RICHARD “CANCELS” COMPUTER BOX “GRAFFITI”

BT Openreach challenged on computer box “graffiti”

box with flyer

BT Openreach are being challenged by Richard, and by Sutton Council’s Planning Enforcement Team, over unsightly fliers posted on many of their green computer boxes.

Richard has fought a long campaign to get BT Openreach to move a large green computer box located right outside the front of a house in Cedar Road, Sutton. BT maintains that due to an Act of Parliament they do not need planning permission for these boxes and can put them anywhere they like. They are still refusing to move the box.

However, Richard saw red when he observed that BT had stuck advertising on the box.

He said:

“I am not against these boxes as such, because we need them for Broadband, but some have been positioned in an unsuitable place that upsets local residents, such as the one in Cedar Road. 

“They are mostly inconspicuous but will not be if the owner flyposts the box with advertising. These boxes are all over the place and will be an unsightly mess if they are covered with advertising. If BT Openreach establish that they can flypost the boxes, all of these boxes will be covered in advertising in no time at all. It will make our streets an unsightly mess.”

Other Councils agree that the adverts are objectionable and unlawful, but BT refuses to move them. A test case is being brought by Westminster Council to prosecute BT for unlawful advertising. In the meantime, the Enforcement Team are sticking posters over the BT posters saying “Cancelled: This sign is unauthorised and has been cancelled by the London Borough of Sutton”.

The photograph above shows the offending box in Cedar Road. The photo below shows Richard sticking the “Cancelled” poster over the notice.

sticking it on 2

 

IMPROVING THE ENVIRONMENT IN SUTTON SOUTH

Here are some examples of the things Richard and Heather, as your local LibDem Councillors, have been working to achieve, all things Sutton Council has done to improve Sutton South, action we have taken on behalf of the community, or campaigns we have launched.

Action to oppose the opening of a nightclub on the border of the Ward, operating till 4.30am seven days a week, which would add to late night disturbance in the streets of Sutton South Ward.

kings lane bridge

Improvements to the Kings Lane bridge to make it safer for pedestrians.

 

img00017-20101105-1223downside-rd.jpg Re-surfacing Downside Road to deal with potholes after the hard winter 0f 2009/2010.

New grit bins at many places in the Ward, such as this one in Leslie Gardens put in at the request of Richard following an approach from a resident.

And this grit bin in Cavendish Road which Richard got put in after approaches from residents – this photo taken on the morning the bin arrived, just before it was filled with grit.

New litter bins in the Ward, such as this one that Richard got put in at a strategic point in Cedar Road. A resident suggested this was about the point where someone walking back from the station with a takeaway snack would finish it and drop rubbish.

 

 

 

img00018-20101105-1224hillcroome.jpg Re-surfacing of Hillcroome Road to deal with potholes after the hard winter of 2009/2010.

Improvements to the layout of the Brighton Road at the junction with Ventnor Road and Devonshire Avenue, to reduce road accidents. 

img00023-20101105-1238overton.jpg Improvements made in relation to signage and road markings outside Overton Grange school due to concerns about road safety when students leave the school at the end of the day. A new, flashing “wig wag” sign (it flashes when switched on at about the time students arrive at or leave school) erected.

This is the “wig wag” sign.

r-and-h-devonshire1.jpg Expansion of Devonshire Avenue, The Avenue and Barrow Hedges primary schools will make it easier for Sutton South parents to get their children into these excellent, popular and frequently over-subscribed schools. We also succeeded in moving the polling stations from Devonshire and Barrow Hedges schools to local church halls, so the education of the children will not be disrupted for a day and related child care problems can be avoided.

img00026-20101105-1241sutherland.jpg Extension of the “No Drinking Zone” into Sutton South Ward, to deal with issues of anti-social behaviour associated with a group of “all day drinkers” who tend to congregate on the corner of Cedar Road and Brighton road, the location shown in this picture.

bus280.jpg Representations made by your local Liberal Democrat Councillors to contribute to Sutton-wide response to Transport for London consultation on the future of the X26 Croydon to Heathrow service, the 80 service from Sutton station to Belmont and the 280 Tooting to Belmont service, to stress the importance to local people of these services. 

albioncarclub.jpg Support for the creation of more “car club” bays in Sutton South Ward, such as this bay in Albion Road which was identified for conversion to a “car club” bay, in order to encourage better car use, reducing pollution, a “greener” Borough and policy on sustainable transport. This proposal is currently on hold but Car2go have expanded their car club service in the Ward. 

copese-hill-tree-pic.jpg New street trees planted, such as this one in Copse Hill. And in Copse Hill we also intervened to get Council officials to look at the potential for a flooding problem at the foot of the hill, with the cleaning out of the soakaways and other improvements.

pic-reserve.jpg Action to improve the Devonshire Avenue Nature Area, involving, amongst other things,  re-positioning the benches, partially removing a wall that divides up the site, possibly fencing some areas with low wooden fencing to protect the kidney vetch essential for the small blue buterfly, removing the corrugated iron sheeting found at the site and installing a small piece of play equipment for children aged 5 to 7 at the entrance, while taking action to control the habitat. The reserve is the only open space in the Ward. We have supported only limited installation of play equipment as we believe the area should continue to be a nature reserve, and our proposals are designed to ensure the habitat of the area will not be harmed. We are promoting a programme to assist the small blue butterfly.

Action to improve the safety of pedestrians who pass under the railway bridge in Grange Vale. There is a narrow pavement and, as it is a one-way street, cars roar round the corner from the Brighton Road end and under the bridge, the driver only seeing a pedestrian on the pavement under the bridge at the last moment. This is a particular problem for parents with buggies or with small children passing under the bridge against the direction of traffic. A barrier and set of posts have been erected to slow the traffic.

 

This photo shows the improvement made.

Action taken to discuss with BT the installation of the new generation of very large green cabinets at locations in the Ward, to ensure they are put in locations that do not cause annoyance to residents, as this box in Cedar Road does. Action to prevent the boxes being covered with unsightly advertising.

Action to promote the sensitive re-development of Sutherland House, which is currently an eyesore, and to ensure that if it is re-developed there will be gains for the residents of the Ward through a programme of improvements funded by the developer, through the community infrastructure levy and section 106 contributions.

Action to get the Edwardian tennis pavilion in Mayfield Road included on the Sutton Local List as a building of significant local historical importance and interest.

Campaign launched to stop Thameslink services being terminated at Blackfriars, something that would lead to dispersion of commuters onto other services that are already packed, cut Sutton off from St. Pancras International and north London, and harm the attractiveness of Sutton to companies locating their offices away from but close to central London.

 

A programe of road maintenence throughout the Ward – this picture shows line painting in Eaton Road.

The side entrance at Sutton station

Our campaign continues to get the side entrance to Sutton station opened. A bid submitted by Sutton Council for funding from the Mayor’s Outer London Fund was not successful, but the campaign continues and a further bid (to TfL) has been successful. This is not the end of the story as negotiations continue on matched funding..

We succeeded in getting the date for the four-yearly pruning of the thousand or so street trees in Sutton South Ward brought forward to the end of 2011. We have also got commitment to an interim look at the state of the trees, outside the normal four year cycle, in 2014.

POOR ATTENDANCE AT POLICE PANEL MEETING

SUTTON SOUTH WARD PANEL MEETING, 5 DECEMBER 2012

The panel is the consultative mechanism by which the police discuss with the local community crime trends and policing priorities.

The most alarming aspect of this meeting was that only 3 panel members, plus the police, turned up – the Reverend Mark Pullinger, Heather and Richard.

The crime figures indicate South Sutton continues to be a low crime area. They showed crime down 19% on the figures for the same period in 2011 – burglary down, theft much the same. There were increases in assault and in harrassment (in this context, this being an umbrella term for a variety of forms of anti-social behaviour) but some of this is close to the station and, while in the Ward, not involving our residents.

Anti-social behaviour in the Ward is, overall, down. Other matters discussed included incidents involving dogs, pizza delivery drivers, proposals we made for use of “Community Payback”, the pressure from the “centre” in London for more action on drug enforcement (which is stretching local resources), and the reasons for the decline in anti-social behaviour incidents in the Ward.

It was agreed that the priorities would continue to be burglary and motor vehicle crime.

FREE GRIT SCHEME AGAIN A MASSIVE SUCCESS

 

 
 

 

Our gritting lorries are prepared

All the evidence is that Sutton’s free grit scheme has been, for a third year, a massive success.

 

Residents of South Sutton Ward have been able to obtain a supply of free grit for the third year running.

Many households took up the offer of 10kg of grit to use on footpaths, pavements or roads in front of their homes, preparing for the cold weather predicted to come before the end of the year. Many householders also collected free grit for elderly neighbours and residents who do not have a car.

The Council successfully pioneered the scheme , which has been copied by other authorities around the country. In previous years the Council gave out grit to more than 10,000 residents.

The free grit is the most practical way of helping residents, though there are in addition over 40 grit bins in our Ward and the Council has a number of gritting lorries fully equipped and ready to hit the roads if a cold snap makes conditions difficult. 

Following an analysis of take up after the two weekends that he grit was on offer, there was a further weekend when grit was available.

The grit bins are everywhere

LEAFY SUTTON STILL SURVIVING THE RECESSION

The quarterly “Economy Watch” analysis of economic trends for the London Borough of Sutton, presented to the Housing, Economy and Business Committee’s meeting on 27 November, again shows a generally encouraging picture in terms of the local economy.

The price of an average house in Sutton is now £250 531, up 5.1% on a year previously.

Encouraging signs are:

* the proportion of the working age population that is economically active in Sutton, at 78.8%, is higher than the London average of 75.0%

* the number of unfilled job vacancies in Sutton is rising, at 1217 up almost 80% on the year previously.

Sutton is also in line for significant local development, with proposals to develop the site at the bottom of the High Street (by the Zurich building), the South Point building close to Sutton station, the Felnex site and the area within the Hackbridge neighbourhood plan. The High Street is doing well with a new Metrobank opening shortly. 

Speaking at the meeting, Richard commented that he often tells people of the benefits of living in Sutton – low crime, good schools, a healthy local economy surviving the recession well, voted the best place in London to bring up children, good travel links and with its open spaces and 20 000 street trees giving it its green, pleasant, suburban local character.

THAMESLINK DECISION TO BE REVIEWED

Richard presenting the Petition

Our campaign to save the Thameslink loop line and ensure trains from Sutton continue to run direct to the north of London took a step forward when Sutton Councillors were involved in a delegation that met Simon Burns, Minister of State for Transport, on 26 November.  

During the meeting Mr Burns said that he had told the Department for Transport to review the decision to cut the line at Blackfriars and report back to him early in 2013.

The current plan would see the service – which links Sutton to Luton and St Albans through central and north London, calling at key stops such as the City, Farringdon and St Pancras International – severed at Blackfriars from 2018. But it transpired during the meeting that keeping the Loop Line intact would add only 28 seconds to average train times from Blackfriars, and Mr Burns told the meeting the engineering issues at Blackfriars were not insurmountable.

Richard says “We have not yet won, But I think we can take heart from the fact that the Minister is now well aware of the issue and our strong views. He has agreed that the case must be reviewed. I hope the petition I was involved in presenting at the department for Transport has added to the pressure.”

LARGEST EVER SPEED SURVEY IN SUTTON SOUTH NOW UNDERWAY

The largest scale survey of traffic speed and direction ever undertaken in Sutton South Ward is now underway.

Wires linked to computer boxes, like this instalation in Devonshire Road, have been set up at 15 different locations in the Ward, with cameras at six locations. The equipment measures the speed of a vehicle and its direction of movement.

The survey has developed from the petition relating to speeding that we presented to Sutton Council last July, signed by 77 residents of Cavendish Road. We successfully pressed for the survey to be extended from Cavendish Road to cover other local roads where speeding is a problem. The study will cover:

Cavendish Road

Christchurch Park

Cedar Road

Cumnor Road

Devonshire Road

Devonshire Avenue.

We will keep residents advised of the outcome.

BID TO OPEN SIDE ENTRANCE TO SUTTON STATION ENTERS NEW PHASE

The latest phase of our long-running campaign to open the side entrance to Sutton station has entered a new phase with the Council’s submission to Transport for London of a bid for funding under the TfL Major Projects scheme.

Sutton station is the 5th busiest in South London, and the 27th busiest in the whole of Greater London, with almost 6 million passenger movements every year. It is one of 18 stations in London identified by TfL as suffering significant congestion problems.

The main elements in the scheme would not only include opening the side entrance but extensive landscaping to improve the appearance of what would in effect be a new entrance from The Quadrant. The main elements include:

* Opening up the side entrance to the station to improve station access and egress, improve the streetscape and improve pedestrian access to the station
 * Public realm and footway improvements in The Quadrant and at the front of the station
 * Bus stop improvements at the front of the station to improve passenger experience
 * “De-cluttering” and harmonisation of street furniture and materials
* Junction and crossing improvements on walking routes to the station
 * Road safety improvements
 * Additional cycle parking and cycle lanes, and
  * Improved street lighting.

Benefits of the scheme will include reduced pedestrian journey times between the station and The Quadrant, the station car park and the Langley Park Road area, as well as reduced congestion within the station main entrance and at the barriers.

 
 
 
 

Opening the side entrance at Sutton Station would cater for the considerable demand for direct access to the station from the Quadrant House office block, which houses Reed Business Information (with approximately 2,000 employees, about one third of whom travel to work by train) and a number of other expanding companies, together with Tudor Court office block, which houses Synergy UK. The new entrance would also serve the large station car park (which Network Rail wish to expand), and the motorcycle and cycle parking areas, which generate considerable demand for access from that side of the station. There is also direct footpath access between The Quadrant and Langley Park Road and surrounding residential streets, well-used by rail passengers. These station users currently have to walk around the side to the front of the station on a convoluted route and negotiate busy footways, bus stops and the station entrance. Most of these passengers are likely to have season tickets, and opening up the side entrance would significantly reduce their journey times and congestion outside and in the entrance hall of the main station entrance.
The Council has been lobbying for the opening up of the side entrance since it was created over ten years ago with a retractable shutter. The entrance is opened up when rail replacement buses are used during engineering work, as the buses stop in The Quadrant. This demonstrates that it is possible to open up and allow passengers to use this entrance in principle. Southern support the opening in principle, subject to funding being available to provide the barriers etc. Network Rail also supports the scheme in principle and has assisted with initial business case work.
We will keep you advised of progress. 

 

DECISION ON KINGS LANE BRIDGE SAFETY PROPOSAL

We have consulted residents on our wish to see action to improve safety for pedestrians using the bridge. Given the difficulties with more radical proposals, the traffic engineers proposed building out the kerb on both sides at the intersection with Hillcroome Road. This would ensure that cars crossing from that end would start their journey across the bridge from a more central position. They would be more visible, earlier, to cars coming from the other end and to pedestrians on the bridge. The road has for some time been marked out to show where the kerb would be built out to. 

In addition, warning signs alerting drivers to the road narrowing and the presence of pedestrians will be upgraded and repositioned to make them more prominent.  

Reaction to the proposal has been generally positive but there is also support for limiting the build out to the left hand side of the road, as you face Kings Lane from Hillcroome Road. A safety study was commissioned and suggested that either option would improve the safety of the bridge.

We have decided to proceed with the reduced scheme, building out on just the left hand side. The improvement will be funded by Transport for London as a small, low-cost but helpful safety measure.

MAJOR STEP FORWARD AS LIBERAL DEMOCRATS CONTINUE BATTLE TO SAVE St. HELIER

Local campaigners have won a victory in the ongoing battle to save St Helier Hospital.

Liberal Democrat campaigners are celebrating the announcement that the immediate threat to St Helier Hospital’s Accident and Emergency, maternity and children’s wards has passed – although the future remains very uncertain.

The Better Services Better Value (BSBV) review, which in May recommended the cuts to these hospital services, has now recommended delaying going out to consultation on the plans saying, ‘This is because NHS Surrey wish to more fully understand the impact of BSBV on their residents who use NHS services in south west London, and implications for the NHS in Surrey, before public consultation begins. 

‘This means that the BSBV programme and NHS Surrey now need more time to carry out further detailed analysis of the impact of the proposals.’

In May,  BSBV recommended that St George’s, Croydon and Kingston hospitals remain as they are while St Helier should lose these crucial services, and instead become a centre for planned surgery across south west London.

The Liberal Democrat campaign to save St Helier immediately swung into action and months of effort reached a climax on 8 September when a Fun Day outside the hospital attracted protesters from across the area, who presented petitions carrying thousands of names to health service representatives.

The proposals were due to go out to a three-month consultation period at the beginning of October and we were preparing to continue the fight.

Heather Honour is one of two Sutton Councillors sitting on the pan-South West London committee investigating the proposals.

She said: “From the start we have made it clear that this was a deeply flawed process. What a pity that so much taxpayers’ money has been wasted by the BSBV team before they came to their senses.”

Councillor Mary Burstow, Chair of Sutton’s Scrutiny Committee, said: “Of course this is a reason to celebrate, but now we must work to secure the future of St Helier Hospital for generations of Sutton residents to come.

“This is now a real opportunity for residents, politicians and medical staff to work out exactly how we want to see healthcare delivered in years to come.

“And it is crucial that that discussion covers the entire capital. London’s health services need to be looked at as a whole and decisions need to be reached that meet the needs of all Londoners.”

However, the uncertainty remains for hospital staff and patients, who are still unclear about what the future holds.