project is concerned with the maintenance of woodland in Sutton and in other areas, extending into Surrey. Since being elected there have been two meetings of the Board, held in Woldingham and in Reigate, which I attended. I think the community gets value for the small contribution Sutton makes to the project as it is able to mobilise a large number of volunteers to undertake woodland management work. An example of Big Society volunteering before the phrase “big society” came into use.

I am also a member of the board of the FRIENDS OF WHITEHALL, Whitehall being a historic house in Cheam. My daughter Eleanor worked as a volunteer at Whitehall when she was a student at nearby Nonsuch school, so I have a long-standing family interest in this building. 

I take a close interest in local planning issues and am concerned at the lack of balance in the housing stock in the Ward – too many small flats with no garden, not enough family houses. A study showed that half the children at our local primary school, Devonshire, live in properties with no garden. A report on my activities in this field is on the page of the website dealing with planning.

In addition, Heather and I both have a lot of individual issues that residents approach us about and that we try to deal with. I am always careful to say to residents that I cannot guarantee to solve their problem, but I will do my best. Issues I have dealt with include:

- trees (the replacement of street trees knocked down by cars and people who are concerned that the street trees are shading or damaging their property)

- foxes

- planning related issues

- rubbish and waste disposal

- inconsiderate parking

- entitlement to a “Freedom Pass”

- estate agents’ billboards

- road safety

- fencing

- street lighting

- grit bins (getting more bins, replenishing the bins, collecting grit, getting the roads gritted in bad weather, getting bins moved that were in the wrong position)

- noise problems

- payment of housing benefit

- housing transfers

- the nuisance caused by inconsiderate dog owners who do not clean up if their dog fouls the footpath

- the admission policies of local schools

- the operation of brothels in our green and pleasant suburb (something I did not believe happened before I was elected your Councillor).

I list some specific activities in the section below where I describe my activities since autumn 2010 on a day-by-day basis, but in fact every day I am involved in some aspect of work as a Councillor.

HERE IS AN ACCOUNT OF HOW I SPEND MY TIME, WORKING FOR LOCAL RESIDENTS

It is necessarily selective, but every day I am involved in some aspect of work as a Councillor, usually either responding to casework, working with community groups or participating in Council committees.

On Tuesday 22 May I attended a briefing meeting for the first meeting of the Housing, Economy and Business Committee, of which I am the vice-chair.

On Monday 21 May I attended an interesting meeting with officers to discuss the problems involved in the localisation of the payment of Council tax benefit, which – in my view – is a scheme to cut Government funding of council tax benefit in a way that ensures the blame for the problems arising accrue at the doors of local authorities and not the Government.

Thisevening I went to the annual Council meeting where a new Mayor is chosen. This also marked the abandonment of the old Executive system, which I always opposed, and adoption of a scheme I had a hand in devising involving subject committees. I am now appointed vice-chair of the Housing, Economy and Business Committee. I am looking forward to this new set of responsibilities.

On Tuesday 15 May Heather and I went to St. Helier hospital where we met Paul Burstow MP and Tom Brake MP, as part of our developing campaign to oppose the plan to close the A and E Department at St. Helier. This is a discraceful proposal and Heather is actively involved in opposing it as a member of the Joint Oversight and Scrutiny Committee for south west London, that scrutinises health proposals.

On Monday 14 May I attended a meeting of the Council’s Planning Advisory Group (PAG), where we discussed measures relating to the Wandle Valley and a planning brief for the development of land at Carshalton College which will be surplus to the needs of the College during a period of re-development of the College. The development brief covers the re-building of parts of the College and the development proposals for the surplus land. This was the last meeting of PAG. Its work will now be dealt with by the new Housing, Economy and Business Committee (HEB), which I will be a member of.

On Thursday 10 May Heather and I met traffic engineers at the Kings Lane bridge to discuss possible improvements to the bridge, reported in a post on this site. That evening I attended an event organised by Orbit Housing to meet residents of Westmoreland Drive. Entryphone systems at Westmoreland Drive are a current issue.

On Wednesday 9 May I attended a meeting of the Development Control Committee. One of the items we approved was for the war memorial in Carshalton to have a stone plaque, because the metal plaque with the names of the deceased was stolen. This theft is outrageous. We also agreed to allow an increase in refuse vehicles depositing refuse at the Beddington Lane landfill site during the evening and night. This was a difficult issue but on I thought the small increase in lorry movements would not add significantly to the disturbance of the residents nearby.  

On Tuesday 8 May I had a long meeting with Council officers to brief myself on housing issues, in preparation for the role I hope to play on the new Housing, Economy and Business Committee.

One of the most interesting things I do is sit on the Board of the Downlands Project, representing Sutton. We get good value from our small contribution to this project, as it supplies volunteers for important work clearing woodland. On Monday 7 May, the Bank Holiday, Gloria and I went for a walk in Banstead Woods, which the project helps maintain, and saw this wonderful bank of bluebells.

On Friday 3 May I needed a break after the election. While the results were described by the press as poor for the LibDems I noted that in places where the LibDems are well entrenched and it is a Tory-LibDem marginal, like Portsmouth, Chelmsford, Cheltenham and Eastleigh, we did well. In Portsmouth we took seats of fthe Tories. So there is hope in Sutton. Particularly in Sutton South Ward, as the percentage falling away of our vote compared to 2008 was lower in Sutton South than in any other Sutton Borough Ward. While we achieved the second highest percentage vote for our Mayoral candidate of the 18 Sutton Borough Wards, the best comparator is the results for the Assembly election. Here, comparing the result to the 2010 Council election, the Tories did not increase their share of the vote but our vote fragmented, with the Greens and Labour increasing their share. Our challenge in 2014 will be to convince these people to stick with us or let in the Tories.  

I spent the afternoon playing the cornet for the Crystal Palace Brass Band Progress Band (this is their second band – I am not good enough to get into the first band) in the Croydon Music Festival. We scored a distinction. In the picture I am the second from left of the first cornets, who were standing up at this point, to the left of the bandleader as you look at the picture, in the front row. I still needed a break on the Saturday so went to watch London Irish play Gloucester, with my daughter and son-in-law. They won 52 – 18. A good match. If I had been a footballer I could have played football for the Republic of Ireland – you only need one grandparent born in the Republic to qualify and I have two.

Thursday 3 May saw the elections to the London Assembly, so I spent the day on work related to the election. This is not an easy election for Liberal Democrats to get excited about and mobilise our supporters, unlike the general election or the local Council elections. In a cross-London vote, our candidate is not going to be elected Mayor and our best hope is to get some members elected to the Greater London Assembly. This body strikes me as fairly toothless. I am not in favour of having Mayors rather than Councils. Too much power is placed in the hands of a single individual, and people are idiosyncratic and mercurial. I advised my younger daughter, who lives in Birmingham, to vote against having a Mayor. Cliftons are a rebellious (or, perhaps, free-thinking is the term I am searching for) lot and I know she voted to have a Mayor, for sound reasons she put to me at length and not just because her Dad was of a contrary view.

On Tuesday 1 May I attended a meeting with Council officers to help plan the work of the new Housing, Economy and Business Committee, which I hope to play a major role in.

On Monday 30 April I attended the meeting of Sutton Council and spoke on two motions, seconding a motion on planning controls and support for local businesses, and speaking on a motion on parking. The text of the motion on planning controls is on the page on “Planning”.

On Wednesday 25 April I attended a meeting of the Council’s Standards Committee, where we agreed a set of proposals for a new standards regime required under the Localism Act. I think the changes made by the Act unhelpful and the new regime will be weaker. However, my fellow LibDem Councillors can be relied on to work hard to uphold acceptable standards of behaviour by Councillors.

On Tuesday 24 April I attended the Planning Advisory Group to hear a discussion about the re-development of the site at the bottom of the High Street in Sutton, where the gasholders are. We also had a report on section 106 contributions, a subject close to my heart.

On Thursday 19 April I attended the Sutton South, Cheam and Belmont Local Committee. Amongst other things I:

- sought re-assurance from the police about police resources in Sutton, given the evidence that police resources are stretched that I heard at the Licensing Committee hearing I attended on 28 March

- obtained agreement to litter bins being provided at locations suggested to me by residents, including Grange Road and Upland Road

- established the way forward on the Eastleigh Close parking issue, and the Bonchurch Close yellow lining issue

- heard a presentation on the new bin collection scheme. I noted that local authorities have suffered 26% cuts in Government funding, in real terms, of running costs and 29% of capital programmes since 2010, and Sutton Council had done well to keep the Council tax frozen for three years while avoiding draconian cuts like closing libraries. The new bin collection scheme will save £500 000. There may be a few rough edges, to be ironed out in the next few weeks, but it is a worthwhile scheme. 

On Wednesday 18 April I attended the Ward police consultative panel. It was an interesting meeting. A full report is on the page on the site called “Sutton Police”.

On Saturday 14 April I attended the AGM of the Sutton Council Liberal Democrat Group. Under the new governance structure, which I worked hard to get adopted,  there will be subject committees and I have put myself forward to have a role in the leadership of some of this work. The results will be made public in due course.

On Thursday 12 April I was again the “Civic Dignitary” welcoming new British citizens at a Citizenship ceremony, at the Registrar’s Office in Worcester Road. The people taking British citizenship included people from Lithuania, Iraq, India, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Algeria and Zimbabwe. A small success today in that the a noise abatement notice has been served on the local resident who keeps a cockerell, leading to the cockerell being disposed of. This was causing a lot of nuisance.

On Thursday 4 April we are coming up to the Easter weekend and I have some interesting and challenging casework to deal with at the moment. The ones involving anti-social behaviour are the most difficult, and I sometimes get a bit stressed by them. One of the more difficult ones at the moment is a man who keeps a cockerel in his garden and, despite having promised to get rid of it, does not do so. The racket is not tolerable. I have a number about road junctions, parking, trees, rubbish bins and planning issues.

On Tuesday 3 April I was again the “Civic Dignitary” taking part in a Citizenship Ceremony at the Registrar’s Office in Worcester Road. I have to make a speech welcoming these people as British citizens. I believe the diversity of the population of Sutton brings with it great benefit, as people of different cultures learn so much from each other. An enormous crowd was there, many of those taking citizenship bringing large family groups and many children. Some wear their national dress and there is a fascinating mix of formality and informality in the ceremonies. There were people from Thailand, Afganistan, Australia, Bulgaria, Hungary, China, the Congo, Sri Lanka and India taking citizenship. I enjoy these ceremonies.

In the afternoon I went on a training course on the new Council governance system. I am an enthusiastic proponent of the changes being made. I plan to stand for the vice-chairmanship of one of the new committees.

On Thursday 29 March I attended a meeting of the newly formed Residents’ Association for Sutton Court, in the Brighton Road. I am delighted this association is developing its work, and it is bringing a sense of commmunity cohesion to Sutton Court. 

Wednesday 28 March was a very busy day. I was up early to cycle to the Salvation Army centre in Sutton where Sutton Housing Partnership had a breakfast meeting on current initiatives on troubled families. As we have a lot of casework on troubled families, who trouble their neighbours with their anti-social behaviour, this was important.

In the afternoon I went to the licence hearing on the proposal to open a nightclub in Grove Road. Residents in the Ward, in Worcester Road, had alerted me to local concerns. I spoke strongly against the proposal the application was thrown out. A post on the main page on this website has more details.

I then went to a pre-meeting of the Development Control Committee to discuss planning aspects of the proposed Energy Recovery Facility in Beddington. Then to sit on the Development Control Committee itself. We rejected a proposal for a development in Beddington that I felt involved the type problem that plagues us in Sutton South, knocking down a house to build small flats.

I was disappointed that for some significant applications we cannot insist on social housing being provided. The system is that if the developer can present an impact assessment to show that the development is not viable financially with social housing the Council has to have this analysis independently verified. If the independent verification supports the developer, the Council has to accept the case. This is disappointing. It is a further defect in national planning law we cannot control.

Monday 26 March was a busy day. First, I attended a pre-meeting before the Development Control Committee meeting this coming Wednesday. Then I went to Devonshire Avenue Nature Area to see and assist with the planting of trees. Then I went to the Economic Development Advisory Group meeting, where we had an interesting report on the success of the town centre and how Sutton is surviving the economic recession. Here is a photo of the tree planting.

Although I did not attend the meeting, the Executive took an important decision thisevening that Sutton will switch from an Executive to a committee system. I have championed these proposals.  

On Tuesday 20 March I attended the AGM of the South Sutton Neighbourhood Association. The SSNA is a most valuable community organisation. It has had a struggle to keep going in recent years but now has a very active committee and good prospects under the leadership of Colin Iddles, the new chair. This was a very interesting meeting as Hendryk Jurk gave a very good presentation on the work at the Devonshire Avenue Nature Area. His presentation included some pictures of Heather and me wielding pickaxes during the kidney vetch planting at Sutton Court. 

On Monday 19 March I attended a Sutton Liberal Democrat Group meeting where the proposals I made worked on for a change to the Council’s committee system were supported. These now go to the Executive next week and will be introduced from 21 May.

On Friday 16 March I visited some residents in Cavendish Road to discuss some issues concerning trees.

On Thursday 15 March I attended an estate inspection by Sutton Housing Partnership of Sutton Court and Beauclere House, in the Brighton Road. I was impressed by the fact that some long-standing issues on which we have pressed SHP have been attended to, and the estate is looking more tidy and spruce than at some points in the past. The re-painting of Beauclere House, which now has CCTV installed, has certainly brightened it up. I also met a number of residents with specific issues to raise with me, particularly about work done by contractors on their flats, which I will take up with SHP.

On Tuesday 6 March I attended a meeting of the Communiy Leadership Advisory Group to speak on my proposals for changes to the Council’s system of governance. I am now confident these will be adopted.

On Monday 5 March I attended a meeting of full Council, where we voted on our budget for 2012-13. I was pleased that we have held Council tax at its current level for the third successive year, despite Government cuts in our support, and have even managed to give extra resources to some important issues like preparing for Neighbourhood Plans. We have done this without closing libraries or cutting essential support for the disadvanted. I had hoped to speak on the Site Development Policies but was not able to.

On Wednesday 29 February, Leap Year Day, I attended the Standards Committee, where we agreed changes to the standards regime in the light of the Localim Act. I think this is a weaker regime than the current regime, but these changes are required as a result of the Act.

On Tuesday 28 February I joined residents in Coniston Gardens and Eaton Road concerned at the demolition of number 39A. I have written this up on the page on planning. The decision of the Council to refuse planning permission for this development was overturned by the Planning Inspectorate. This I deplore. I contacted the Health and Safety Executive about the lack of fencing of the demolition site.

I later attended a meeting of the Planning Advisory Group. This discussed an important paper on a five-year plan for housing supply in Sutton and a paper on planning issues related to the need to combat climate change. On the five year supply, the 96 units of accommodation that will become available if Sutherland House is developed on the basis of its current planning permission are important. This is the main contribution Sutton South Ward makes.

I then went to an interesting presentation by Viridor on their proposals for an Energy Recovery Facility on the land that is currently the Beddington landfill site. They explained the technology used to keep any discharges to a level consistent with the European emissions Directives. It seemed to me that this proposal, given the drawbacks of landfill, deserves a fair wind. It will not lead to unacceptable emissions, will use residual rubbish to generate heat and power, will enable the existing landfill site to be laid out as a nature park, and will be in the middle of a large area currently used for landfill fairly removed from residential properties.

My wife, Gloria, is recovering well from her operation, but she still cannot drive. So I am having to spend quite a lot of time driving to Crawley to help Gloria’s mother, who is in her late eighties and has care needs. But we are coping well and the Council work is not suffering.

On Thursday 23 February I attended a meeting of the Local Committee, dominated by discussion of parking schemes in Belmont. I have summarised the discussion in a post on this site, but this is of sufficient importance to merit repeating here.

“This scheme has been under consideration for about five years. It arises from developments at the Royal Marsden Hospital that had the effect of putting pressure on parking in neighbouring roads. It was agreed, some years ago, to fund, from section 106 money provided by the Marsden (so the cost is not a charge on Sutton Council tax payers), consultation with local residents on parking schemes. The original proposals, for roads close to the Marsden, would have led to some displacement of parking into roads further afield and the consultation was stopped, then resumed over a wider area. Eventually much of Belmont Ward was included in the consultation, including roads that are far removed from the Marsden such  as Egmont Road.

The roads adjacent to our Ward covered in the latest consultation that could lead to displacement into Sutton South are the small part of Langley Park Road south of the junction with Chalgrove Road, the part of Devonshire Road south of Egmont Road, and Egmont Road. The latest round of consultation produces strange results. The response rate of residents in Devonshire Road was less than 20% – implying most of them are not fussed about parking – and in Egmont Road it was only 8%. This is not a mandate for change. The decision taken at the Local Committee on 23 February was to have a further round of consultation in these roads.

As Liberal Democrats we support localism – ensuring decisions are taken at the local, community level wherever possible – so we support the delegation of decisions on parking schemes to Local Committees, though our Party is in a minority on our Local Committee. This set of proposals, under discussion for five years, was well advanced when we were elected in 2010 so we cannot stop it progressing. What we can do is look out for the interests of our residents.

 At the Local Committee on 23 February, we:

- expressed concern at the possibility of displacement of parking into neighbouring roads in Sutton South Ward, if any of these schemes were to be introduced after the next round of consultation

- proposed that if any changes were introduced there should be monitoring of displacement into roads in Sutton South Ward, and, if displacement arises, consultation with residents in our area on whether further parking controls are necessary.

We will seek to ensure this happens. Let us know your views.”

On Tuesday 21 February I attended a meeting of the Community Leadership Advisory Group to discuss changes I am promoting to the Council’s committee system.

On 20 February I again took part, representing the Borough, at a Citizenship ceremony, at the Registrar’s Office in Worcester Road, in the Ward. I enjoy these and see it as affirming my belief that Britain is a multi-racial, diverse society that gets great benefit from welcoming in people of other cultures. At the ceremony people from Bulgaria, Sri Lanka, Korea, Uganda, the Phillipines, Pakistan, India, Zimbabwe and South Africa took British citizenship. In the evening I attended a meeting of Ward activists where we celebrated our victory in Worcester Park and affirmed our belief that in the light of this success we can win seats in Sutton South again in 2014.

On 16 February I spent most of the day campaigning in the Worcester Park byelection. I was delighted with the result. This is our most marginal Ward and, even with the Party trailing badly in the national opinion polls, the electors of Worcester Park gave us a resounding vote of confidence, with an increased majority and a 3% swing towards us. I found voters on the doorstep who were, understandably, not happy that we had entered into coalition with the Tories. I am myself unhappy, but think it was the responsiible things to do given the result of the 2010 general election, and I believe we have taken the edge off policies the Tories would otherwise have pursued. These same electors also said they were more than happy with the way we run Sutton Council. Hence the victory. 

On 13 February I attended a Liberal Democrat Group meeting and presented a paper on a revised system of Council governance, with a committee system replacing the system involving an Executive and Scrutiny committees. I have championed these proposals and I am now confident they will be implemented.

On 11 February I went yet again to Worcester Park to canvass in the byelection campaign. I have visited the Ward many times.

On 8 February I attended the Development Control Committee to speak against an application to demolish a house in Langley Park Road and build a small block of flats. The housing stock in the Ward lacks balance due to the long-standing trend to demolish family homes and build small blocks of flats with no garden for children to play in. The application was refused but the applicant may appeal.

On 7 February I attended the hearing relating to the latest appeal by St. Jude’s nursing home, details of which can be found on the page on “Planning” on this site. While cycling round the Ward I found the Devonshire Avenue Nature Area was locked, while the children’s play equipment we have campaigned for is erected. I have since made arrangements for the work area to be closed off by barriers and the nature area kept open.

On Monday 6 February my wife of 41 years, Gloria, went in to St. Helier hospital to have an operation. She stayed in hospital for 4 days and will be convalescing for several months, during which time she willnot be able to lift anything or drive a car. This means I will need to do many household chores she normally does and pay the regular visits she pays to her 88 year old mother, who lives in crawley and has care needs. I will seek to ensure this does not significantly affect my Council work. 

On February 4 I organised and ran the annual Safari Supper of the Highfields Residents’ Association. 58 people took part. You cook one course and eat a three course meal, one course in each of three houses. It is great fun. Everyone meets for coffee at the end.

On Friday 3 February I took part in a Citizenship Ceremony at the Registrar’s Office in Worcester Road, in Sutton South Ward, making a speech on behalf of the Council to welcome those taking British Citizenship. Those taking part included people from Albania, Poland, Morocco, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Kyrgystan, Ghana and India. I always find these ceremonies quite moving. Britain is a diverse and multi-cultural society that gets great value from people with a wide variety of cultural backgrounds settling here as citizens. I am pleased to be able to make them feel welcome. This reflects my strong personal belief in multiculturalism and the need to combat racism in all its forms.

On 2 February I visited the Devonshire Avenue Nature reserve with Heather to see how the work is going to erect the play equipment we have campaigned for.

On 31 January I had a meeting with senior Sutton Council planning officials to discuss a difficult planning issue in the Ward, in Langley Park Road, which will come to Development Control Committee next week. I then attended the Planning Advisory Group. We discussed consultation on the Community Infrastructure Levy, which I was disappointed to discover will only raise about £12 million over the period up to 2024, to add to about £2 million from section 106 contributions. We also discussed a paper I had requested on Section 4 Directions under the Town and Counctry Planning Act, which appear to give a route to extending planning law but in fact this  is a route strewn with insurmountable difficulties.

On 30 January 2012 I attended a meeting to discuss the current consultation on policies relating to social housing (allocation and the form of tenancies). I then attended the Council’s Standards Committee, where I was disturbed to learn of Government decisions on the form of standards regimes in local authorities which in my view will diminish their effectiveness.

On 25 January I met a delegation of residents in Blackbush Close to discuss car parking arrangements. I will take forward the proposals made.

On 24 January I attended a meeting of a working group of the Community Leadership Advisory Group discussing proposals for changes in the Council’s committee system. In the evening I chaired the Sutton Joint Health and Safety Committee, which is joint with recognised trade unions.

On 18 January I attended an interesting seminar on current developments in local Government finance, held at the London Councils HQ in Southwark Street in central London.

On 16 January I represented the Borough at a meeting at the offices of “London Councils” of the Greater London Employers’ Forum, a consultation committee on employment issues. We discussed current pay arrangements and equal pay issues.

On 12 January I attended a very interesting meeting of the Council’s Economic Development Advisory Group, which discussed current trends in the Sutton economy and the recent “Portas Report” on town centres. We believe Sutton town centre continues to maintain its attractiveness to businesses and residents, with a mix of shops, leisure services and restaurants, though every town centre is suffering the effects of the recession.

On 11 January I served as a member of the Development Control Committee for the first time, having been recently appointed to the committee.

On 10 January I participated in a meeting of the Community Leadership Advisory Group, which is discussing proposals I have been closely involved in to reform the Council’s committee structure.

On 9 January I attended the Chair’s briefing before the meeting of the Development Control Committee scheduled for 11 January, as part of my induction to this committee, which I have recently been appointed to. Later that day, I attended a briefing on the results of the latest satisfaction survey commissioned by the Council and carried out by MORI. This is the subject of a post on this site. 

Council committee work was suspended over the Christmas and New Year period but I still found residents consulting me on casework issues. On 4 January 2012 I cycled across to Grange Vale as a resident told me the area under the bridge was flooded by the heavy rain the previous day. I found the leaf fall had led to blockage of the drains and myself removed the accumulation of leaves. The leaf fall this autumn was late and then very quick, which has stretched the cleaning teams. There is heavy leaf fall in Grange Vale due to the trees on the railway line as well as the street trees. I will suggest to the response team that they prioritise Grange Vale during the leaf fall period in future years. 

Also over Christmas, I corresponded with residents of Cavendish Road over the bags of rubbish left every day adjacent to the bin close to Fiske Court, and visited the bin daily to check the situation. The response team have moved the bin and are checking the problem daily to see if it continues.

On 19 December I went on a tour of the new Stanley Park High school. It is an impressive new building. Much work is underway to get it ready for occupation by 16 January.

On 17 December I was in Apple Lodge on the Sutton Court estate for our surgery.

On 15 December I had a busy day – in the afternoon I attended a meeting of the Council’s Audit Committee  and in the evening I attended the South Sutton, Cheam and Belmont Local Committee.

On 14 December I helped serve Christmas dinners at Devonshire Avenue primary school, before going to a meeting with Council officials and with Heather to discuss parking issues.

On 11 December I again played Christmas carols (I play the cornet) for a church and residents’ group in Sydenham, with the Crystal Palace Brass Band.

On 10 December I played Christmas carols with the Crystal Palace Brass Band at Trinity church on Clapham Common, a church famous in Victorian times for being the home of the Clapham sect, led by William Wilberforce, who campaigned successfully for an end to slavery. Later I visited Eastleigh Close to discuss with residents the recent parking consultation.

On 9 December I went with my family (my wife Gloria, both daughters and both sons-in-law) to see “The Railway Children” performed on the old Eurostar platforms at Waterloo station. If, like me, you read the story to your children when they were young (or now have small children), I think you will find it wonderful. But for me it was notalgic to visit the old Eurostar terminal. In the days when I was chairman of the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority I traveled from this terminal to Paris at least once a month.

On 8 December I again participated, performing the role of the civic dignitary welcoming new citizens, in a ceremony held at the Registry office in Worcester Road to confer British citizenship on a number of applicants. I find these ceremonies moving. Britain benefits enormously from being a multi-racial and diverse society, with so many different cultures learning from each other. These people will be a great credit to Britain, and are enthusiastic about becoming British citizens. They will bring to our country cultures and experiences that we will learn from and which will make Britain a better place. There were people from Nepal, the Ukraine, Sri Lanka, India, the USA, South Korea and the Congo.

On 7 December I attended an estate inspection at Sutton Court, one of the largest social housing estates in the Ward, and also attended a meeting of the South Sutton Police Ward Panel, the body that provides us with opportunity for a dialogue with the police.

On 5 December I attended the meeting of Sutton Council and spoke in a debate on health and safety at work, moving an amendment that was eventually agreed unanimously. The subjects on which I have addressed the Council include the need for localism in the criminal justice system, the dangers of loan sharks, work organisation, the planning system and health and safety at work.

On 30 November I visited a number of residents in Grange Road and discussed issues related to rubbish bins and admission policies at local schools.

On 28 November I attended the appeal hearing relating to The Firs in Worcester Road. Details of this are on the page entitled “Planning.” That evening I attended the Council’s Planning Advisory Group, where we had an interesting discussion on the overall waste management plan for south London.

On 26 November I visited some residents in Leslie Gardens. Following representations made by residents concerning the difficulties in snowy weather last year, I have obtained a grit bin, which has been placed in the street.

That evening I played the cornet for the Crystal Palace Brass Band at a concert to raise money for a local hospice. This was tough as I had not played during my holiday, but my lip survived. 

From 13 November for ten days I took a holiday, and Gloria and I visited Cuba. This is a fascinating country that one feels is in a sort of time warp. I found that my Blackberry worked in most areas (not the remote jungle areas) of Cuba so I was able to keep in touch with Council business. I had chosen a time period to be away when I would not miss Council meetings. I have written up my trip to Cuba at 

http://blog.coxandkings.co.uk/blog/

though the travel company have edited out some things I said about Cuba that they perhaps did not like.

On 11 November I attended the Remembrance Day service in the town centre. 

On 10 November I was priviledged to represent the Borough (and the Government, Parliament and the Queen) at a moving ceremony held at the Registry Office in Worcester Road, in Sutton South Ward, to confer British citizenship on twelve new British citizens, men and women from many parts of the world.

On 7 November I attended a meeting with the Planning Department to discuss a range of planning issues.

On 5 November Gloria and I went to the firework display in Carshalton Park. I got the impression that it was even more poular than ever this year, and the display was great. For once it started on time at 7pm, and it lasted a full half hour. 

On 3 November I attended the first meeting of the working group established by the Community Leadership Advisory Group on future models of Council governance. I have made a significant contribution to this work by writing a paper setting out a proposed model, a model that has been adopted (so far) by the group.

On 1 November I attended a very interesting talk on prostitution, human trafficking and slavery, following up the motion the Council passed on 17 October on this subject. Heather and I have, in our casework, had to deal with instances of the operation of brothels in the Ward. It is disturbing to find how much of this activity goes on even in a pleasant, leafy suburb like Sutton.  

On 31 October I attended a meeting to discuss preparations for the Olympics and a meeting of the Thameslink Loop Line Campaign Group. This heard the disturbing news that Network Rail is still fixed on terminating all Capital Connect services from Sutton to north London (to Farringdon, St. Pancras and beyond) at Blackfriars. We must fight this. 

On 29 October I spent a day on the Lavender Line heritage railway, at Isfield in West Sussex, being trained to drive a steam locomotive. My wonderful children had bought me this day’s training as a birthday present. Rumours that I am about to resign from the Council to take up work as a train driver are unfounded. Driving a steam train is not easy and making a smooth, controlled stop to come to a halt at exactly the right place is very difficult.

On 26 October I attended a meeting in Westminster involving our MP, Paul Burstow, and senior staff in BT, to discuss the siting of BT computer boxes. I have not given up hope that the box in Cedar Road, whose siting I so object to (see photo below), will be moved. I was grateful to Paul Burstow for taking up this issue.

On 20 October I attended the South Sutton, Cheam and Belmont Local Committee.

On 18 October I attended a meeting of the Council’s Planning Advisory Group, where we discussed the proposed National Planning Policy Framework and also flood prevention measures.

On 17 October I attended the Sutton Council meeting and spoke twice, on a motion on project management and a motion on planning. I have included the full text of my speech on planning on the website page on planning, as I set out in detail my views on the strengths and weaknesses of the system. Also, that morning I attended a meeting with Council officers at the Grange Vale bridge to discuss possible improvements to make the bridge safer for pedestrians. You can see from the photo that pedestrians coming towards you will only be seen at a late moment by a driver travelling at speed in the other direction.

On 15 October I conducted one of our Ward surgeries, which now take place in Apple Lodge, in the Sutton Court estate (see the photo below). Later that morning I joined Heather for an event in her garden to promote the growing of kidney vetch, to help the small blue butterfly. This was well attended. I must now get round to planting the seeds in my garden.

On 13 October I attended a meeting of Sutton Court residents at the Quaker meeting house in Cedar Road to discuss the establishment of a residents’ association in Sutton Court. Sutton Court is an estate of blocks of social housing on the Brighton Road, a few hundred yards south of Sutton station.

On 11 October I attended a meeting of the Community Leadership Advisory Group (CLAG), though I am not a member of it, to listen to and take part in a discussion of a paper on the reform of the Council’s committee structure. This is a subject that very much interests me, and on which I chaired a working party of the Liberal Demoncrat Group. I was appointed by CLAG to a working party to take this forward.

On 3 October I attended the annual general meeting of the Sutton Town Centre Partnership. This discussed efforts to promote Sutton as a Business Improvement District. The town centre continues to attract custom and businesses, despite the negativity that has come from the continuing political campaign to denigrate the improvements made last year to the town centre.  

On 29 September I attended the Council’s Audit Committee, of which I am a member. The representatives of the Audit Commission presented their anual report on value for money in Council services and concluded:

“I assessed the Council’s arrangements for securing value for money against the criteria issued by the Audit Commission. I plan to issue an unqualified conclusion as I am satisfied that there are proper arrangements in place for securing economy, efficiency and effectiveness in the Council’s use of resources.”

I welcomed this conclusion.

On 28 September I attended a meeting of the Thameslink Loop Line Campaign Group, which I have joined as a member. A post on this site describes the threat to terminate train services from Sutton on the Capital Connect route (to Farringdon, St Pancras and north London) at Blackfriars. This is a major threat to Sutton commuters.   

Later the same day I attended a meeting of the Development Control Committee to speak against the granting of planning permission for the demolition of a house in Eaton Road, in the Ward. I was successful. More detail is on the page on this website headed “Planning.” 

I have held a number of meetings with local residents concerned about planning issues in Mayfield Road, including on 19 and 26 September.

On September 14 I attended the Sutton police consultative group, the police panel, the first one attended by our new Sergeant, Brendan McWilliams. There is more information on the page dealing with police matters.

On September 12 I attended a meeting of the Council’s Economic Development Advisory Group. The Group discussed some fascinating figures on economic development in Sutton which convinces me that Sutton has a vibrant local economy and is weathering the recession very well. 

On 9 September I cycled to Sutton railway station to give out leaflets warning residents of the plan to terminate Thameslink services at Blackfraiars. Many Sutton South residents are commuters, and some I spoke to were deeply concerned about this proposal. A post on this site describes how you can sign our petition. After that, I met residents from Grosvenor Court to discuss waste collection arrangements there.

On 7 September I met Sergeant Brendan McWilliams, with Heather. Brendan is the new police sergeant for the Ward, combining this with a similar role in Belmont. After that we went on a ward visit with Daniel Ratchford and Steve Shew from the Council’s Environment and Leisure Directorate. We looked at Sutherland House, the Grange Vale bridge and the Devonshire Avenue Nature Area, all of which are the subject of posts on this website. We also looked at some properties that are currently the subject of planning disputes or disputes about cleaning and rubbish.

On 27 August I attended the police street briefing in Grange Vale. I had an interesting chat with the two police officers involved, but there was little take up of the offer to brief residents from people in the locality. Saturday afernoon may not be the best time to choose.

On 17 August I met residents in Mayfield Road to discuss issues related to building work in the area.

On 16 August I again met residents in Coniston Gardens to discuss issues related to planning applications in Eaton Road.

On 10 August I was due to meet, for a second time, our new Sergeant for Sutton South Neighbourhood Policing Team, Brendan McWilliams, but was unable to do so as Brendan was fully involved in dealing with the riots. We are arranging to meet soon.

On 8 August I attended the Annual General Meeting of Highfield Lawns Ltd., of which I am a Director. The company exists to ensure a tennis club is maintained in the grounds at the junction of The Ridgway and Mayfield Road, in South Sutton Ward. We had a record attendance of shareholders at the meeting. The meeting was held in the Edwardian tennis pavilion (below) which belongs to the company, and which was recently included on the Sutton local list, at my recommendation (see Archive for May 2011 for the full story).

This is a picture of me with my fellow Directors – Gary, Alan, me, Irvine. None of us are paid and the company has never declared a dividend. We do this as a service to the community to make sure there is a tennis club for local people to enjoy.

On 3 August I reported at 7.30am at the junction of Cedar Road and Langley Park road to take part in a further “Community Speedwatch” exercise (where the speeds of cars racing down back streets is recorded and the drivers are warned by the police) but I fould it had been called off, as the speed gun was not available.

On 21 July I appeared on a television programme “The Wright Stuff Extra” to draw attention to the problem of BT boxes (filming took place on 13 July, see below).  I attended the Sutton South, Cheam and Belmont Local Committee. I was particularly pleased to be able to get the committee to support action on BT boxes and to support arrangements for a parking scheme in Eastleigh Close.

On 20 July I represented Sutton Council at a meeting of the Greater London Employment Forum. This discussed a number of current issues relating to terms and conditions of employment of Council staff, on a “London-wide” basis. A big issue is whether staff can work at home during the Olympics in 2012, to reduce numbers travelling in London.

On 18 July I attended the meeting of Sutton Council. I was due to propose a motion relating to our objections to the proposal to terminate all trains from Sutton on the Capital Connect route at Blackfriars. Unfortunately this motion was simply passed without debate due to time pressures. The speech I would have made is reported in a post on this site.

On 13 July I was filmed by a TV company making a programme about the problem with BT boxes, described elsewhere on this site. The filming took place at the box in Cedar Road that it a particular example of a boxbeing in the wrong place. I also  paid a return visit to Eastleigh Close to discuss with residents of the Close the case for a parking scheme for these residents.  

On 6 July, two activities before breakfast. I helped at the Sutton police “Speedwatch” activity in The Ridgway, reported elsewhere on this site (see the page on “Sutton Police”). Then I went to a breakfast meeting at Sutton Housing Partnership (our speakers are pictured below with the SHP Chief Executive) where we discussed changes to housing benefit and the work of credit unions.

On 5 July I attended a meeting of the Council’s Planning Advisory Group. We considered papers on the Community Infrastructure Levy, which will have a significant impact on the contributions to local infrastructure expected from developers, and on the planning brief for land that may be released if developments take place related to Carshalton College and the Council’s offices in Denmark Road, Carshalton.

On 30 June Ben Morris, the Council’s Chief Arborculturalist, visited me and we met a number of residents to discuss the forthcoming tree pruning exercise in the Ward.

On 28 June I chaired a meeting of the Sutton Joint Health and Safety Committee, attended by recognised trade unions, to discuss safety issues relating to the Council’s workforce. We discussed a review of the performance of the Council over the last year, and specific papers on the Resources Directorate and on the Environment and Leisure Directorate.

On 27 June I attended a memorial service for Olwen Phillimore of Kayemoor Road, who gave the community great service in her lifetime and was a stalwart member of our Party.

On June 25 Heather and I took part in the South Sutton Butterfly Watch, at the Devonshire Avenue Nature Area. Heather had done much of the work to organise this event. I learned that there are over 60 species of butterfly in Britain but over 2 500 species of moth. The difference between butterflies and moths is the way they fold their wings.

Later that day I went to Sanderstead to play the cornet for the Crystal Palace Progress Band at the Sanderstead Horticultural Society Annual Flower Show. The progress band is the second band of the Crystal Palace Brass Band (I am not good enough to get into the main band, but playing for the Progress Band is more relaxed and hence more fun.) 

The London to Brighton bike ride skirts our Ward. On 19 June my daughter Jane took part in the London to Brighton bike ride, which I have done several times in the past, raising money for the British Heart Foundation. Here she is when Gloria and I met her, when she reached Carshalton Beeches station, en route.

On 17 June Heather and I made a very interesting visit to Eagle House School, which is in our Ward though it takes children from a wider area than Sutton. Known to most people locally as Stowford College, which it replaced several years ago, it provides specialist secondary eduction for young people aged 11 to 19 years who hold statements of special educational needs for Autistic Spectrum Disorders. The work done by the teachers at this school is inspiring and we were quite moved at seeing how well these young people, many of whom have significant social and physical handicaps, are cared for and assisted.

We are with the headteacher, Tom Coulter.

On 16 June I attended a meeting of the Audit Committee. There were several interesting papers. I took heart from a report from the Chief Internal Auditor in which he said it was his opinion “that the Council’s systems of internal control and the arrangements to ensure effective governance are basically sound and can be relied upon to ensure that objectives are echieved efficiently and effectively.”

On 15 June I met officers of Sutton Housing Partnership for an estate inspection at Sutton Court in the Brighton Road.

On 14 June I attended, for the first time, a meeting of the Sustainable Communities Scrutiny Committee, to which I am newly appointed. Its terms of reference are wide but broadly cover environmental and community issues. We had an interesting agenda that included parking services, lighting and litter.

On 10 June I went, with Heather, to Devonshire Avenue school, to judge a competition in which the children had designed posters to advertise the “Butterfly Watch” in the Nature Area on 25 June. The standard was fantastic! It was so difficult to choose a winner. It was nostaglgic for me to visit the school as my children were once pupils there, but before any of the current pupils were born.

That afternoon I visited Westmoreland Drive to take part in an estate visit by Orbit staff (Orbit is the company that owns a nd manages the estate) to spot any remedial work necessary. Part of the roof is being replaced on some of the blocks. I was told that a more general programme of re-decoration and improvements is due before the end of the year.

On 9 June I attended a street meeting I had set up, with residents of Cedar Road and BT/Openreach, to discuss the problem of an intrusively positioned computer cabinet in the street in Cedar Road. This meeting is reported in a separate post on this site. That evening I attended a reception at the German Embassy, in recognition of help I have given to a process that will (I hope) lead to trains running, one day, between London and Frankfurt.

On 26 May I attended the meeting of the Local Committee for Sutton South, Cheam and Belmont. I had asked for the agenda to include discussion of parking schemes in Belmont Ward, in order to put on record the interest of Sutton South Councillors in the schemes, which could displace parking into our Ward. I supported current proposals to improve the Devonshire Avenue Nature Area.

On 24 May Heather and I met staff at Sutton Housing Partnership to discuss how they deal with enquiries. I also chaired a second meeting of residents with the proprietor of St. Jude’s nursing home in Mayfield Road to discuss planning issues (reported on the page on this website entited “Planning).

On 23 May I attended the annual Council meeting at which the new Mayor is elected. This meeting also confirms appointments to committees and, as I indicate above, I was asked to take on some new responsibilities by becoming a member of the ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY GROUP and the PLANNING ADVISORY GROUP..

The saxophone section of the concert band I play for entertained Councillors during the interval (see entry for 14 May below for a photo of the band).

On 17 May I attended the meeting of the Beddington and Wallington Local Committee. I intend to attend the meetings of all the other local committees in the Borough of Sutton in order to make a comparison with our own local committee.

On 16 May I attended the Annual General Meeting of the Highfields Residents’ Association, held in the Edwardian tennis clubhouse (literally a stone’s throw from where I live) that we have managed to get included on the Sutton Local List. Here I answered questions from members, alongside the Conservative Councillor for our Ward. The annual report from the chair reminded me that in the last year Gloria and I have hosted their Christmas party and I organised their annual “Safari Supper”, during which participants visit different houses for successive courses of a meal.

On 14 May I played the trumpet for the Phoenix Concert Band, which is based in Sutton (one of the SCOLA family of bands), at a charity event to raise money for Macmillan Nurses. You cannot see me in the picture as the trumpet section is right at the back, just inside the bulding.

This is me (with trumpet) and other members of the band.

On 12 May I attended the meeting of the Sutton Local Committee, which covers Wards in central Sutton. I intend to attend the meetings of all the other local committees in the Borough of Sutton in order to make a comparison with our own local committee. There was a presentation by the headmistress of one of the local schools that is due to expand to accommodate the rising number of children requiring school places in the Borough.

On 10 May I attended the meeting of the St. Helier, The Wrythe and Wandle Valley Local Committee. I intend to attend the meetings of all the other local committees in the Borough of Sutton in order to make a comparison with our own local committee.

On 9 May I attended the meeting of Sutton Council where I made a speech on the concerns I have about the activities of loan sharks. This is reported in a separate posting on this site.

I also was able to vote for the acceptance of the report on the consultation on the Sutton Local List, and found that I was the only Councillor who had nominated a building during the consultation (the Highfield Lawns Tennis Pavilion) that had been accepted. This is reported in a separate posting on this site.

On April 29 I celebrated the Royal wedding at the lunchtime party organised by the Highfields Residents’ Association, which was in the grounds of the Highfeld Lawns tennis club opposite my house. The Association had considered organising a street party but rightly concluded that everyone could be accommodated on the lawns in front of the tennis club house. The Edwardian tennis club pavilion dating from 1908 is now included, as a building of local importance, on the Sutton Local List. I was the local resident who proposed the building for inclusion on the list. The Association last had a street party in 2002, for the Golden Jubilee, and I was a leading member of the organising committee. Sadly, it rained. 

On 14 April I visited Copse Hill with Gerry McLaughlin from the Highways Department to discuss with local residents questions related to the flooding at the bottom of Effingham Close, in Copse Hill. A programme has now been agreed to clean out the soakaways and monitor the accumulations of water in wet weather, as well as some changes to the gulleys. This is picture of Gerry and me in Copse Hill.

On 13 April I chaired a meeting of local residents to meet the owner of St Jude’s nursing home in Mayfield Road and discuss a number of planning issues relating to the home. Details of this meeting are included in the page entitled “Planning” on this site.

On 7 April I joined a group, including our MP Paul Burstow, campaigning outside Sutton station for a “Yes” vote in the referendum on 5 May.

On Thursday 31 March I retired from paid employment, as chair of the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority, to concentrate full-time on Council work. My wife Gloria also retired as Head of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, though she continues to be a Curator Emeritus for the Observatory and is continuing various research projects for them (as a hobby rather than work).

On Sunday 27 March I supported the charity run for the Royal Marsden Hospital by playing the trumpet for the New London Concert Band at the rest stop for participants in Raynes Park. The runners ran or walked from Chelsea to Sutton via Raynes Park. More information and pictures below.

On 24 March I attended the Sutton South, Cheam and Belmont Local Committee. There was a presentation on ideas for achieving the savings that are necessary in waste collection services, and a very good discussion. There was a discussion of the future of the Devonshire Avenue Nature Area. I took particular pleasure in presenting a proposal to ease parking problems for visitors at Fiske Court (a block of sheltered housing for the elderly in Cavendish Road) which was agreed by the committee.

On the afternoon of the same day I attended a meeting of the Downland Project Board, a group whose activities I mention above. This meeting, at Reigate Town Hall, was dominated by discussions of cuts, as Surrey County Council no longer wants to provide accommodation for the project.

On 19 March I attended a lunch organised to mark the centenary of the birth of my father, Joseph Walter Clifton, who was the founder and first President of the Queen’s English Society. I hope he would approve of my use of the English language. Please email me on any errors in the use of English you find on this site. He died in 1997.

On 8 March I attended the annual general meeting of the South Sutton Neighbourhood Association, of which I have been a member for 23 years and am a life member.

On 7 March I spoke at the Sutton Council meeting to deplore the actions of Tory councillors in opposing the scheme to save Sutton residents money by closing four office buildings. Information on this is in a separate post on this site. This was my second speech at a Council meeting, the first being to call on the Government not to close Wallington magistrates’ court. 

On 4 March Sutton South Councillors held a meeting with Council officials to discuss the next steps in developing the Devonshire Avenue Nature Reserve so that, while remaining a nature reserve and protecting the habitat there, it is made a more inviting place for local people and local children. More information is in separate stories on this site.

Next steps include:

- consulting on a small piece of play equipment to be erected there

- working with the local community to encourage the growth of kidney vetch, to assist the small blue butterfly

- holding a meeting with the local school.

Further information is in other postings on this site.

On 2 March I attended the Sutton South Police Panel. Infomation is on the page on this site dealing with police matters.

On the same evening I attended the Development Control Committee, where Heather spoke on the subject of Sutherland House, the large but near-derelict office building in the Ward just south of Sutton station. We would like to see it developed, as it is in such a sorry state, and because it would be good for the local economy if people were working in the building and thus using local shops, restaurants and services. We hope that in time a sympathetic development proposal will come forward. My particular contribution to this saga was to write a paper on the proposals we have for what local initiatives the developer should be asked to fund (called section 106 funding or the Community Infrastructure Levy).    

On 26 February 2011 I played trumpet for the Sutton-based Phoenix Concert Band (one of the SCOLA bands) at an event to raise money for the Reigate and Redhill Live at Home scheme, which provides support to help people continue living in their own home rather than going into care.

On 24 February Heather and I visited the synagogue in Cedar Road, in our Ward, and met Rica Infante and Paul Sarfaty. Paul is the Chairman of the Sutton and District Synagogue. This was a most interesting visit and we had a long discussion about the Jewish community in Sutton and its needs. We also discussed some ideas for improving the environment in the area around the synagogue in Cedar Road.

On 22 February Heather and I visited Westmoreland Drive, one of the largest areas of social housing in our Ward, together with PC Towler from the Safer Neighbourhoods Team and Julie Burke, with a colleague, from Orbit (who own and manage the estate). We were joined by Peter Ashley of Sutton Council, who deals with parking issues. We discussed many aspects of the estate, including the difficulties in establishing a Residents’ Panel or Residents’ Association, and the case for yellow-line controls on parking on corners in the estate in order to ensure clear access for emergency vehicles in what is a quite narrow cul-de-sac. On this point, we visited neighbours of the occupier of the flat that experierienced a fire, leading to a fatality, last year. This event has clearly shocked many. We are supporting a proposal to use section 106 funding (from developers) to consult residents on a yellow-lining proposal.

Peter Ashley and I also visited Fiske Court in Cavendish Road, where residents have sought the provision of additional parking bays at the front of the building. I have taken this up at the Local Committee and secured action to provide more parking bays in Cavendish Road that visitors to Fiske Court can use. 

On 18 February I attended a lunch at the German Embassy, where I was invited to meet the Ambassador and the German transport Minister (who was visiting Britain), to brief them on developments concerning the channel tunnel.

On 10 February Heather and I met The Reverend Dame Sarah Mullally, the Vicar of Christchurch, in Christchurch Park in our Ward, together with The Reverend Mark Pullinger, who is the Rector and leader of Sutton Team Ministry. We met at the church and discussed the role of the church in building a sense of community in our area. We also discussed the uses of the magnificent church building they care for, which is the largest and best equipped hall in our Ward.

[ Mark, me, Dame Sarah, at Christchurch ]

On 23 January I attended a short service to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, held at the Civic Centre. I found this a moving event and was reminded that me must not relax in our struggle against intolerance and racism.

 

I am on the left in this picture with Councillor Wales (Sutton Council Executive Member for Communities, Transport and the Voluntary Sector), Paul Sarfaty (Chairman of Sutton and District Synagogue), the Mayor (Councillor Margaret Court) and Tali Atvars from the Youth Parliament. 

On 6 December 2010 I made my maiden speech at a Council meeting, opposing plans to close Wallington Magistrates Court. This is reported elsewhere on this site. Sadly, this campaign was not successful.

DURING THE EARLIER PERIOD, AS WE GOT THIS WEBSITE RUNNING:

Heather and I have held discussions with the Headteachers of the local schools in Sutton South Ward, Devonshire Avenue Primary School and Overton Grange Secondary School. We were delighted to assist Mr Butterworth, of Overton Grange, to get improvements to the signage and road markings outside the school, in the interests of the safety of his students.

This is the so-called “wig wag” sign (the lights flash alternately when switched on at the start and end of the school day), erected after our intervention.

We have supported the expansion of Devonshire Avenue and Barrow Hedges schools, which will help parents in Sutton South Ward get their children into these popular and frequently oversubscribed schools. During the discussion of these proposals we met the Headteacher of Barrow Hedges, Mrs Toulson, as although the school is outside the ward some Sutton South parents at the eastern fringe of the Ward are able to send their children to this school. I attended the Development Control Committee meeting when the expansion of Barrow Hedges was discussed, as concerns had been raised by some parents. Mrs Toulson argued convincingly that the expansion would assist rather than lower the maintenance of educational standards at the school. Parents at Devonshire Avenue school generally supported the proposed expansion. 

This photograph shows me meeting meeting Amanda Cummings of the Sutton Carers’ Centre.  

I visited Sutton Carers’ Centre to meet some of the volunteers and staff, and to learn of the valuable work done by the Centre.

It is estimated that there may be over 17 000 carers in Sutton, but many are people who do not recognise themselves as carers or do not need support. Many do, however, and the Centre offers advice, information and assistance. It has a database of over 4 000 carers who all receive periodic newsletters describing the support the Centre can provide. Some carers are young, and may be children who are caring for parents who are unable to properly support themselves. The Centre has a special programme for young carers.

The Centre offers advice in completing benefit forms, training, social and recreational activities, and a confidential counselling service for carers. I was greatly impressed by the help the Centre is offering to an important and, unfortunately, growing group who often needed assistance and advice.

Heather and I visited a centre that provides support for those with mental health problems, in Hillcroome Road, in the Ward. We are photographed here with Linda Myers, the manager. We were very impressed with the work done by the unit, which provides care and assistance to people who otherwise might end up in a downward spiral. I have a particular interest in the centre as, when the centre (formerly called Gower House) was re-located to Hillcroome Road from elsewhere in Sutton in the early 1990′s, I was chair of the local Residents’ Association. The opening of such a unit always causes some understandable local concern but, after visiting the unit that was to transfer (Gower House), I was convinced that this was an important facility and one that would pose no problems for the local community. I was able to persuade the Association not to oppose this change of use of the premises concerned, and I am delighted to say that the unit does great work while being a good neighbour.

SOME OTHER WAYS IN WHICH I SERVE THE COMMUNITY   

I am a Director of Highfields Lawns Ltd., a company that exists to ensure the continuation of the tennis club situated on the triangle of land in Sutton South Ward at the junction of The Ridgway (the road in which both Heather and I live) and Mayfield Road. I recently took part in a special meeting of shareholders to update the articles of the company, to ensure its continuation on a sound footing and ensure that local people continue to have an important voice in how the company is run. Local people will now have more opportunity to buy shares in the company. I am photographed with the three other Directors, who all live in Mayfield Road or The Ridgway.

 

[ Here I am pictured with Susan Waton, chair of the Highfields Residents' Association, in the hall of my home in The Ridgway, at the event described below ]

At the beginning of December 2010 Gloria and I were pleased to host the Highfields’ Residents Association Christmas Get-Together. The Association, which at one time I was chair of, represents residents in four roads at the eastern end of Sutton South Ward – The Ridgway, Mayfield, Chalgrove, Hillcroome. Over 70 people came and a large number of children, reflecting the changing population mix of this part of Sutton South Ward, with many families with young children moving in. As I commented at meetings of the local committee, the housing stock in the Ward is unbalanced, with a preponderence of small flats and too few family houses. This is the one part of the Ward where there are many family houses, though the price of these houses is out of the range of many of our residents.

I last hosted this event in 1991, when slightly fewer people came. It is encouraging that this annual community event continues to be so popular.

On 5 February 2011  I organised the HRA’s Safari Supper and 58 people in the area took part. You have a three course meal with each course in a different house with different people. It is great fun. On 4 February 2012 I organised the next one – it is an annual event. Again, 58 people (not all the same people) took part.

MUSIC

I am a member of the New London Concert Band, for which I play the trumpet, and, as mentioned earlier, on 27 March I played for the band at a charity event in support of the Royal Marsden Hospital, which raised a considerable sum of money. Here is a photo of the band. 

And of me playing with it.

I am also a member of the Croydon Brass Band, the Crystal Palace Brass Band Progress Band (I am not good enough to get into their main band) and the Phoenix Concert Band (one of the Sutton College of Learning for Adults bands). On a number of occasions on Remembrance Sunday I have played the cornet with the Croydon band at a service aboard HMS Belfast, which is moored in the Thames near Tower Bridge. This is a service for sailors killed in the wars fought for our freedom. Every year, the band provides the music at the service. I have played at this service many times and still find it an incredibly moving event. 

Over the Christmas period at the end of 2010 I played the trumpet and cornet at Christmas carol concerts with a number of bands, including one at Brockwell Lido with the Croydon Brass Band, and one at St Dunstan’s church in Cheam with the Phoenix Concert Band (which is a part of the SCOLA music family), attended by Paul Burstow MP and the Mayor.

If you have looked at the “Who are We?” page on this website you will know that I was, for seven years until I retired in March 2011, the chair of the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority, a bi-national French-British body set up by international Treaty to oversee the safety of the channel tunnel. In early January 2011 I spent a night in the tunnel, at an annual exercise when the tunnel is closed to commercial traffic for the night, an accident or terrorist attack is simulated, and the bi-national emergency plan rehearsed. This is a picture I took of the incident train in the tunnel (it looks more impressive if you click on it to show it full size).

On 28 February 2011 I gave evidence to a Parliamentary Committee on current disputes relating to the channel tunnel.

SAVING THE PLANET

Gloria and I are both “eco-nuts” determined to set a personal example in saving the planet. We have two different sets of solar panels heating the water at our home in The Ridgway, in Sutton South Ward. And we have purchased a “hybrid” car that is partly powered by electricity in order to reduce  consumption.

[ Here you can see one of the solar panels on the roof of our home in The Ridgway, in our Ward. This heats our hot water. The system is very efficient so long as the weather is reasonably bright. It depends on the brightness rather than the warmth of the weather. That said, the firm that supplied it went bust at the height of the recession and, this being new technology, the system has not been entirely trouble or maintenance free. ] 

[ This is our hybrid car, which runs on electricity and petrol ]

AND ALMOST FINALLY….

I submitted to the South Sutton, Cheam and Belmont Local Committee a paper, shortly after I joined it in May 2010, on priorities for attention of the committee in the light of analysis of characteristics of the area. Here is the text.

SUTTON SOUTH, CHEAM AND BELMONT LOCAL COMMITTEE

Some Priorities Arising from an Analysis of the Characteristics of the Area: Some Observations by Councillor Richard Clifton 

Objective of this Note 

1. At the meeting of the Sutton South, Cheam and Belmont Local Committee on 30 September 2010 I suggested that:

- the committee might discuss its view on the characteristics and needs of the area, to form a view on the issues that merited its particular attention

- it might seek to derive from this a view on priorities for action, that would feed in to any decisions on the further development of the public realm projects programme.

2, This note sets out, in outline and deliberately briefly, my own views on these issues, as a starting point for any such discussion. 

Belmont Area

3. Any analysis of the particular characteristics of the South Sutton, Cheam and Belmont area (broadly, the southernmost of the London Borough of Sutton) by a single Ward Councillor will, inevitably, be a somewhat personal set of reflections. My own reflections, which are perhaps more heavily influenced by my experience of the characteristics of my own Ward, are:

London suburbs, affluent

- but it has identified and significant pockets of social deprivation

(for example figures in the Annual Report of the Director of Public Health for Sutton and Merton, 2009, shows a particular area of Belmont Ward, the Shanklin estate, emerges clearly on a number of indices of deprivation; I am aware of particular areas that are less affluent in Sutton South. Doubtless there are some in Cheam)

- there is an unbalanced mix of housing across the area (particularly in Sutton South where there is a preponderance of small flats and a shortage of family housing)

- a result is that many children live in accommodation with no garden (a study by Devonshire Avenue school found that 50% of its pupils lived in accommodation with no garden). Lack of a garden is an aspect of deprivation and there are sometimes complaints from residents about children playing in the street. Facilities for children is an issue. In South Sutton Ward there is only one open space, the Devonshire Avenue Nature Area

- while the area is reasonably well served with parks and open spaces, some families live significant distances (beyond wha.ward there is-  - -- there is some tentative evidence that, particularly in Sutton South, the population is more elderly than the average, possibly due to the number of care homes and nursing homes. Comparison for that area with the average for Sutton from the 2001 census shows higher proportions of the population in the over 80 age group, but also in the 30 to 45 age group. However there may have been significant changes in the past 9 years

- the evidence from the IPSOS/MORI study shows that it is an area that scores high on the absence of concerns about public safety. It has, by the standards of London suburbs and of Sutton as a whole, a low crime rate (though there are specific problems like street drinking and drug dealing in highly specific locations, and people express concerns about anti-social behaviour and congregations of youths and undesirables)

- the evidence from the IPSOS/MORI study indicates that activities for teenagers is a frequently mentioned improvement residents are seeking

- satisfaction with maintenance of the environment (such as maintenance of roads, pavements, grass verges and street trees) is high, higher than in the rest of Sutton. Although this does not emerge clearly as an area of particular concern from the survey evidence, I believe that the maintenance of the current high standards of the local environment is an issue that concerns people

- the evidence from the IPSOS/MORI study shows that it is an area that performs poorly on recycling. The reasons for this are a matter of conjecture, but re-cycling facilities in the area may be a subject worthy of at least some attention

- there is some evidence of concern about speeding traffic and parking

- for a significant number of residents, this is an area where they live but, as they commute into London for work, the focus of their work and social life is away from the area. This may lead to a lower sense of identification with the area for many of these people, but the number of active community groups in the area suggests that there is nonetheless a strong sense of community.

 

Priority Issues 

4. From this, I would tentatively suggest the following as an ordered list of priorities for the attention of the committee:

1 – facilities for children and teenagers

2 – maintenance of the environment, including in parks and open spaces

3 – facilities for the elderly such as benches

4 – measures to assist recycling

5 – traffic management, particularly where it is related to road safety or clear community needs

6 – parking controls (but not where this simply displaces parking problems from one area to another).

The Public Realm Programme 

5. The paper presented to the Committee on 30 September 2010 listed 19 projects in the current programme. Numbering these 1 to 19 in the order given in the table presented to us, I would classify them as follows, using a categorisation based on the priority groups listed above:

4 are concerned with facilities for children and teenagers (numbers 5, 10, 14, 19)

8 are concerned with what can be broadly described as improvements to the environment (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9)

2 are concerned, to some degree, with facilities for the elderly (benches – numbers 13, 16)

4 are concerned with traffic management (11, 15, 18)

2 are concerned with parking (12, 19).

6. Despite the absence of any related to re-cycling, I would conclude that the current programme scores reasonably well on the relationship to the priority areas described above.

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HERE IS AN ANNUAL REPORT ON MY ACTIVITIES IN THE YEAR 2011.  ”There is no doubt which of my many activities as a Councillor has given me most pleasure in 2011. It has been representing the Borough and the Government as the “civic dignitary” in Citizenship Ceremonies, held in the Registrar’s Office in Worcester Road in Sutton South Ward.These ceremonies involve welcoming people from all over the world into British citizenship. The family of one of my sons-in-law comes from Ghana, and I believe that Britain benefits enormously from being a multi-racial and diverse society, with so many different cultures learning from each other. These people will be a great credit to Britain, and are enthusiastic about becoming British citizens. They will bring to our country cultures and experiences that we will learn from and which will make Britain a better place. At the most recent ceremony there were people from Nepal, the Ukraine, Sri Lanka, India, the USA, South Korea and the Congo. Perhaps because I am a Councillor for the Ward that contains the Registrar’s Office and am often free during the day, I have been involved in many of these ceremonies.Council Work and Council CommitteesDuring the past year I have made a number of speeches at meetings of Sutton Council, on matters as diverse as the dangers from loan sharks, the reform of the planning system, new methods of working, health and safety at work and project management. I serve on a large number of Council Committees, including the local committee for our area (the South Sutton, Cheam and Belmont Local Committee). Heather and I have made strenuous efforts to increase participation in this committee. Because I made my mark in my first year as a Councillor as someone who is committed, hard-working and serious minded, I was appointed to additional committees in my second year, from last May. I am the chair of the Joint Health and Safety Committee, joint between the Council and recognised trade unions, and since I was once the chair of the Board of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, based in Bilbao, I think I am qualified to do this. I have a strong interest in planning and sit on the Planning Advisory Group and the Development Control Committee. I have found being a member of the Economic Development Advisory Group very interesting, though while I have a first degree in economics my economics is rusty now. I have concluded from the figures presented at these meetings that Sutton is surviving the recession quite well. I am a member of the Audit Committee. I also represent the Council on a number of external bodies, including the boards of the Downlands Project and the Friends of Whitehall. I also served on the Health and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee and later on the Sustainable Communities Scrutiny Committee but withdrew from this when I joined the Development Control Committee, as you will not make a full contribution if you spread your time too thinly across a large number of committees. A major reform of the Council’s committee system is being discussed, for next May, and I have made a contribution to thinking about this by writing papers for the Council’s Liberal Democrat Group.Sutton South is a Low-Crime Area I pay particular attention to crime trends in the Ward and attend the meetings of the police panel for the Ward. This assists the police in their work but is also a forum for dialogue between the police and the community. I have sought ways of making it more representative and would welcome ideas. I am aware that other members of the panel are sometimes amused at my assiduous interrogation of the detail of the crime statistics, something that perhaps comes from my background as a statistician. The statistics show that while Sutton as a whole is a low crime area, our Ward is one of the safest. I know that this statement is little comfort to those who have been victims of crime, and I speak from experience having been the victim of a serious assault outside Sutton station some years ago. Thefts from garages and motor vehicles have at times been a problem, and some drug dealing in the part of the Ward around the Brighton Road.CampaignsI have been responsible for, or played a role in, a number of campaigns during the past year. An important one is the campaign to oppose the plans for Capital Connect (Thameslink) trains from Sutton to stop at Blackfriars rather than continuing to north London. The trains to and from places like Farringdon at rush hours are always packed. This proposal will add time to people’s journeys, displace travellers onto other already crowded services, and make Sutton a less attractive place for businesses moving from central London to locate to. Many residents of Sutton South Ward work in central London so it is important to the Ward that we oppose and defeat this plan.Other campaigns have included opening up the side entrance to Sutton station, now the subject a bid from the Council to the Mayor’s Outer London Fund. I was successful in getting the polling stations in the Ward moved from Devonshire Avenue and Barrow Hedges schools to local church halls, a move popular with parents as it avoids closing the schools for a day at election times with consequent disruption to the education of the children and child-care issues. The campaign to improve the Devonshire Avenue Nature Area, while protecting it as a nature area and conserving the small blue butterfly, has been important, though my colleague Heather Honour has made the major contribution on this. I have been responsible for raising the issue, across Sutton, of care in the siting of the new generation of large BT boxes, though I have not succeeded in getting BT to move the box in Cedar Road I objected to. They investigated other sites, at my request, but still tell me they cannot find a different site.As a Ward Councillor I enjoy meeting people who contribute to the life of Sutton South Ward. In the past year Heather and I have met and had regular dealings with many groups, including the Ministry team at Christchurch, at the synagogue in Cedar Road, the teaching staff at Eagle House school in Devonshire Road, Overton Grange and Devonshire Avenue schools. I took great pleasure in helping serve the Christmas dinner at Devonshire, and when Heather and I judged a competition for design of a poster for the Butterfly Watch Day at the Devonshire Avenue Nature Area. I recently visited the new Stanley Park high school building, which opens in January. I found particularly moving attending the Holocaust Memorial Day service held at the Europa Gallery, where I met members of the synagogue.Casework Whatever contribution one makes as a Councillor to the wider work of the Council and the community, it is the Ward casework that is the stock-in-trade. As anyone who looks at the record of my work in the year included on my blog will know, almost every day I am involved in some activity for Ward residents. The snow of last winter was a particular challenge and I found myself distributing grit and clearing the snow from the pavements at various locations including outside Fiske Court in Cavendish Road, in Cumnor Road and in Rutherford Close. The Council does not have the resources to clear all the pavements but there were some locations residents asked us to clear, including near sheltered housing. This was followed by action to get the grit bins re-filled and review the location of the bins, leading to some extra bins. Following approaches from residents in Lesley Gardens I got an additional grit bin placed there.Trees are often an issue of concern. We have over 20 000 street trees in the Borough and I was able to get the four-yearly pruning cycle changed so trees in the Ward have been pruned this year. Before the pruning commenced I toured the Ward with Ben Morris, the Chief Arborculturalist, to discuss with him some particular problems. I was able to get trees planted in Copse Hill to replace trees damaged and removed following motor vehicle accidents.Flooding is not an issue in the Ward except at the foot of Copse Hill. I got engineers to visit this site, following concerns expressed by residents, and some remedial action taken in relation to the drains and guttering. There have been instances of flooding under the Grange Vale bridge after heavy rain when the drains have been clogged by leaf fall, a problem I have dealt with myself on occasions by removing the leaves. 

I have taken a particular interest in planning as Heather and I, as Councillors for South Sutton Ward, believe that the area has suffered from the progressive loss of detached family homes and their replacement by blocks of small flats, often with little or no garden. It has led to an imbalance in the housing supply, with an over-supply of small flats compared to family homes. About half the children in this area live in flats with no garden, and people often move out of the area if they have an expanding family, due to the shortage of affordable family homes. We regret the loss of original buildings of character. This has led us to be active in opposing the demolition of 39A Eaton Road and 83 Langley Park Road. I have also taken up a number of other planning issues in the Ward, including in Worcester Road and Farm Road, and several that continue to cause concern in Mayfield Road, some of which have continued over several years now but will, I hope, be concluded in 2012. In my speech on planning to Sutton Council on 17 October I supported the case for a full review of planning law and drew attention to some evident problems with current arrangements.Heather and I met agents for the owners of Sutherland House. We continue to urge them to bring forward a realistic scheme for the development of this property. Such a development will have a big impact, renovating what is currently an eyesore and meaning that occupants of the building – whether workers or residents – are spending money in local shops and restaurants.We have continued to discuss with Council officials a possible scheme to improve pedestrian safety at the narrow bridge in Grange Vale. While our first choice scheme, a pedestrian-controlled traffic light system, was not supported by Transport for London, we are hopeful that a more simple scheme to slow the traffic, through additional bollards and a wider pavement area, will be implemented in 2012.There are several estates of social housing in our Ward. Heather and I have supported efforts to develop residents’ associations on these estates. If these can develop and play a part in the work of the local committee, this will redress a lack of representation of these groups on the committee. I have attended the estate inspections carried out by the management teams on these estates.Parking will always be a difficult issue for Councillors, as often a solution that finds favour with one group displaces the parking elsewhere and causes concern in equal measure for another group. I have supported the introduction of parking controls in Eastleigh Close as residents wanted this and it seemed to me that the displacement effect was containable. This is now leading to a wider consultation exercise across the area at the west end of the Ward. Consultation has also taken place on yellow lines in Westmoreland Drive. The initial proposals were objected to by some residents and a modified scheme is now under consideration.I am concerned at the amount of rubbish, and dog mess, left on the streets of our Ward by the inconsiderate. I got an additional bin put in in Cedar Road, at the point where (a resident suggested) people walking back from the station with a take-away would finish it and drop the wrapping. I have got the Area Response Team to check more frequently the bin in Cavendish Road by Fiske Court, as there is often rubbish dropped all round it. Other casework has been very varied but has included issues related to lighting, fencing and foxes. I am grateful to my colleague Heather for taking the lead on most issues relating to anti-social behaviour.Looking AheadLooking forward to 2012, it will be a challenging year for the Council given current financial constraints. So far, the programme of economies has been sound and we have avoided some of the worst consequences of the cuts in Government support seen in some other authorities such as closing libraries. The financial challenges will continue to be severe. But we can look ahead with optimism that 2012 will be a year to remember for the London Olympics – with the torch passing through Sutton on 23 July – and the Jubilee.Richard Clifton December 2011″