When students return to school at Overton Grange school in the autumn, they will be able to do so in greater safety and quiet than has been the case up to now.

The school will benefit from one of the first of our “quiet neighbourhood” initiatives to be implemented (see the post below) with a “school street”. This will enable the students to reach the school without traffic outside the school gate, as Ventnor Road will be closed between the Camborne Road junction and the bridge for a short period as the school day begins and ends. Richard comments that there is a “school street” at the primary school his grandson attends in Brixton and it certainly makes the process of delivering and collecting children safer and more pleasant.

The reduction in traffic in our residential roads at the height of the lockdown brought quiet, clean air, blue skies and a wish to preserve the pleasant environment it created. We have obtained, from schemes established by the Government and the London Mayor to deal with the aftermath of the pandemic, funding for plans to maintain these advances. The schemes are trials and will be monitored throughout the initial six months. Normally the Council would consult extensively before their introduction but the offer of funding is for immediate action following emergence from lockdown, so the measures will be introduced and monitored to assess resident reaction and their impact. The principal proposals include, in our Ward:

* A proposal for a 20 mph speed limit area in the part of the Ward west of Brighton Road, bounded by Overton Road, Worcester Road, Grange Road and Camborne Road. There is a history of traffic accidents, and speeding vehicles, in this area, and requests from residents for action

* The Permit Parking Area (PPA) planned for roads from Mayfield Road running east as far as Banstead Road South, which residents strongly supported in consultation exercises, will be introduced shortly. This should reduce traffic and parking in this area

* A proposal for an extension of the 20 mph speed limit area in Langley Park Road to roads to the east, as far as Banstead Road South. This includes the part of the Ward where a PPA is to be introduced, so the reduced parking will lead to speeding, which has to be dealt with to maintain the peace and quiet of these residential roads

* A proposal, experimentally, for a “modal filter” (allowing cyclists and pedestrians to cross but not other vehicles) to reduce traffic rat running north to south through the area, at Kings Lane. This will be subject to assessment after introduction and maintained if there is resident support. The impact on traffic in Langley Park Road and other local roads will be monitored. A proposal for a second filter, in Langley Park Road, remains in the programme but will not be implemented while Sutton Court Road is closed at the west end, and will be subject to review in the light of an assessment of the impact on traffic in the area from the Kings Lane filter

* The concept of “school streets” or other measures to deal with traffic at the school gates, is being discussed, closing the road where the school is situated to traffic when school students are arriving and leaving, so they can do so in safety and quiet. In particular, the closure of Ventnor Road when Overton Grange students are arriving and leaving has been under discussion and is to be implemented in the autumn.

These improvements will help maintain the peace of the quiet residential roads in our Ward, improve air quality, make the area more pleasant for walking and cycling, and benefit the neighbourhood. We hope to create a neighbourhood with less noise, less non-residential traffic, less speeding, cleaner air and a safer and more pleasant environment, promoting walking and cycling.

The proposals also respond to the many of the concerns raised by residents in the survey last year supporting the Council’s Liveable Neighbourhoods bid to the Mayor of London. These were:

1. Too much rat-running traffic
2. A wish for more trees, plants, greenery
3. A need for improvement to air-quality
4. A need for slower vehicle speeds on residential roads
5. More pedestrian crossings on main roads
6. More welcoming streets for walking
7. More welcoming streets for cycling

We will be monitoring closely the impact of these measures. Normally the Council would consult extensively before their introduction but the offer of funding is for immediate action following emergence from lockdown, so the measures will be introduced and monitored to assess resident reaction and their impact. It is intended that they will be implemented by October, to meet the conditions set by the Government and the Mayor.

On the criteria for evaluation of the temporary schemes, this is what TfL are asking us to use.

We will look at a range of factors when considering whether or not to make a temporary scheme permanent. These include the:

• Effects the scheme has had and could continue to have on road safety and pedestrian overcrowding
• Number of cyclists and pedestrians who have used each scheme
• Contribution each scheme makes to the look and feel of the local area
• Impact of the scheme on traffic, including the bus network
• Feedback from the public and other stakeholders
• Impact of the scheme on people protected under the Equality Act 2010

By way of background, the Low Traffic Neighbourhoods scheme was set up by the Conservative Government in consultation with the Labour London Mayor.  A total of 859 schemes are being trialled across London for six months from September, and the rules for these schemes were set up by Central Government at very short notice. The Government asked for bids from every London Borough in mid May that had to be made within just a month, by 22nd June, which is not ideal. 

The choice of areas was based on past requests to Local Committees, suggestions made by residents, and proposals previously made under the Transport for London (TfL) Liveable Neighbourhoods bid. 

The Department for Transport advise that the six months long trials of the temporary schemes will enable further consultation if it is intended to make any of the schemes permanent. The benefit of a trial is that one can see if a scheme works or does not work, or can be improved. Where these schemes have been set up elsewhere in London they have often proved popular with residents.

In normal non- Covid times, we would have expected longer notice of bidding for schemes to allow for public consultation and tr but the Government did not allow the usual process (which normally takes some months), on this occasion, as the timescale was telescoped into a very short one, of one month only.   

On 20 June Trish and Richard attended an event at the open space opposite St Helier hospital to support the Black Lives Matter movement.

It was difficult to estimate the size of the crowd as it was spread out over a vast area to ensure social distancing. The police attended to ensure social distancing was observed, which it was. Trish made an excellent and impassioned speech, as did her daughter Lauren. Lauren told us that the previous day she had submitted, as part of her University course, a dissertation on mental illness in prisons. A finding had been that BAME prisoners were much more likely to be affected. Councillor Dombey also spoke.

The railway bridge at Kings Lane poses problems for drivers – seeing whether there is a car at the other side of the bridge waiting to cross. The vegetation grows up on the railway embankment and obscures sight lines. It has taken Richard some work with Network Rail to get them to cut it back.

The renowned artist Lionel Stanhope has brightened up our Ward. The painting, on the railway bridge at Sutton station, is not easy to photograph, so what is shown below is a CGI of the artwork created before the painting was undertaken. What is above, is the painting.

The railway bridge at Sutton station has been brightened up with a painting by the renowned artist Lionel Stanhope, whose art has brightened up many railway stations. Stanhope completed the painting in four days starting on 26 May. Stanhope is regarded by many as a better and more important street artist than Banksy. We have been pleased to support this project which brings an attractive feature to add interest to the area.The façade of the railway bridge, as you come out of Sutton station and turn left,was a patchwork of various colours. The Council first tried to interest Network Rail in making the bridge look more attractive, over four years ago, during the “Sutton Gateway” project, which involved re-paving the area around the station and the installation of the clock opposite Sutton station. The artwork has been mainly funded by Network Rail, with a small contribution from Sutton Council. The parapet of the bridge required extensive cleaning and preparation before the painting commenced. Lionel Stanhope produced a design which incorporates the word “Sutton” in the typeface traditionally used by Southern railway, and a depiction of the historic Sutton locomotive. The locomotive “Sutton” came into the possession of the Council many years ago and is a 144 year old, 28 tonne, 26 feet, A1 class Terrier steam engine. It is currently with a heritage railway undertaking in Tunbridge Wells who have undertaken to restore it. The painting is an addition to an area becoming famous for its street art. Within two hundred yards you can find the remarkable statue “The Messenger”, located directly outside the entrance to Quadrant House in The Quadrant. The Messenger is a statue, a sculpture in bronze with very dark patination, completed by David Wynne in 1981, of a large horse and rider. It was a major commission for the sculptor, who died in 2014. It took four years to complete from his first idea and inspiration, on receipt of the brief – through roughing out, refining and casting in a foundry, to the final unveiling and installation. We are not including a photograph of the statue in this post due to the philistine attitude of the owners of Quadrant House, who do not cherish this artwork and have stuck a notice on the front of it about some aspect of building maintenance, thus disfiguring it. They have been unco-operative in the face of requests to remove the notice. Even more striking is the remarkable mural by the famous Spanish “street” artist from Bilbao, Eva Mena, on a wall in nearby Wellesley Road. This is said to be of the American singer and musician Erykah Badu. The work was commissioned by the owners of the building, Indepth Hygiene Services. It was painted in three days in 2010, when the artist came over from Spain to paint it. It is entirely typical of her street art, which is to be found on walls in many parts of the world, including Egypt, Ireland and Spain, as well as Sutton. Eva Mena is said to be more famous than Banky in her native Spain.

On 18 May Sutton Council elected Trish as Mayor of Sutton for the coming municipal year. This is four years after Richard served a year as Mayor.

Trish’s election was at a Council meeting unlike any previously held, as it was a “virtual” meeting held by videoconference due to the impossibility of Councillors meeting in person during the current coronavirus pandemic. Every Councillor was at home and joining the meeting by video so Trish was unable to don the Mayoral chain of office, which is in a safe at the civic offices. However, the schoolchildren at Devonshire Avenue primary school had made a chain of office, with a number of roundels each one of which had the name of a group of key workers that have helped save lives during the pandemic. Trish’s charity appeal will be for Sutton Mental Health Foundation and for Homestart, a charity that assists families in challenging situations.