Could this be the end to the "Still or Sparkling" question?

I'm backing the Evening Standard's campaign to make London's tap water freely available in restaurants and bars. The campaign was only launched this week and Starbucks and Strada have already signed up.

The campaign, "Water On Tap" makes loads of sense and aims to remove the stigma from asking for 'a glass of tap water please' in eating and drinking venues across London.

Why on earth would we want to transport water across the world so that we can drink it in a bar when there is an excellent alternative available on tap?

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23441558-details/Water+on+tap+at+every+restaurant/article.do

Motorbike to use bus lanes?

Do you think motorcycles should be allowed to drive down in bus lanes? The Evening Standard is running an online poll to find out what people think and it is drawn 50/50 right now. Click on the link below and have your say....

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/

Government ‘Steals’ £10 million from Sutton Tenants

Do you think that it is unfair that Sutton tenants will have to pay £10m from their rent towards subsidising tenants’ housing in other parts of the country in 2008/09?

I do. I don’t have an argument with other parts of the country, but this money should be spent on social housing here in Sutton to help bring it up to the Decent Homes standard, rather than supporting this bizarre cross subsidy.

If you agree, you might want to sign the Sutton Federation of Tenants and Residents Associations online petition, or make your voice heard by joining the lobby of Parliament on Wednesday 5th March.

You can read more and sign the Sutton Federation of Tenants and Residents Associations online petition here: http://www.sftra.org/index.php?option=com_performs&formid=2

Owner must demolish illegal building

The owner of a detached building in the rear garden of 16 Hawthorn Road, Wallington has been ordered to demolish it and clear the material from site by 14th May.

The timber building, erected in 2006, was the subject of enforcement action by Sutton Council, but the owner appealed to the Planning Inspectorate in the hope that they would disagree with the Council and allow the building to be retained. But after a site visit in late October last year the Planning Inspector decided that the Council was right and that the building has to come down.

During the somewhat bizarre Hearing the owner tried to claim that the building which contains a number of separate apartments was a caravan and therefore legal!

The owner now has 6 months to demolish the building and remove all of the material from site.

I will be keeping my eyes open for signs of activity and I would be grateful if you would let me know if and when occupants move out or work commences.

100,000 to cycle through London

Organisers of the 2008 London Hovis Freewheel bike ride expect 100,000 people to join the ride through the heart of London on 21 September. Last year the event attracted 50,000 cyclists, well in excess of the planned 30,000.

This great family fun ride will aim to raise awareness of the importance of making cycling safer and easier in London. The ride is expected to be the second biggest cycling event in Europe. I intend to be there and hope to join other cyclists from Sutton on what will be a fun day.

The Organisers have been able to enlarge the festival because of extra funding from Transport for London.

Watch out for updates here: http://www.londonfreewheel.com/

Sutton Council ‘top of the performance pops’

The independent Audit Commission has just announced that Sutton Council has been awarded four stars ‘improving strongly’ - the best score - in the Comprehensive Performance Assessment of all councils. This places Sutton in the 13 best councils in the country - better than the Tory controlled London Boroughs of Croydon, Merton and Hammersmith & Fulham as well as our neighbours in Epsom & Ewell.

This is great news for Sutton residents because by confirming that the council is ‘top the performance pops’ local residents can be sure that the council is serving them well.

This is a rather different story to the one being pedalled by Opposition councillors in Sutton, who would like you to believe that all is gloom and doom. I know whom I’d trust.

Afrika flyposts Wallington

I was surprised to see more than 20 fly posted adverts promoting Andre Heller’s musical Afrika! Afrika! in Manor Road and Woodcote Road in Wallington today. I have asked the council’s Street Scene team to remove the posters and i am sure that they will do so, but I would like to take this up with the theatre

Can you shed any light on when the posters went up?

Did you see them being tied to railings?

If so, please let me know because I want to contact the theatre to complain.

Let the Train Take the Strain – not your pocket!

As you know, I’m a convert to public transport. I prefer to let the train or bus (driver) take the strain whenever I can, but like many of you I object to the huge hike in train fares that have been introduced in Sutton and across London this year.

I wouldn’t mind so much if we had a decent weekend service, but it seems that on most weekends it is not possible to get a train from Wallington to London on a Sunday. And Ken Livingstone hasn’t helped – the East London Line will be extended as far as Croydon, but stop short of Sutton. At this rate it will be possible to get to the 2012 Olympics from France more quickly than from Sutton!

I would like to know what you think of the rail service and new fares, so I have been handing out Brian Paddick’s Rail Users Surveys at Wallington Station accompanied by Tom Brake MP and other local councillors and volunteers. If you missed us, you can download a copy here by clicking on the image at the top of this article.