THE SNOW HAS ARRIVED
The last two winters have been fairly mild with not much snow, so many of us who collected free grit under the Council’s scheme to distribute free grit against icy weather in the last two years have still got the grit. This winter is, by contrast, proving severe and the cold weather at the end of February is demonstrating to all of us the value of the grit distribution scheme.
A green, pleasant, suburban environment – this is Sutton
Trish and Richard were members of the task group that drafted the new local plan for Sutton. After going through a process of public review by a Government Inspector, the plan was presented to and agreed by the Housing, Economy and Business Committee on 13 February. Richard addressed the Committee on what he saw as the virtues of the plan. The plan was endorsed by Council on 26 February and Richard again addressed the meeting, reminding Councillors that the process of public review – which can lead to major revision of such plans – left it virtually unscathed. The core policies of the plan survived without alteration, and are the central policies that have helped us maintain the pleasant, green, suburban character of Sutton our residents cherish. This is evidence of the strength of the document.
The plan supports development that is in keeping with the best in our local environment – preserving the green, suburban feel of Sutton while meeting the aspiration to have homes for our children to grow up here. The plan promotes good quality design, school places, the London Cancer Hub, surgeries, the protection of pubs, parks and open spaces, and minimum standards for housing. It also strengthens the protection of Conservation Areas and Areas of Special Local Character. It is our plan for a successful Sutton.
Cradle to grave care – what we expect from the NHS
Many local residents use the medical centre in Grove Road in Sutton. Several years ago Richard was involved, with former Councillor Heather Honour, in a campaign to prevent this practice closing and moving to the Henderson hospital site in Belmont, as there were few transport links to the site and it would not have been easily accessible to those without a car.
We are pleased that this proposal is not being proceeded with. NHS Sutton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) now propose to move the surgery to a health centre in Robin Hood Lane in central Sutton, closer to the current practice. This is a proposal currently being worked up. It is also proposed to move the Mulgrave Road surgery, which many local residents use, to this site. The full list of surgeries that might move to the site is:
In addition, Dr Grice and partners branch surgery is already at the site (though not their main surgery at the Old Court House) and Dr Seyan and partners are already at the site. If you are registered with any of these practices you should have received a letter from the CCG inviting views on the proposal.
The Grove Road practice does need to move. It is currently in a converted house so some surgery rooms are upstairs, with no lift, and it is not possible to have a private conversation with reception staff as the reception is in the hallway of the house. It does not meet modern standards and NHS England will require it to move. But there are few sites available in Sutton. There are some similar problems with the Mulgrave Road surgery.
You can comment on this proposal, which is at an early stage of development, at
For our part, we will be seeking to ensure that transport and accessibility issues are fully taken into consideration when working up the proposal.
At the South Sutton, Cheam and Belmont Local Committee meeting on 7 September our main decision was to install a vehicle operated sign in Farm Road to reduce speeding. Richard lives round the corner from Farm Road and vehicles certainly speed down it. This complements other measures in the Ward to reduce speeding, in particular in Cavendish Road and Cedar Road.
We also agreed to install a width restriction at the point in Grange Vale where the road passes under the bridge. The speed of vehicles has a safety implication for pedestrians walking west to east on the narrow pathway, particularly if pushing a buggy. We also agreed to plant a replacement for the vandalised tree in Willis Avenue. The committee also agreed Richard’s proposal to purchase from the Royal British Legion a “Silent Soldier” and install it in the flower beds in front of Northumberland House. These are large silhouettes of soldiers, designed to be installed through 2018 in prominent places to remind us that this is the centenary of the conclusion of the Great War.
We hope the parking consultation will now take place much earlier than anticipated.
The concern of Sutton Council to protect the green and pleasant environment in our Ward has again been demonstrated in Cavendish Road, though the threat to sensible and informed local decision taking from the remote Planning Inspectorate, based in Bristol, remains.
A planning application was submitted for the buildings at 7-9 Cavendish Road, previously a care home, for demolition of the buildings and erection of a three storey block of flats, with roof accommodation, comprising 16 flats (three 1-bedroomed, seven 2-bedroomed and six 3-bedroomed), 9 car parking spaces, secure cycle parking, provision of a refuse store, with access to the rear.
The Council has turned the application down. The Council considered that the proposed development, by reason of its height, bulk, mass and detailed design, would constitute an unsympathetic form of development that would have a negative visual impact on the Cavendish Road street scene. The proposed development would therefore have a detrimental impact on the character and appearance of the area.
The Council also turned the application down because it considered that at least some affordable housing ought to be provided as part of an acceptable development on this site and, as such, the proposal would cause significant harm to the promotion of mixed and balanced communities.
An earlier application was also turned down but is now the subject of an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate. This is a threat we cannot control. We will let residents know the outcome and if further applications are made.
A proposal for a house extension in Downside Road was also rejected as it would close the visual gap between houses, causing harm to the spacious and open character of the road and result in a visual terracing impact on the street scene.
The new building now completed
The design for the Subsea7 office in Brighton Road
Money has been spent improving the look of the former Sutherland House
Many of our residents commute to London by train, and the combination of good schools, low crime, a green and leafy borough and proximity to local railway stations is what attracts many London commuters to Sutton South Ward.
For this reason we are concerned at the reports we get from many residents that the train service is not adequate. Both of us have, at times, been commuters into central London and we know the frustrations. In September Trish made an impassioned speech to Sutton Council on the problems residents have experienced, quoting the stories residents have shared with us of cancelled services and broken down trains. The Council called on the Government to review the franchise of Southern Railway and Govia, and implement stringent penalties for failure to deliver an adequate service.
Since Richard was elected he has fought successful campaigns to save the Thameslink service and to get the side entrance to Sutton station open. We are now campaigning to get Network Rail to increase the capacity of the station car park. We want to monitor the performance of the railway so please continue to contact us with your thoughts and experiences.
Proposals for a new waste collection service include a weekly collection of food waste.
There will continue to be fortnightly collection of re-cycling waste. The waste that currently goes in the brown bin will be divided, with the food waste collected weekly and other waste collected fortnightly. At present around 40 per cent of brown-bin waste is food waste, so this will mean residents will be able to reduce significantly the amount of waste in their brown bins. These changes will mean less waste goes to landfill, which is good for the environment.
Garden waste collections for paying residents will be extended from nine months a year to all year round. This will be collected in the same green and brown wheelie bin.
Street cleaning operations will be extended to 10pm from the current 6.30am start.
The new contracts will enable Sutton Council to save £10.3m over the first eight years. It is estimated that Sutton’s recycling rate will increase from 37 per cent (2014/15) to 42 per cent by the end of the first year of the contract.
Sutton Council has agreed to the shared service approach with its neighbours due to the unprecedented Government cuts to the Council’s budget, along with the opportunities to increase recycling rates. Currently Sutton has to save £31m from its annual budget due to Government cuts. The Council’s annual budget is £148.4m.
Following a campaign led by Richard and Trish, Sutton Council have named a previously un-named road in our Ward just south of Sutton station after a distinguished local inventor and engineer who once lived there.
On March 31 the two Councillors, with local residents and Sutton Council officers, supervised the erection of the street sign.
The road is a turning off the Brighton Road that separates Raeburn House from the new Subsea7 offices, under construction, and is now named Berridge Close.
This is to remember Harold Berridge (1872-1949), a celebrated engineer who lived in a house on the site now occupied by the Subsea7 offices, from the 1920s through to 1949. Berridge was an engineer who travelled the world and contributed to many important civil engineering projects worldwide, including the building of tunnels under the river Hudson in New York in 1902 and the development of the port of Aden – in modern day Yemen – in the ensuing decade. He settled in Sutton in the 1920’s to work on housing development for the London County Council. He is noted in civil engineering circles as the inventor of equipment for the testing of concrete, based on principles which are still relevant to modern day equipment used for this purpose.
Trish said “We favour naming roads after celebrated local people and think it is appropriate to name this road after an interesting and distinguished man who once lived here, and made a significant contribution to civil engineering.”
Harold Berridge was born in 1872 and went to the City of London school. After serving a pupilage in civil engineering from 1890 to 1893 he became the resident engineer at Poole Harbour in 1893.
After working as an engineer for companies including John Mowlem & Co. and the City and South London Railway in the period to 1898, he became Assistant Superintendent supervising the approaches to the Hudson Tunnel, in New York, in 1902, before becoming Chief Engineer to the Aden Port Trust in 1904. He was involved in work in Aden through to 1924, after which he worked on housing development schemes for the London County Council through to 1931. During his time in Aden he was awarded the OBE.
The Times of 20 June 1949 reports his death, on 17 June 1949, at 8 Worcester Gardens, Sutton, Surrey. Worcester Gardens stood on the site now occupied by the Subsea7 building in Brighton Road, and was a turning off the Brighton Road. Berridge lived in a Victorian house in Worcester Gardens.
Berridge is remembered for his patents relating to principles and equipment for the testing of concrete, including one dating from 1925 under the title “Contractible and expansible supporting means suitable for use in the construction of pipes, tunnels, bridges and other bodies or structures.” In 1932 he submitted an important patent entitled ”Apparatus for Testing the Strength of Materials.” His equipment for the testing of concrete was based on principles which are still relevant to modern day equipment used for this purpose.