Thanks to the efforts of Councillors Heather Honour and Richard Clifton, on Thursday evening  18th November members of the Sutton South, Belmont and Cheam Local Committee acknowledged the need for extra play areas for children and young people in South Sutton ward. Following a question raised by resident Mrs Ceri Schillinger and interventions by Councillor Honour,  the committee agreed to investigate how to improve outdoor play areas for children in the ward.  Sutton South has only one safe outdoor playing area for children, the  small Devonshire Avenue Nature Reserve. In recent years, when the Local Committee had only Conservative councillors as members, Sutton South ward lost out to Cheam and Belmont and did not receive its fair share of  “public realm” funding available.  Now, with three Lib Dem councillors ( Heather, Richard, and Mary Burstow in Cheam) the committee is waking up to the needs of all its residents.

Councillor Honour said, “We want to hear what play schemes the people of Sutton South would like their children to have.  Of course we do not have much space so we will need to as creative as possible, but I am glad this subject is on the agenda at last”