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 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.
Trish and Richard were delighted that Sutton Council ensured children did not go hungry over the school winter holiday period by providing support for families whose children go to Sutton schools and are eligible for Free School Meals.
The provision followed on from the scheme developed for the October half term, but supported a much wider group of children, young people and families, including:
Parents/carers of children that are registered for free school meals at their school did not need to apply – their school (whether in the London Borough of Sutton or in another Local Authority area) distributed vouchers to eligible families directly. This applied for the vast majority of pupils eligible for the voucher.
At half-term, during the autumn term, Richard and Trish were horrified that the Conservative Government refused to back Free School Meals for hungry children during the half term break. Liberal Democrat-run Sutton Council stepped in to provide Free School Meals for local children during the holidays. This new scheme, over the Christmas holidays, follows on from that earlier provision.
Footballer Marcus Rashford has spearheaded the campaign that brought national attention to children living in food poverty.
Local councils are under huge financial pressure across the country, with the Government only providing half the funding required to support additional COVID-19 related services. It was not true that the Council was funded to provide free school meals at half term. That funding was received back in July for families who needed extra support and had to be allocated within twelve weeks. It wasn’t nearly enough at the time and it certainly wasn’t intended to cover the cost of feeding hungry school children at half term in October. However, the Liberal Democrats in Sutton were determined to ensure no child went hungry.
On Remembrance Sunday, November 8, Trish – our Mayor – led the brief service at the war memorial at Carshalton ponds, to remember the fallen. Due to the COVID restrictions, the traditional service was kept very brief this year.
Richard attended the service and laid a wreath.
Sadly, the event normally held in Manor Park, at which Richard played the Last Post last year, was called off due to the COVID restrictions.
Every year, in the autumn, residents contact us to enquire about the leaf clearing programme. Each year the Council has a leaf clearing programme in place, where a team is deployed to all roads/streets that suffer from significant leaf fall. No Council can keep every road entirely free of leaves during the autumn leaf fall period, as resources are not unlimited. However, there is a programme that will, over a period, gradually clear away the fallen leaves.
As part of the South London Waste Partnership contract with Veolia, dedicated resources are provided for leafing, in support of the core street cleaning service. The operation is in two parts.
First, throughout the borough leaves should be cleared by beat sweepers as they break down and start to lose their shape and structure. Gully grates should also be kept clear, by beat sweepers, to help minimise surface water runoff and drainage. Second, the dedicated Veolia team will work to clear leaves throughout the borough, aiming to ensure they do not become hazardous to road users and pedestrians, turning into detritus and blocking road-side gullies with danger of flooding. If there are particular streets that residents feel need to be addressed more urgently, we ask that this is done through the Report It function on the Council website.
Commencement of the dedicated resource is a joint decision with Veolia and is based on the level of leaf fall and forecast weather conditions. The leaf fall programme is likely to start in the first week of November. There is an operational document that schedules which roads will be visited by the dedicated leafing team and when. As with all operational documents, and particularly with leafing, those involved have to be prepared to respond to weather conditions, to locations where demand and need is greatest, taking decisions on the basis of available resources. This means that the schedule is being constantly reviewed.
If residents or a community/resident group would like to get involved in clearing leaves from streets or communal areas please contact Council officers. Simply complete our Community Clean-Up Event Form with a few details. We can provide bags for use and will arrange for them to be collected from a pre-arranged location.
Leaves from residents own property can be disposed through our paid for Garden Waste service or taken free of charge to the reuse and recycling centre at Kimpton Park Way, Sutton SM3 9QH. Alternatively, a garden composting bin could be used.
Residents should not sweep leaves from their own property into the road.
Students returning to school at the start of the 2020 autumn term at Overton Grange enjoyed a quieter and safer atmosphere due to the introduction of a “school street” at the gates in Stanley Road at the time students arrived and left for the school day. This involved the closure of the part of Stanley Road adjacent to the school for a short period in the morning and afternoon, when the school day starts and ends.
The objectives of school streets are:
1) To improve safety around the school at start and finish time
2) To improve air quality for children outside their school gates (small people are particularly vulnerable to emissions from cars)
3) To create a more welcoming atmosphere around the school, where children can walk in the road and parents can feel more relaxed.
The scheme was a six month trial funded by Transport for London, who set the parameters of the scheme. The scheme was withdrawn in advance of the conclusion of the six month trial following a legal challenge to the lawfulness of such schemes, but by then it was proposed to withdraw the scheme. This related to difficulties experienced in enforcing the traffic controls, which at successful “school street” schemes involved the participation of the school and parents.
When Richard was first elected in 2010 one of the first projects he initiated was to get the “No Drinking Zone” in the centre of Sutton extended to our Ward. There were a group of what the police termed “all day drinkers” who used to congregate on Cedar Road outside Forest Dene Court.
The zone was extended to cover the area of our Ward south of the station as far as Cavendish Road, and running west to east from Brighton Road to Langley Park Road. In this area it is unlawful to continue to drink alcohol if asked by the police to stop, and there are provisions that would enable the police to confiscate alcohol. You will find reminders of the provisions attached to lampposts in the area, for example in Cedar Road.
The Council has, by law, to re-consider and consult afresh on these provisions from time to time. It is doing so at present. You can comment or make representations on the proposal to maintain these provisions. Representations must be made in writing and addressed to Safer Sutton Partnership Service, Environment, Housing and Regeneration Directorate, Sutton Police Station, 6 Carshalton Road, Sutton, SM1 4RF, before 21st September 2020. You need to state the grounds on which your representation or objection is made.
If you have any questions about this consultation, you can contact the Safer Sutton Partnership Team via email at safersutton@sutton.gov.uk.
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:
* 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 from 30 November. This should reduce traffic and parking in this area
* An extension of the 20 mph speed limit area in Langley Park Road to roads to the east, as far as Banstead Road South, has been introduced. 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
* An experimental “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, has been introduced. 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
* A“school street” at Overton Grange school to deal with traffic at the school gates has been implemented, 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. This involves the closure of Stanley Road south of the junction with Camborne Road when Overton Grange students are arriving and leaving.
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 and traffic levels were monitored in local streets in August. 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. If, after the initial experimental six month period, the Council was minded to retain the schemes on a permanent basis there would be full resident consultation on a traffic management order.
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:
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 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.