LOCAL COMMITTEE DEBATES OUR RESPONSES TO THAMESLINK CONSULTATION

Presenting our Petition

Richard and Heather called for action by the South Sutton, Cheam and Belmont Local Committee to support our Thameslink campaign, when initiating a debate at the committee on 11 October.

We drew attention to the submission we had put in on behalf of local residents (go to the category of posts called “Thameslink Campaign” to see our submission) to the recent Department of Transport consultation. Councillor Mary Burstow drew attention to her submission.

We know that many of our residents, with our proximity to Sutton station being a reason to live in our Ward, commute into London every day to work. Richard and Heather themselves did this for many years. Some commute to north London and the proposal to terminate Sutton’s Capital Connect trains at Blackfriars will add more than ten minutes in each direction to their daily commute, almost two hours extra down time a week. Taken with the effect of cutting us off from international services at St. Pancras, and Luton airport, and the fact that our ability to attract businesses to Sutton has been greatly enhanced by our good transport links, this proposal has to be resisted.

The most recent stage in what will be a battle with further, continuing stages was the combined Thameslink franchise consultation on which responses were required  by mid-September.

Richard commented, in the discussion “The reputation of civil servants at the Department of Transport, following the West Coast Main Line fiasco, is not high, and having worked there during the time that I was chair of the Channel tunnel Safety Authority, I am not altogether surprised. We will need to be vigilant in watching and contributing to the further steps in this process.

I know that the way responses to consultation are analysed in the Department means that the volume of reaction is important. Councillor Honour and I put in our own response on behalf of our residents. Councillor Burstow did the same. ”

Richard made some suggestions to prepare ourselves for the further stages.

“First, I suggest that all those Councillors who put in submissions send them to the secretary so they can be included – along with his helpful note – with the papers for this meeting, so they are on the record to be used as necessary as an information quarry in further stages.

Second, we should consider, if it is appropriate at a later stage, passing a motion drawing attention to the difficulties this proposal causes for our residents, and send it to the Secretary of State, and seek a reply.

This is an important issue for our residents. On 23 August I presented a petition signed by over 5 000 residents, largely developed through Paul Burstow’s website, at the Department for Transport in Marsham Street, and the numbers wanting to sign shows how significant this is.”

NEW ACTION BY YOUR COUNCILLORS TO SAVE CROSS-LONDON TRAIN SERVICES

Richard, with Councillor Simon Wales, presents the Thameslink petition signed by Sutton South residents at the HQ of the Department for Transport

As so many Sutton South residents commute into London to work every day, and we value our direct connections to St. Pancras, the loss of our cross-London train services, if the Thameslink / Capital Connect services terminate at Blackfriars, will be a blow to local people.
On 23 August Richard joined Councillor Simon Wales, together with Liberal Democrat activists from neighbouring Boroughs, to present our petition to the Department for Transport at their Head Office in Marsham Street, Westminster. The petiton called on the Department to put a stop to these proposals.
 
September 15 is the deadline to comment on the Department for Transport’s consultation document making this proposal, following a decision by the DfT to extend the consultation period. The link to their consultation document is HERE. You can email comments to     Thameslink@dft.gsi.gov.uk
Below is our own submission.
 

Response to the Department for Transport Combined Thameslink Franchise Consultation

From Councillor Richard Clifton and Councillor Heather Honour, Liberal Democrat Councillors for Sutton South, London Borough of Sutton

1. We are the elected Liberal Democrat Councillors for Sutton South Ward, which is just south of Sutton railway station. Passengers leaving Sutton station to the south, by the side entrance (when it is open), pass into Sutton South Ward as they leave the station.

2. Our Ward is almost entirely residential and a significant number of our residents commute daily into central London for work. Many of these commuters use trains on the Thameslink Loop Line to travel to stations north of Blackfriars, including Farringdon and St. Pancras. Residents of the Ward also tell us they consider they benefit greatly from having a direct service to St. Pancras International, for Continental Europe, and Luton airport. 

3. For that reason we are concerned at the proposal, first set out in the London and South East Route Utilisation Strategy (July 2011), that all Sutton / Wimbledon Thameslink Loop Line trains will terminate at London Blackfriars from 2018.

4. Terminating Wimbledon Loop services at Blackfriars would result in our residents losing their cross-London service. This will penalise those of our residents who have made their residential, employment and educational location decisions on the basis of the existence of the cross-London Thameslink service. These residents, who chose to live in Sutton South on the basis of an existing pattern of transport connections, would lose a service that they have had for many years, and based their life around.

5. Any decision should take account of the impact of changes on the travel patterns of existing passengers, and of consequent requirements to change established travel patterns. It is because of the impact on our residents that we object to any proposal that would result in terminating Wimbledon loop trains at Blackfriars.

6. Not only would our residents lose a through service they have come to depend on, they would lose their connection with Eurostar and domestic long distance trains at St. Pancras International and Kings Cross. Instead they would have to change trains at Blackfriars, carrying possibly heavy luggage onto already crowded trains. This movement could be particularly difficult from the western bay platform when travelling north and to either bay platform when travelling south because of the platform lengths and the position of lifts and stairs at each end of the platforms. The recent Passenger Focus passenger survey found that having to change trains was a strong disincentive to train travel.

 

7. Sutton is identified in the London Plan as one of only four Metropolitan town centres in south London , with a large and growing population and employment base. It is a major business centre with many commuters and business travellers. It is therefore essential that Sutton, as a strategic south London destination, retains its connections to central and north London and beyond, and maintains its direct link to St. Pancras and the City.

 

8. We also believe that the attractiveness of Sutton to employers considering re-location away from expensive offices in central London would be affected. Sutton is a location from which one can travel to Brussels with just two train journeys, one taking 45 minutes and one two hours, and the journey to Paris is only fifteen minutes longer. We have been successful in attracting businesses to Sutton and this change would have a negative impact, particularly given the expected mushrooming of international train travel from St. Pancras over the next few years. These negative effects would impact on the residents of our Ward who want to work locally in Sutton.

9. We thus strongly object to any proposal that would result in terminating Wimbledon loop trains at Blackfriars from 2018.

10. We are aware that Sutton Council is submitting comments, and support those comments. However, we are making this submission to draw particular attention to the impact on our residents in Sutton South Ward.

RICHARD CLIFTON

HEATHER HONOUR

  Liberal Democrat Councillors for Sutton South, London Borough of Sutton

COUNCILLOR HEATHER HONOUR GETS FUNDING TO IMPROVE DANGEROUS ROAD

Mums with children in buggies,  walkers with dogs and pedestrians generally  have diced with death for years as they walked along Kings Lane Bridge, which lies at the end of Hillcroombe road and is a busy  thoroughfare leading  to Carshalton Road.

For years concerns have been raised about pedestrian, cyclist  and  driver safety on Kings Lane bridge which is only 3.6 m wide over the railway and only allows one line of traffic at a time.  Approaches to the bridge are at 90 degree bends and the bridge parapets are a combination of solid brick with rails on top which makes the sight lines very poor.

There have been 3 personal injuries at the junction between April 2008 and April 2011, and residents who use the park have reported numerous “bumps” as cars failed to negotiate the difficult twists and turns safely.

Heather Honour, Lib Dem Councillor for Sutton South, raised this in April at the Sutton South, Cheam and Belmont Local Committee,  Discussions followed with other councillors in Sutton South and the neighbouring ward, Carshalton Central, residents and with the council’s traffic engineers.

On July 5th Heather presented a proposal to the Local Committee drawn up by traffic engineers.  Building out the footways on both sides of the junction would slow and guide vehicles on a more visible line and provide a longer footway for pedestrians.  The warning signs will be upgraded and re positioned and be more prominent.  The cost of implementing the complete scheme is £16,000.  Other improvements, amounting to £500  will be made at the Carshalton end of the bridge.

Funding will be allocated  from the Local Implementation Plan.  The work should begin in November 2012.

Councillor Heather Honour said,

“ Someone said to me  that the road is so dangerous we should leave it as it is. I don’t think that is good enough for our residents who risk their lives every day as they walk or drive over Kings Lane Bridge.  Our traffic engineers have worked hard to find the best solution because no one wants the road closed  to traffic or made one way.  

It is great that funding can be found quickly and let’s hope that the work can be completed before we have snow and ice on the bridge”.

THREAT TO SUTTON’S COMMUTER SERVICES: RICHARD AND HEATHER SUPPORT ACTION

MANY RESIDENTS OF SUTTON SOUTH WARD COMMUTE INTO CENTRAL LONDON EVERY DAY TO WORK.

SERVICES WILL BE CUT AND JOURNEYS ON OTHER ROUTES MORE CROWDED UNLESS WE CAN STOP THE PROPOSALS TO AXE SERVICES TO FARRINGDON, St PANCRAS AND BEYOND.

After Richard made a stirring speech to Sutton Council about transport services on 16 July, Richard and Heather joined rail campaigners in Sutton for a day of action on 18 July in a bid to save our vital link to The City, St. Pancras, North London and stations to Luton.

Under current plans Thameslink Loop Line trains which link Sutton to St. Albans and Luton through central and north London will terminate at Blackfriars station from 2018.

But Richard, Heather and other campaigners – including our two LibDem MPs and the Leader of the Council Ruth Dombey – boarded trains on the morning of 18 July to travel to Blackfriars as part of our day of action.

Richard – who was interviewed on BBC Radio London that morning as part of the campaign – summarised our case in a speech he made to Sutton Council on 16 July. He said:

“We all know the importance to Sutton of maintaining a through rail service to north London.

I want to stress the importance of links to St Pancras International as St Pancras develops further as an international rail hub.

Over the next few years there will be a positive mushrooming of international rail travel from London. If the current plans of Deutschbahn and Eurostar come to fruition, by 2014 it will be possible, on arriving at St Pancras, to have a choice of services to travel from London to Amsterdam.

In addition to the current services to Brussels and Paris there will also be services from London to North Germany. This is a big market in terms of business travel. At present, each day, about 30 planes fly from London’s airports to destinations in north Germany, carrying about the same number of people as could be carried by just a few trains, using the Velaro D trains that are being built to provide rolling stock for these new services from London, by the train manufacturer Siemens at its Dusseldorf factory, which in fact I visited recently.

Aside from the potential importance of these international links to the residents of Sutton, there are international companies that have significant centres of their enterprises in Sutton – Sutton, a thriving London suburb, offering office space much cheaper than that found in the centre of London, less than half an hour by train from the centre, with a pleasant ambience and environment, and a location from which – importantly – you can reach the centre of Brussels in just two train journeys, one taking about 40 minutes and one about 2 hours. And the centre of Paris in just 15 minutes more. And soon – Amsterdam, north Germany.

Now, these are transport links that it is vital for Sutton to maintain, for the sake of our residents but also to maintain our attractiveness as a centre for business development. When I look at the data on economic activity that comes regularly to the new Housing, Economy and Business committee, some clear conclusions stand out. It is clear that Sutton is doing relatively well in terms of surviving the recession and maintaining one of the highest rates of economic activity on the part of its residents of any part of London. But we need to continue to attract new businesses.

The Tramlink extension is perhaps equally important, particularly in relation to the north Sutton site, which is an attractive site, and on which the Housing, Economy and Business committee now has a task group working on the planning brief. Our current plans include scope for a Tramlink stop at the site, something that will greatly enhance its appeal, and we see this development as an important part of our future growth strategy. 

So we must keep pressure on TfL to continue work on the feasibility of the Sutton Tramlink proposal, and make clear to the Department for Transport that changes that remove our linoks to north London and in particular to St Pancras, are not acceptable.

The Thameslink service is absolutely vital. Losing it would sever our only direct link to North London and would mean Sutton residents would need to take at least two trains to get to St Pancras. It is quite scandalous that, at a time when we should be improving public transport, there is a serious proposal to cut the link between North and South London.”

We need to act now as the Department for Transport is currently consulting on the new seven-year Thameslink franchise which will run from September next year and incorporate the Southern franchise from 2015.

Ironically, the cross-London Loop Line service which runs through Sutton, Carshalton and Hackbridge stations, was recently reopened at nights and weekends after being split for three and a half years by engineering work. It is all very well reopening it now, but Sutton’s residents need the line to stay open for good.

The new franchise will set service patterns for 2018 and beyond, so it is vital that we act now and do not become a Cinderella area for rail transport.

To view the DfT consultation document visit www.dft.gov.uk/consultations

To give your input into Sutton’s response, email alex.forrest@sutton.gov.uk

Richard and Heather will be submitting their own response.

More detail about the attitude the Council is taking, opposing this threat, is in a further post on this site “Train Links To North London Must Remain” (see archive July 2011).

Heather and Richard outside Sutton station

CAN WE IMPROVE SAFETY AT THE KINGS LANE BRIDGE ?

While we are concerned about safety at the Hillcroome Road / Kings Lane single track railway bridge, we have some concerns about proposals to change the layout of the Kings Lane bridge currently being put to our local committee by Sutton’s traffic engineers.

As your local Councillors, we have had discussions with traffic engineers about whether some simple steps could be taken to improve the safety of pedestrians and cars at the Kings Lane bridge adjacent to Hillcroome Road, at the far north east of Sutton South Ward.

The single lane road with no pavement means pedestrians have to walk in the road. Drivers have poor visibility as to whether a car is coming the other way and are frequently uncertain as to when to advance. The picture above illustrates the problem, as the lady with a buggy and a toddler hurries to get across the bridge while a car waits at the far side for her to get out of the way. 

Some major restructuring such as putting in a separate pedestrian bridge is unaffordable and would be disproportionate. We have considered whether more minor improvements would help, such as mirrors, steps to improve visibility, better or different signage, building out the pavement at the Hillcroome Road end to alter the alignment of vehicles as they approach, etc. The changes we championed to the layout of the road passing under the bridge at Grange Vale (reported in a post elsewhere on this site, “Action to improve safety at the Grange Vale bridge”, see archive for February 2012) have shown that it is possible to make improvements through some simple steps.

We are interested in the views of local people on what is feasible or useful and would like you to contact us if you have a view.

The proposal to change the layout at the Hillcroome Road end to “straighten up” cars approaching from that end is worth considering but would probably have little impact on the risk. We favour more public consultation on possible proposals,

NEW PLAN TO OPEN UP THE SIDE ENTRANCE TO SUTTON STATION

The side entrance at Sutton station

As local Councillors, we have been enthusiastically promoting and supporting a campaign to ease the congestion at peak times at Sutton station and create an easier route into and out of the station for Sutton South residents by opening up the side entrance. We will continue to promote this campaign.

Our latest proposal is that we will be preparing a bid under  TfL’s “Major Schemes Funding”, for this scheme. The bids are required to be submitted to TfL in September, so we have started work on it and Council Leader Ruth Dombey wrote to Boris Johnson on 29 May to seek his support. We will consult with stakeholders as appropriate. The bid will be for a wider scheme to improve the area around the station, a “Major Scheme” bid. Opening up and staffing the station side entrance is a matter for Southern Rail so the Council will need to enter into an agreement with them to open it up. They agreed to this ‘in principle’ during the Outer London Fund bid preparation, when the Council submitted a well-researched bid for funding under the Mayor’s Outer London Fund to facilitate the opening of the side entrance at the station.

Opening the side entrance would be of benefit to the many commuters and other travellers who live in South Sutton Ward, who could enter and leave the station by this entrance, leading directly into The Quadrant. A page on this site (“Ward Map”) leads you to a map of the Ward, which shows the importance of opening this entrance. As rail travellers pass through the side entrance they would cross the boundary into Sutton South Ward.

As Sutton South Ward Councillors we strongly support this bid, as the outcome would be of benefit to our residents.

The Council wants to improve the “Gateway” into Sutton and the experience of those arriving in Sutton. Hence it wishes to improve Sutton station. The station is an important focal point for the town centre and the first impression that many visitors have of Sutton. It has been identified byTransport for London as a station that suffers from congestion problems due to its limited capacity in terms of the front entrance hall and ticket barriers. The Council continues to hope, in partnership with Southern Rail, to open the side entrance to the station for passenger use. In the longer term a more comprehensive re-development of the station is hoped for to expand and modernise passenger facilities and and enhance this important gateway and transport interchange.

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 (which has approximately 2 000 employess, many of whom travel to work by train) and a number of other companies. This office block and those who work there are an important contributor to the economic vitality of Sutton. Reed Business Information fully supported the bid. The new side entrance would also serve the station car park, motor cycle and cycle parking areas, which generate considerable demand for access from that side of the station. It would also serve all the residents of Sutton South Ward who approach the station via Wellesley Road from the Langley Park Road direction.

Opening up the side entrance, which physically is already there, requires the installation of automatic ticket barriers with Oyster readers, a new ticket machine,  associated lighting, signing, communication improvements and CCTV improvements. Staffing costs would be met by Southern Rail. It is accepted that the side entrance would probably not be open all day, but using the entrance could ease the congestion at the station if open during peak hours in the morning and evening.

Despite this strong case, the Mayor refused to support the earlier Outer London Fund bid, although accepting other aspects of the Council’s bid for funding under that scheme. We are not giving up and are taking forward this further “Major Schemes Funding” option. Let us hope for eventual success, as this development will be of value to the residents of Sutton South Ward.

ACTION TO IMPROVE PEDESTRIAN SAFETY AT THE GRANGE VALE BRIDGE

The bridge as it was.

The bridge as it is now.

We are pleased to report success in our campaign to improve pedestrian safety at the Grange Vale bridge.

Action has been taken to improve the safety of pedestrians who pass under the railway bridge in Grange Vale. Grange Vale is a one-way street and the traffic passes in the direction that is away from you as you look at the bridge in these photographs.

There is a very narrow pavement where Grange Vale passes under the railway bridge on the Sutton to Epsom Downs line. As Grange Vale 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 (or in the road, the pavement being so narrow) under the bridge at the last moment. It is a particular problem for parents with buggies or small children passing under the bridge.

A bid was submitted to Transport for London for the installation of a pedestrian-operated traffic light system, so the pedestrian can stop the traffic while passing under the bridge. Transport for London, led by Tory Mayor Boris Johnson, did not support the proposal, as not meeting their normal criteria for such a development. Your local LibDem Councillors have looked at alternative methods of improving the safety of the road for pedestrians.

The action taken has been to build out the pavement on the right just in front of the bridge as you look at it in these photographs, with posts at the edge of the pavement, to slow the speed of the traffic as cars have to align themselves more carefully before entering under the bridge.

We have campaigned for this improvement since we were elected and are pleased that we have got action.

Measuring our success at the bridge

Because of the dip in the road, the road can be flooded during the leaf fall season, as there are a lot of trees nearby including those next to the railway line. We have got the response team to agree to treat Grange Vale as a priority during the leaf fall season. Nevertheless, last year the road was briefly flooded due to leaf fall blocking the drains and Richard himself cleared the drains.

The drains after Richard cleared them.

PARKING IN WESTMORELAND DRIVE AND BLACKBUSH CLOSE

Richard organised a meeting with residents in Blackbush Close on 25 January, attended by Councillors and Council officials. Residents want to increase parking in Blackbush Close, as there is a shortage of parking spaces for those living in the blocks in Bonchurch Close and Blackbush Close. It was agreed that proposals to remove yellow lines on one side of the road over a part of Blackbush Close will be actively examined. An alternative would be to extend the parking controls in the adjacent Controlled Parking Zone to the road. Richard will get back to residents as this proposal progresses.

We are grateful to residents of Westmoreland Drive who contacted us following our letter to residents on the subject of proposals for yellow lines controlling parking in the road. Last September The Council consulted residents on proposals for yellow lines in Westmoreland Drive, responding to concerns about access for emergency vehicles following a fire in which a resident died. The clear majority view of residents was that the initial proposals were not acceptable due to the reduction in parking spaces.  

As local Councillors, we discussed with Council officers how to meet the wishes of residents. A reduced proposal is to free up one side of the road by removing all the proposed yellow lines on the left hand side as you walk from Ventnor Road down Westmoreland Drive but retaining those on the right. This should maintain access but meet concerns about the number of parking spaces available to residents, by reducing the restrictions on parking.

The Fire Service have been consulted, to be sure they will be able to gain access in an emergency when the reduced scheme is implemented. This scheme appears acceptable to a majority of residents and if it meets the concerns for emergency access it will in due course be implemented.

Blackbush Close: where residents would like more parking to be available. The proposal is to remove the yellow line on the left but make the yellow line on the right a double yellow line for part of the road, a little beyond where this photo was taken. Alternatively, bring the road within the Controlled Parking Zone.

COUNCIL CHALLENGES BORIS ON TRANSPORT

 

The Mayor of London has been accused of short-changing Sutton after the borough was given the capital’s lowest transport grant. 

Each year, every London borough receives Local Implementation Plan (LIP) funding from Transport for London (TfL) to invest in local projects which support the Mayor’s plan for transport in the capital. For the second year in a row, Sutton has been given the least in London, leaving the council with less money to invest in the transport infrastructure.

frustrated councillors have criticised the Mayor for failing to invest in Sutton, despite the borough’s track record in delivering innovative transport plans.

Cllr Simon Wales, Executive Member for Communities, Transport and Voluntary Sector on Sutton Council, said: “Sutton has a great track record in running innovative and successful transport schemes, but we need money to make them work. The council and members of the local community work together to make sure the transport system keeps getting better and better but the fact remains that we could do even more if we had more funding.

“I’m disappointed that the Mayor and TfL won’t give Sutton the same kind of grant that it awards to other boroughs. This means that some of the improvements that we have planned will have to be cut back, or even shelved completely. We think that Sutton’s residents deserve better, and will continue working hard to carry out transport improvements that the local community wants to see.”

As well as schemes to boost traffic flow and make travel more sustainable, LIP funding is used to make the borough’s roads safer.  Maintenance works are financed through a separate budget, but improvements to reduce the number of road accidents often come out of LIP resources. Transport investment is particularly important in the current economic climate, as good accessibility is one of the factors that help town centres and local shops to thrive.

In Sutton, LIP money has been used to continue the successful initiatives on sustainable transport under the scheme known as Smarter Travel Sutton, which increased cycling by 75 per cent and is now used as example by other councils, after the initial project came to an end.

 

TRAIN LINKS TO NORTH LONDON MUST REMAIN

Sutton Council agreed a motion on Monday 18 July deploring a proposal floated by the train operating companies that trains from Sutton on the Capital Connect line to north London (passing through Farringdon, St. Pancras International and St. Albans on the way to Luton airport) would all terminate at Blackfriars.

Councillor Clifton was to be one of the proposers of the motion but due to the length of debate on earlier motions the motion was voted on without debate. Here is the text of the speech he was to have made:

“I am confident that we will all want to support this motion and to emphasise the importance to Sutton of maintaining a through rail service to north London. I’d like to mention a significant detail that ought to be recognised in our examination of this proposal here tonight.

This concerns the importance of links to St Pancras International as St Pancras develops further as an international rail hub.

Over the next few years there will be a mushrooming of international rail travel from London. If the current plans of Deutschbahn and Eurostar come to fruition – as they will – by 2014 it will be possible, on arriving at St Pancras, to have a choice of services, competing against each other, to travel from London to Amsterdam.

In addition to the current services to Brussels and Paris there will also be services from London to North Germany. This is a big market in terms of business travel. At present, each day, about 30 plane services fly between London’s airports and destinations in north Germany, carrying about the same number of people as could be carried by four or five train services using the Velaro D trains that are even now being built to provide rolling stock for these services, by the train manufacturer Siemens at its Dusseldorf factory, which in fact I visited last year.

Aside from the potential importance of these international links to the residents of Sutton, there are international companies that have significant centres of their enterprises in Sutton – Sutton, a thriving London suburb, offering office space much cheaper than that found in the centre of London, less than half an hour by train from the centre, with a pleasant ambience and environment, and a location from which – importantly – you can reach the centre of Brussels in just two train journeys, one taking about 40 minutes and one about 2 hours.

And the centre of Paris in just 15 minutes more. And soon – Amsterdam, north Germany.

These transport links are links that it is vital for Sutton to maintain, for the sake of our residents but also to maintain our attractiveness as a centre for business development.

We must keep pressure on the Department for Transport to make clear that the changes to the Capital Connect franchise being sought by the domestic train companies, that remove our links to north London and in particular to St Pancras, are just not acceptable.”