The Mayor of Sutton Cllr. Sean Brennan officially opened a new set of gates on Sunday (8th July) after a successful partnership exercise between the local Round Table, Friends of Carshalton Park and the council’s Carshalton and Clockhouse Local Committee.

The new gates were the final part of the £31,000 refurbishment of Carshalton Park funded by the council’s public realm fund for community projects, which also included repairing 17 crumbling stone pillars. The Round Table also raised £5,000 towards this project.

Cllr. Jill Whitehead, Chair of the Environment and Neighbourhoods Committee, said: “This is an excellent example of people working together to provide a value-for-money solution to a local problem.

“The park looks smart now and is a superb resource for the community and a great venue for special events.”

The popular park is used for events including the Carshalton Carnival in June, the Environmental Fair on August Bank Holiday and the fireworks in November.

Cllr. Hamish Pollock, Chair of Carshalton and Clockhouse Local Committee added: “The pillars which stand at the perimeter of the park had fallen into disrepair, and had been damaged by falling trees, but now the improvements have greatly enhanced the park. We thank the Friends of Carshalton Park and the Round Table for bringing this project to fruition.”

Among the improvements the gates were widened from 3 metres to 4 metres and a pedestrian gate was added.

And Phil Blake, of the Round Table, said: “The old gates were so narrow that lorries found it very difficult to get through.

“Now they can get in and out easily and the pedestrian gate makes like simpler for everyone to use the park whenever they like.”