How’s the day going in Sutton?

On the whole, the council has operated 'business as usual' today.  Some staff have been moved to other duties to make sure that essential services have been covered. As would be expected, some schools have been closed. 

All of the main roads are clear of snow, but many pavements and side roads remain slippery.  Please take extra care tonight as it gets colder because ice will undoubtedly be forming on pavements and black ice on some roads.

The gritting team will be working through the night once again.  They are focusing on main routes, covering some side roads and responding to requests on grit bins

A Summary of Service Status for the day

• ·         Gritting and highways – Three gritting vehicles have been out today and  two 4x4 vehicles have been topping up grit bins.  Main routes are clear
• ·         Leisure Centres – Business as usual
• ·         Policing – Business as usual
• ·         Refuse collection – A full collection service today and additional crews are picking up any missed collections from Friday and Saturday
• ·         Libraries including mobile library – Business as usual
• ·         Meals on wheels – has operates as usual with around 150 meals being delivered today
• ·         Museums and theatres – Business as usual
• ·         Public meetings – Business as usual
• ·         Registrars - Business as usual
• ·         SCOLA – Open as usual but some classes have been cancelled
• ·         Youth services - Business as usual
• ·         Street cleaning – are focussing on clearing snow clearing. Attention particularly on schools, surgeries, hospitals and shopping areas
• ·         Parks, gardens and cemeteries – Park workers were diverted to cemeteries this morning and then returned to gritting main park paths later in the day.
• ·         Schools – 14 schools reported that they were closed today
• ·         Children’s centres - Green Oak, Amy Johnson High View, Muschamp, Manor Park, Stanley Park, Thomas Wall, Victor Seymour, The Grange were open.  Tweeddale was closed.
• ·         Street lighting – Work was impeded by the snow
• ·         Highways – Work was impeded by the snow
• ·         Council Car Parks – Gibson Road, Brighton Road and Times Square Car Parks were open. Surface car parks have been gritted twice today. They remain open but given the icy conditions please take care in them.

Weather

Live update here. The weather remains challenging. The risk of further light snow today and tomorrow has receded, but the low temperatures and icy conditions are set to continue. As a result, the Met Office’s Level 3 Cold Weather Alert remains in place. This indicates that some services may still need to take action to prevent avoidable disruption and safeguard vulnerable service users.

The weather conditions mean that there is still a risk of transport disruption. In particular, there are cancellations and delays across most local rail networks.

Travel

First Capital Connect Trains - Live update here. 
Snowfall and ice is causing disruption across some First Capital Connect routes. Services have been serving  stations on the Wimbledon Loop, however delays and cancellations have occurred. Please check the live train updates before travelling.

·        There are delays between London St Pancras International and Elephant & Castle until further notice. First Capital Connect passengers may use London Underground, Southern, Southeastern and South West Trains services on any reasonable routes, and East Midlands Trains services between Bedford and London St Pancras International.

·        Delays of up to 30 minutes between Brighton and Gatwick Airport.

·        There were no trains between Streatham and Sutton today.

Southern Trains - Live update here.
Snow and ice are causing disruption, and Southern are running an amended timetable on some routes. Details of any changes for tomorrow (Tuesday 22 January) will be made available as soon as possible.

Because of this, the following changes will apply until further notice:

·        Buses are replacing trains between Brighton / Lewes and Three Bridges

·        Trains across the Southern network may be delayed by up to 60 minutes

An amended service has also been operating between:

·         London and Brighton / Eastbourne / Hastings

·         London and Horsham / Arundel / Chichester / Portsmouth

·         London and Caterham / Tattenham Corner

·         Trains did not split or join at Haywards Heath or Horsham

FANTASTIC NEWS FOR SUTTON COMMUTERS

Colin & Clr Jill Whitehead, Chair of our Campaign Group at Sutton Station

The Department for Transport has just announced that the Thameslink Loop Line service has been saved!

This is a great victory for Sutton’s commuters who had faced huge disruption to their journeys if services through to the new Crossrail station at Farringdon, St Pancras International, Luton Airport and beyond had been cut.

I set up the Thameslink Loop Line Campaign Group some years ago and it is fantastic news to hear that the DfT have listened to local people’s concerns.  The Thameslink Loop Line Campaign Group has been responsible for coordinating the actions of rail users, councillors and local MPs from all along the route since the threat to the route became apparent.

As we have argued from the start, the ‘pinch point’ beyond Blackfriars station has always been capable of carrying trains from the Loop Line and further afield. The DfT have now agreed with us.

• At present there are four trains an hour from Wimbledon Loop stations serving Merton, Morden, Sutton, Carshalton, Mitcham, Streatham and Tulse Hill, through to St Pancras International and beyond.
• The new proposals will see eight Thameslink trains running each hour via Elephant and Castle, including the four Wimbledon Loop trains, two from Sevenoaks via Bromley South and Catford, and two (during peak times) from Maidstone East via Bromley South.

  

Rail Minister Simon Burns announced the Department for Transport’s decision today and you can read the government’s press statement here 

                                         

See my earlier blogs on this.

Hurry! Consultation ends soon. 
Thameslink Campaign Update
We can save the Thameslink Loopline Service
Trains of Thought (1)

Wallington Station Railway Bridge to be painted soon

The railway bridge at Wallington Station will be repainted in January after a campaign by your local councillors Monica Coleman, Colin Hall and Jayne McCoy

In order for the work to be carried out safely the council needs to introduce a temporary way for traffic and pedestrians to move under the railway bridge at the junction with Manor Road and Woodcote Road.

The Temporary Traffic Management Order will come into effect on Monday 14 January 2013 with works taking place at night between the hours of 10.00 p.m. and 5.00 a.m. It is expected that the works will be finished by 25 February 2013.  However, the Order will remain in force for 18 months to be re-introduced should further works be required.

When the works are taking place and the appropriate traffic signs are displayed the Order will close certain lengths of pavements in Manor Road and Woodcote Road on the approach to the bridge. The pavements will only be closed one side at a time depending on which side of the bridge is being worked on.

BUILDING MUST COME DOWN – JUSTICE AT LAST

The building is at the rear of the car park

You may be aware that Councillors McCoy, Coleman and I have been working on behalf of residents to have an illegal building removed from Hawthorn Road.

Astonishingly the matter has been going on for six years and a number of residents have been frustrated by the slow speed of progress – hampered at every possible stage by determination to ignore the court ruling and legal challenges.

Now, at last, the Crown Court has unequivocally concluded that the Council was right and that the building must come down as had been ordered in 2006 in the enforcement notice to demolish a building.

We are determined to stick up for local people against unscrupulous developers, many of whom don’t see or care about the impact that they have on neighbours.

For the sake of clarity I have included the press release in full below:

Council win third court case for breach of planning regulation

A six year case to remove a building, built without a planning permission, has been won by the council following a third successful prosecution against a man who continually flouted planning laws.

Sutton Council made its case against Mr Neil Woodward of Hawthorn Road, Wallington, after originally issuing an enforcement notice to demolish a building erected within his garden during the summer of 2006.

However, after six years and numerous court appearances, the building remained in place.

Mr Woodward faced a single count on an Indictment at Croydon Crown Court for the failure to comply with the terms of an enforcement notice, issued by the council following the erection of the building in the garden area of the property known as 16A, B and C Hawthorn Road.

Mr Woodward was convicted of the same offence in April 2009, and July 2010 but failed to take the appropriate action to demolish his development. 

After pleading guilty to the offence of failing to comply with the enforcement notice, Mr Woodward was fined £8,000 and ordered to make a £12,000 contribution to the prosecution costs. He was also ordered again to adhere to the notice and ensure the building is removed immediately. The council is currently considering whether or not to take direct action in this case should Mr Woodward continue to breach the outstanding enforcement notice.

The judge, HHJ Baucher made it clear that as a result of his defiance of planning law, Mr Woodward caused the council to spend funds which could have been used elsewhere to the detriment of Sutton’s Council Tax Payers.

Cllr Jayne McCoy, Chair of the Housing, Economy and Business Committee, said: “We take a dim view of developers who flout planning laws and seek to circumvent the proper process causing misery to their long suffering neighbours in the meantime - in this case for six years. For their sake we have felt that it is important to see this case through to the end, and we are considering taking direct action which would involve the council removing the structure and recouping its costs through placing a charge on the land concerned.”

New Kitchens for Wallington Public Hall

The Public Hall is a hidden gem in the heart of Wallington. 

Built between the First and Second World War the building has undergone an number of facelifts. The latest work is on the kitchens which are being replaced at present.

The new kitchen will be divided into two parts with a drinks dispensing area at the Stafford Road (north) end and a new sink, hand wash basin, power points, oven with hob, hot cabinet on wheels, fridge and free standing worktops at the other end.

The refit will be completed in time for the CAMRA Beer Festival which runs from Thursday 11^th to Saturday 13^th October.

SHAMELESS PLUG

Do you want to hire Wallington Public Hall?

Wallington Hall is a fully accessible venue and can accommodate up to 400 people. It includes a main hall area with stage, stage lighting and PA, and toilets. For hire rates, conditions of hire and availability please call 020 8770 6988.

Or the Woodcote Room?

The Woodcote Room is located at the rear of Wallington Hall and can accommodate up to 60 people seated or up to 20 people for exercise classes. It has a small kitchen and toilets. For hire rates, conditions of hire and availability please call 020 8770 6988.

HURRY! The Thameslink Consultation ends soon

To object follow this link

As local councillors Monica Coleman, JayneMcCoy and I are very concerned about the continued reduction in train services from Sutton and Wallington and the failure to extend services to our area in the past. Opportunites have been missed to extend the East London Line (Overground) to Wallington and beyond. The Tramlink extension hasn’t materialised yet and our trains will be overcrowded for many years to come.

Now we face another cut to our services. If they go ahead, the changes will mean that our Thameslink trains will stop at Blackfriars with no through trains to Farringdon, St Pancras International and Luton Airport. And this at a time when the Mayor of London has just introduced a local tax on development by the to pay for Crossrail – which won’t benefit local commuters.

In 2009 I set up the Thameslink Loop Line Campaign Group in 2009 to oppose changes to our Thameslink train services as set out in the South London Route Utilisation Strategy proposals.

The Campaign Group fights for the retention of through services from the loop line. This group is made up of elected members (MPs, AMs and Councillors) from the four south London boroughs on the loop line route.

The consultation closes on 23^rd August so please write to register your objections to the Thameslink changes. You can email your views or objections to the changes to the Department for Transport here


Here is our response to the consultation. 

Use as much or as little of it as you wish in your own reply:

Response to the Department for Transport Combined Thameslink Franchise Consultation

From Councillors Monica Coleman, Colin Hall, and Jayne McCoy, Liberal Democrat Councillors for Wallington South, London Borough of Sutton

1. We are the elected Liberal Democrat Councillors for Wallington South Ward, which is served by Wallington Station.

2. Councillor Colin Hall set up the Thameslink Loop Line Campaign Group in 2009 in response to th South London Route Utilisation Strategy proposals.  The Campaign Group fights for the retention of through services from the loop line. This group is made up of elected members (MPs, AMs and Councillors) from the four south London boroughs on the loop line route. The Group will be submitting a separate response on this issue.  

3. Wallington South is largely residential and contains the second largest district centre in the London Borough of Sutton. The town centre has recently undergone significant improvements and investment.

4. A large number of our residents commute daily into central London for work.  From our correspondence with local residents it is clear that a large number of people commute to stations north of Blackfriars, including Farringdon / Crossrail, St.Pancras and St Albans. Many of our residents chose to move to the London Borough of Sutton because of its excellent public transport connections but tell us that these have been eroded over time.

5. Residents of the Ward also tell us they consider they value the direct service from Sutton and Hackbridge to St. Pancras International, for Continental Europe, and Luton airport. 

6. As local councillors we are very concerned about the continued diminution of train services from Sutton and Wallington and the failure to extend services to our area in the past. For example the East London Line (Overground) stops at West Croydon when it could have been extended to Wallington or beyond.

7. We are also concerned that the investment in Crossrail is being funded by the Mayor of London’s Community Infrastructure Levy which taxes development in our area without any tangible benefit for our residents.

8. We are also concerned that long term ‘overcrowding maps’ for train routes around London show that Sutton will be amongst the last to benefit from plans to resolve the problem. It is unacceptable that our commuters have to suffer significant overcrowding for longer than other areas. 

9. Councillor Hall visited the engineering team and Blackfriars in 2011 and was told that whilst it was technically possible for trains from Sutton to continue to use the Snow Hill tunnel it would reduce the number of trains that can pass through the tunnel and delay other (new) services. On the basis of this discussion we are concerned that Network Rail considers that the new routes are already decided.

10. Despite the “engineering view” (above), we are pleased that Theresa Villiers, the Minister of State for Transport has indicated in a letter to Councillor Hall that no decision has yet been made.

11. We are also disappointed that the draft South London Route Utilisation Strategy did not mention the planned changes to the Wimbledon loop. As a consequence the council, councillors and local residents did not have an opportunity to comment on the proposals.

12. 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. Many residents, who chose to live in the London Borough of Sutton 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. It will also have an impact on those who commute to Sutton. This will potentially have an adverse impact on the local economy.

13. 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 Sutton residents that we object to any proposal that would result in terminating Wimbledon loop trains at Blackfriars.

14. The proposed changes will remove a valued connection with Eurostar and domestic long distance trains at St. Pancras International and Kings Cross. Our residents will 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.

15. 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.

16. 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 Sutton residents who want to work locally in Sutton.

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

18. We are aware that Sutton Council and the Thameslink Loop Line Campaign Group are submitting comments, and support those comments. However, we are making this submission to draw particular attention to the impact on our residents in Wallington South Ward.

MONICA COLEMAN

COLIN HALL

JAYNE MCCOY

Liberal Democrat Councillors for Wallington South

London Borough of Sutton

Planning Application received from Viridor

The South London Waste Partnership (SLWP) – a voluntary waste disposal partnership between Sutton, Croydon, Merton and Kingston Councils has been working together for a number of years to find cost effective and sustainable waste disposal solutions. The work started with reuse & recycling centres and waste transport in the early days and progressed on to finding ways to divert waste from landfill. In the last few months the SLWP has selected Viridor as the preferred bidder to provide an energy recovery facility (ERF) in Beddington Lane.

In order to get permission to build the ERF plant, Viridor must apply for planning permission and get a permit from the Environment Agency to operate the site. Sutton Council received Viridor’s planning application last week and this has now been validated. It is being registered as a valid application today (31^st July 2012) and will be available on the Sutton Council website from Friday (3^rd August).

Neighbour notification letters will be delivered this Friday and this will be the beginning of a 6 week notification period. 

More about Viridor in Beddington Lane here 

You can find out more about the SLWP here

Great news as traders back the Sutton BID

Sutton businesses gave a resounding thumbs up to the “Successful Sutton” BID proposal on Thursday last week (27 July). There was a 40% turnout with 189 businesses taking part in the vote and 127 voting in favour.


I am delighted that Sutton town centre businesses have embraced the BID. By pulling together we can achieve the improvements we all want to see and ensure that Sutton town centre continues to be the thriving, prosperous centre of the community.

Forward-thinking businesses shared the vision of a busier, cleaner, greener and more prosperous town centre - and now the real work of bringing even greater success to the area begins.

A 10-point plan has been drawn up to back the BID pledging a range of initiatives to attract trade to the area and create an even more pleasant environment for shoppers and workers to spend time and money.

The 10 points included raising the town’s profile, driving footfall, boosting security, improving the environment and attracting funding. Pilot projects already completed include putting up hanging baskets to complement the green wall, deep cleaning litter hot spots, installing footfall cameras and hosting a Dr Bike event providing on-the-spot maintenance to encourage people to make more use of their bicycles.

Businesses within the BID area with a rateable value over £10,000 will now be asked to pay a levy of one per cent of their rateable value which should give Successful Sutton up to £2million to invest in the next five years.