On 1 March Sutton Council debated and agreed its budget for the next financial year. This was the annual budget meeting where we agree the Council’s budget. It is a responsible and balanced budget with the emphasis on helping the disadvantaged as we come out of the pandemic and the recession. Sutton has enjoyed safe and careful stewardship of its financial resources under the Liberal Democrat administration, in contrast to neighbouring Croydon, which has gone bust. The Conservative Councillors tabled no alternative proposal but voted against our budget. The debate was ably chaired my Trish, as Mayor. This was Richard’s speech.

“When I spoke on the budget last year I said that ever since I studied economics at University in the 1960s I seem to have been having arguments with right wing economists and politicians who hold the view that there is virtue in:

less Government intervention in the economy,

reducing the size of the State

and cutting taxes.

Since then, the pandemic has proved how wrong these views are – and proved the need for strong and well resourced Government at national and local level.

In the local context this means being able to provide effective health services to care for the many thousands of Sutton residents made ill by the pandemic, and being able to provide welfare support for the almost 19 000 Sutton residents, at the last count, reduced to poverty and relying on Universal Credit. That is approaching one person in every four homes in the borough with – if the proposed £20 cut in Universal Credit happens – a major increase expected in the number of Sutton residents using Foodbanks. And if the moratorium on evictions is not extended, more homelessness.

The economic and welfare effects of the pandemic are significant and we need strong government at all levels to deal with these consequences.

What we are celebrating tonight is a well structured and responsible budget that will give help to those who most need it – the emphasis being on supporting the most vulnerable by building on work with the health and voluntary sector, increasing funding on adult and children’s social services, and on helping local businesses and employers to mitigate the impact of the recession in Sutton – which, I see research for the Sunday Times has found is the fifth happiest place to live in England.

I support this budget, but I would stress most of all tonight the need for Government to help our 19 000 residents living in acute poverty by scrapping the £20 cut in Universal Credit planned for the end of March. Surely we must all agree on that.”

IF YOU SEE AN ABANDONED CAR, LET US KNOW

Abandoned cars can be a problem and we discover abandoned cars from time to time in our Ward, or residents report them to us. This abandoned car was dumped in Langley Park Road. The Council will affix a letter to the windscreen and this gives the owner fifteen days to retrieve the car before it is removed and disposed of. This car was clearly abandoned, with the windows broken and number plates removed.

Trish and Richard have expressed their shock at the finding from the latest Government figures that almost 19,000 residents across Sutton are currently relying on Universal Credit – on average one person in every four homes in the borough.

This implies that up to 4,000 Sutton residents could end up being driven to Foodbanks if Ministers proceed with cutting Universal Credit by £20 per week. Richard estimates that possibly approaching a thousand residents in our Ward are relying on Universal Credit during the pandemic and perhaps 200 residents in our Ward will have to rely on Foodbanks if the current level of Universal Credit is cut.

Research by the Trussell Trust has shown that one in five people receiving the Universal Credit benefit said they are very likely to need to use a food bank if the benefit is cut. Almost one in five said they would be likely to fall behind on housing costs, such as mortgage payments or rent.

The Government has yet to say whether the temporary increase, introduced at the start of the pandemic and in place until the end of March, will be extended.

Richard says “We have no reason to believe that Sutton South Ward is much different from the rest of Sutton. While the Ward is sometimes regarded as more affluent, as local Councillors we know there are pockets of extreme poverty, not just on our social housing estates. The benefit system, though cut significantly in recent years, is a lifeline for struggling families, and has prevented many families in our Ward needing to turn to a food bank. We call on the Government to maintain Universal Credit at its current level.”

With the cold and snowy weather we experienced in early February, the yellow grit bins on street corners throughout our Ward have proved their worth.

Contact us if your nearest bin is now empty or needs replenishment.

Contact us if you think there is a location that ought to have a grit bin installed.

The Council has been taking legal advice on a recent High Court judgement against the Mayor of London which indicated that London Boroughs were misdirected and should not have been prevented from consulting in advance of implementing the “low traffic neighbourhoods schemes” introduced across London last autumn. Last year, the Mayor and the Conservative Government required Councils to move at pace to introduce these schemes and only consult after the measures were in place. We told them at the time that this was a mistake. We have been proven right. 

Sutton Council has concluded that in the light of the legal case all schemes have to be removed. We are disappointed as some schemes were working well, but we have no choice given the legal judgement. We are angry at Transport for London, who required introduction of the schemes without consultation but were so inattentive to the legal requirements that they left themselves open to legal challenge. The result is the withdrawal of the schemes.

In our Ward this affects three interventions, all of which were six month trials – the “school street” at Overton Grange school (to close the road to traffic for a short period as students arrive and leave to create a more peaceful and safe environment at the start and end of the school day), the 20 mph speed limit in roads east of Mayfield Road, and the closure of Kings Lane. The legal case means all three will have to be discontinued.

Of these interventions, the 20 mph limit was supported by residents in the Council’s “Streetspace” consultation, and we are pursuing how it might be restored in due course. This is not the end of the process. We remain committed to reducing traffic and pollution on residential roads and would very much welcome your views and suggestions. Drop us an email.

We will keep residents advised concerning future action. Stories that have been put round about other, new, road closures have no foundation.

On February 3 Richard spent the evening tuned in to a “virtual” meeting of the Council’s Planning Committee and spoke to the committee about our concerns regarding a planning application for 27 Cedar Road. He spoke alongside a local resident who voiced similar concerns to ours. Our worry was about the overlooking of neighbouring properties due to extension of the building upwards with balconies that would overlook neighbours. The committee has a tradition of not voting along party lines, and had indeed earlier in its meeting thrown out a planning application relating to a building in Wallington recommended by officers for approval. The planning application for Cedar Road was, however, approved, by four votes to three with four abstentions. We will keep an eye on the progress of the building work.

Richard says “I have been inside this building, which is a former nurses’ home (accommodation for nurses at a local hospital) and is a “house in multiple occupation” with 31 small bed sitting rooms. It is not good quality accommodation, certainly in need of upgrading and money being spent on improving the building, so that is one positive aspect of the decision.”

We are delighted that, in accordance with the commitment of the Council to plant more trees to combat global warming, two new trees have been planted in The Ridgway. The story concerning the tree outside number 23 is interesting. Many years ago there was a tree pit here and a tree. The tree died. Contractors tarmaced over the tree pit. The tarmac would periodically sag. Richard suggested restoring the tree pit and planting a tree. At last this is done. The photo was taken during the brief fall of snow on 24 January.

We were delighted at how quick the Council were to remove the graffiti from the Kings Lane bridge. We abhor graffiti and it is important to deal with it promptly.