The Triangle
The cotoneasters that make an attractive display, together with the trees, at the “triangle” where Mayfield Road and Farm Road meet The Ridgway, can block the view of drivers if thet get to large. Richard keeps an eye on their growth and recently arranged for them to be cut back, as he did last year, when residents suggested to him they were getting too large. The triangle looks neat and tidy now.
The inflatable
On Saturday 17 August Sutton Court held its Community Day. Richard visited the event twice during the day and reports that the inflatable (bouncy castle) was one of the biggest he has seen. The biodiversity team were there with an interesting display and the police had a kick about on the ball court with local kids. A good time had by all despite a little rain.
Look at Richard’s Blog for 17 August to discover some other interesting things he did on this day and the name of a film he saw that he particularly recommends.
The owners of Sutherland House will make sufficient profit when they re-develop Sutherland House as 160 luxury flats that they can and should include some “affordable homes” in the proposal.
This is the view of the Planning Inspector who has rejected the appeal by the owners of Sutherland House against the view taken by the Council and supported by Richard and Heather. The Inspector awarded the Council costs on the grounds of the unreasonable action of the developers.
Richard and Heather have appealed to the developers to now get on with the re-development of the site taking on board the Inspector’s views – that we need some affordable housing and a better design for the units in Cedar Road.
Richard spoke at the appeal hearing on 17 July.
The Council supported the re-development of Sutherland House as residential units but argued for some affordable housing and that the proposed development fronting on to Cedar Road included accommodation of a quality that was not acceptable. The Inspector supported the Council on both points. The Inspector accepted a financial analysis of the viability of the project that showed there was sufficient profit to make it possible to include some affordable housing.
Richard says “The views of the Inspector accord exactly with the case I put to the hearing. I feel vindicated, in saying this proposal was not good enough. The developer will make a lot of money from turning this building, close to the town centre and Sutton station, into luxury flats. The appraisal accepted by the Inspector showed there can be some affordable housing included without threatening the financial viability of the project. As a Councillor, I meet local families living in extremely overcrowded conditions and we desperately need more affordable housing. The building has been empty too long and I call on the developer to now get on with it and come up with a scheme that reflects the Inspector’s decision.”
New roundels in Cedar Road
We are pleased that we have been able to obtain funding from the Council to paint 20 mph “roundels” (see picture) at a number of locations within the 20mph speed restriction area in Sutton South Ward.
These locations include both ends of Cumnor Road, the east end of Cavendish Road, and the junction of Langley Park Road and Cedar Road. There are also “reminder” signs in Cavendish Road and Cedar Road some way along the road.
The law used to say the roundels could only be at the entry point to the speed limit zone. A recent change in the law means the roundels can now be displayed within the zone to re-enforce the message.
We hope this will contribute to a reduction in speeding in the Ward.
Payday lenders have been frozen out by the Borough. Access to their websites has been blocked on all council computers.
Access to over 170 sites – such as Wonga.com and 247cashline.com – have been barred from all Council PCs, including those in public spaces like libraries. The move aims to help protect local people from the quick cash companies and avoid sky high interest rates.
Richard welcomed the move, calling again for new controls on payday loan companies.
He pointed out that figures released as part of Sutton Council’s “Economy Watch – Economic Indicators” report show an alarming rise in debt enquiries from Sutton residents to the Citizens Advice Bureau. Richard said, in a letter to residents, “I am increasingly concerned that people are turning to these companies without looking into the real costs of borrowing money, which in some cases that I have investigated are well over 1000% APR.”
Speaking to the Council’s Housing, Economy and Business Committee about the latest data on Sutton’s economic performance, on 18 June, Richard pointed out that enquiries to Sutton’s Citizens Advice Bureau were up by about 5% in the last quarter with debt enquiries increasing by 8.8%. There has to be a fear that recent welfare cuts will make the position worse.
In a letter to residents he called for consideration to be given to establishing by law some upper limit on the interest rate that can be charged on loans.
The Leader of Sutton Council, Councillor Ruth Dombey, said: “Payday lenders prey on people who are at their most vulnerable and in need of quick financial assistance. Sometimes people don’t realise the trouble taking out one of these irresponsible loans can do for them in the long run. A small initial loan can lead to thousands of pounds of debt and an irreversible downward spiral.
“This is a small yet significant step towards protecting local people from these companies. I’d urge anyone who needs advice to speak to their bank or the local credit union.”
People who live, work or study in Croydon, Merton or Sutton can start saving at the CMS Credit Union. Credit unions are savings and loans co-operative businesses that are committed to promoting saving rather than borrowing. Anyone who saves with a credit union becomes a member. The members’ savings are pooled to form a sum of money from which members can borrow at those times when they need to.
For more information about CMS Credit Union click on this link.
We have recently received a number of letters from residents, as part of a national campaign, raising concerns regarding road safety and lollipop ladies and men.
Sutton has a very good record on this subject.
In Sutton we currently have 13 School Crossing Patrol Officers employed at 12 sites in the Borough. One of these is a job share which is vacant but we plan to recruit in time for the start of term in September. We have no plans to reduce or stop any of our patrols. Only one post has been lost in recent years, at St Dunstan’s school when Transport For London installed a Pelican crossing at the site.
In fact Sutton’s roads were recently acknowledged as being the safest in London in a report that examined accident rates, casualties and road conditions. The report identified that drivers in Sutton have 4 accidents per 1,000 vehicles, which is well below the Greater London average of 8.1.
However, even this low number of casualties is too many and we are working with TFL to make our roads safer for everyone.
The Council is about to publish a Road Safety Guide for Parents, covering many aspects of Road Safety including information on School Crossing Patrols, travelling to school, and roadside behaviour when walking, driving or cycling.”
Our lollipop ladies and men provide an excellent service, keeping our roads safe and there are no plans to withdraw any posts in Sutton.
On Saturday 3 August Richard took part in an event organised by “The Challenge” (website www.the-challenge.org ), a major charity involved in promoting social inclusion amongst young people, funded by the Cabinet Office.
The event involved teams of young people aged 16 to 18 developing and presenting projects to promote socially useful ideas. A panel assesses the proposals (this part based on the TV “Dragons’ Den” concept) and can award up to £80 to the team for them to undertake the project. Richard was one of the “Dragons”, forming a panel with Croydon MP Gavin Barwell and the HR Director of the Fairfield Halls.
The event took place at St. Andrew’s secondary school, at Warrington Road in Croydon.
Richard says “The ideas put forward by these teams were so imaginative. Their projects were all socially useful, though not always entirely practical. But the enthusiasm was massive and the careful presentation of the projects, all of them based on research the teams had carried out, was impressive. One involved inviting people to paint on massive boards, to combat graffiti but also to produce an artwork. Another promoted a national “telling jokes” day, to cheer us all up, and another promoted strategies to get people on the Croydon tram to talk to each other, as they did during the Olympics.”
All the teams were awarded the funds they sought. This was not a “play” exercise – the teams will get the funding and take their ideas to completion.
On Sunday 4 August the South Sutton Neighbourhood Association held its 2013 garden party, hosted by Richard and Gloria in their garden, in The Ridgway.
Richard and Gloria have been members of the SSNA since moving to The Ridgway, exactly a quarter of a century ago this year. Heather is also a longstanding member, and was among those who came to the party.
About 30 SSNA members came, and enjoyed cakes, tea, soft drinks or a glass of wine. Richard’s courgettes were much admired, though his runner beans are suffering badly from blackfly.
A staggering increase in the workload of the St. Helier hospital Accident and Emergency Department, during the hot weather, has again challenged the case for closure of this important facility.
The hot weather has led to the busiest July in six years at St Helier and Epsom’s Accident and Emergency departments.
The threatened A&E departments saw an increase of 19 per cent – which is around 1,420 extra patients between July 1 and 22.
Overall 8,917 patients were seen during that period compared to 7,496 in 2008.
An average of 405 patients came in to A&E each day and on July 15 a staggering 468 patients attended A&E.
Our photo above shows Heather and Richard at St. Helier hospital protesting against the closure of the A & E and maternity departments.