A GREAT VICTORY

On 5 May 2022 the residents of Sutton South Ward elected the three of us as their Councillors. This was the first time that all three seats on Sutton Council in Sutton South Ward have been held by the Liberal Democrats. The number of votes we polled were

Richard      1718

Trish           1691

Louise        1521

The most successful Tory was some way behind on 1434 votes, while the most successful Labour candidate only got 579 votes. We are delighted at this show of support from the local community.  

The Platinum Jubilee holiday saw a rash of street parties throughout Sutton South Ward. Louise, Trish and Richard dropped in at all of those they knew of. They also attended the Sutton South Hello exhibition to mark the Platinum Jubilee, held at the Honeywood Museum in Carshalton. The photo above was taken in the garden at Honeywood.

At the party at Upland Road Richard was asked to judge the “Most Appealing Dog” competition. He found this an almost impossible task, with so many beautiful dogs, and told the assembled crowd that this was as difficult a task as he had had since being elected a Councillor.

Our Mayor and the two other Ward Councillors at the Effingham Close street party

Following the Annual Council Meeting, held on 23 May, where membership of Council committees is decided, Trish, Richard and Louise have important new responsibilities. Trish has been elected Mayor of Sutton for the third consecutive year. Richard will chair the Council’s Planning Committee and the Council and Employees Joint Committee, where Councillors discuss employment matters with recognised trade unions. Richard will also represent the three London Liberal Democrat Councils on the pan-London Greater London Employment Forum. Louise is a member of the important Housing, Economy and Business Committee, which takes major strategic decisions on housing policy and proposals for economic regeneration.

On 5 May 2022 Louise was elected to Sutton Council, joining Trish and Richard as Councillors for Sutton South Ward. Louise – Louise Phelan – has lived in Sutton for over 20 years and her son attends Overton Grange school in our Ward. She is an active member of many local community organisations and was a leading member of the Sutton New Town Community Festival, serving as chair of the organisation.

We have a manifesto commitment to plant more trees, to improve air quality, combat global warming and promote the green, suburban feel of Sutton. We will be planting new trees in the next few months in Downside Road, Upland Road, Willis Avenue and Prior Avenue.

We were delighted when, in accordance with the commitment to plant more trees to combat global warming, two new trees were planted in early 2021 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. This was done. The photo was taken during the brief fall of snow on 24 January 2021.

In support of our policies to combat global warming and reduce carbon emissions, electric vehicle charging points are being fitted in lampposts in our Ward. The first locations are in Camborne Road, Stanley Road, Cedar Gardens, Langley Park Road and The Ridgway.

The photo shows the first vehicle that used the new charging point in The Ridgway. Given the policy to ultimately phase out petrol driven vehicles, a big and continuing expansion will be needed.

Sutton Council is working with Siemens to install Ubitricity lamp column electric vehicle charging points. Ubitricity lamp column charging points are compact and fit into the door of a lamp column.  
The aim of lamp column charging is to give residents the ability to easily charge electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles on the street where they live, especially if they do not have off-street parking or are unable to install their own home charging point. Installing residential charging points is important because a key barrier to people switching to electric vehicles is the concern around where they will be able to charge their vehicle. 

Not all lamp columns are suitable for lamp column charging points. The lamp columns need to be “electrically suitable”, be positioned near the kerb and have enough internal space to fit the charging point. They need to be sensibly located so that a vehicle could safely park and charge next to the lamp column. The lamp columns also need to be made of metal, not concrete. 

An “earth mat”, a small metal grid, is also installed in the footway next to the lamp column. This is to make the charging point “electrically safe” if there is a fault. There are signs to indicate that the lamp column has a charging point fitted, though this sign will not prevent non-electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles from parking next to the lamp column. 

This is a major advance in our drive to promote electric vehicles and combat global warming.

In 1988 the South Sutton Neighbourhood Association celebrated the tenth anniversary of its foundation by funding a bench in Cavendish Road close to Ambleside Gardens. Richard noticed that the bench was, after over twenty years of use and exposure to the elements, in a very sorry state. He took action to get the bench restored, with the plaque explaining the history of the bench moved to the new bench.