These are just some of those published – enjoy and Happy Holidays to all.
To see more images from Sutton’s Archives bit.ly/l58Tjq
Carshalton Park's Rebuilt Piers & Railings
Rebuilt Brick Piers supporting the Carshalton Park Railings
Typical Detail of the Rebuilt Brick Pier
Detail of the Ventilation Stack Pipe, The Park
Carshalton Ponds in the Snow
Jill, Alan and Hamish most sincerely wish a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our readers. Thanks very much indeed to all those residents who put their faith in us last year in the local elections of May 2010. We will continue to try to do our very best for the residents of Carshalton Central ward of all parties and of none!
For some considerable time, local councillors Hamish, Jill and Alan have been chasing up Sutton Housing Partnership for some much-needed improvements at the 30 flats at Tyrell Court under the “Decent Homes” programme. Tyrell Court flats we think were built in around 1950 and are located quite close to the approach roads of Carshalton Railway Station. There are two separate blocks of 18 (front)and 12 flats (rear).
Hamish says: “We’re pleased to say that at long last the residents of Tyrell Court are now enjoying their new kitchens and bathrooms recently fitted by the building contractors Lakehouse and in the New Year 2012 long-awaited replacement double-glazed windows will be installed for the residents who have been waiting patiently for these improvements.”
Cllr. Jill Whitehead reports: ” I recently inspected the new school buildings at the new Stanley Park High School along with a number of other Carshalton councillors. I wish to say how lucky we are to have a new £35m plus school on our doorstep with all mod cons., suitable for the new generation of schoolchildren and incorporating a large special needs unit within the school. It will help help to solve the birth bulge problems, as well, as the school will be able to accommodate growth on a year by year basis – up to 1400 pupils.
The school is arranged in four sub schools – World (History/Geography and similar specialism), Performance (Arts/Drama), Trade (Vocational), including the special needs unit as one of these. The views from the school across London are breathtaking, and the school includes an all weather running track (open to the community) and its own facility to grow fruit and vegetables for school dinners!
Stanley Park School Photo 1 of 3
Jill also says: “We congratulate all the parties involved in the design and construction of Stanley Park High School, Carshalton which has reached the practical completion stage on time. The school is built mainly in three storeys to a modern design with high standards of sustainability and renewable energy efficiency.
Stanley Park School Photo 2 of 3
It is also built on an existing hospital site, forming a new “Greenfield” campus. The school is currently being fitted out with specialist teaching and learning equipment and we’re told that it is due to open for the new term in January 2012.”
Stanley Park School Photo 3 of 3
Caroline Pidgeon member of the GLA joined Brian Paddick, Tom Brake MP, Cllr Ruth Dombey and Lord Graham Tope out and about in Sutton on Friday 25th November.
The Lib Dem team met up with local residents and councillors to campaign against the proposed changes to through trains on the Thameslink lines, as mentioned previously on this Web Site. This will affect many parts of Sutton and mean local residents will have to change at Blackfriars station to continue their journey northwards to St Pancras, the City and Luton.
The team then visited the fantastic BedZed development in Hackbridge/north Wallington and heard about plans for a sustainable Hackbridge as well as looking at the area.
“It was really interesting to see the BedZed development and to hear what has worked and what lessons have been learnt for future developments. The key message that came out was that Sutton is a good council to work with to get things done in partnership” commented Caroline.
The team then went to Sutton town centre to meet up with the local police Safer Neighbourhood Team to hear first hand about policing town centres. This was then followed by a well attended meeting with Sutton Chamber of Commerce. Caroline and Brian talked about the key issues that have been coming up across London.
“It was really good to talked with the local police and local businesses to understand the issues affecting local businesses and residents” added Caroline.
No. 1A The Park was recently completed as recently photographed. This is an “infill” type of detached house in the triangular site adjacent to houses in Carshalton Park Road near the junction with Ruskin Road. It is currently up for sale.
1A The Park, Carshalton
Sutton Council has been named council of the year after 99% of residents said they were happy with the customer service they received when they telephoned the council.
The award is based on feedback from residents who have spoken to the council via the telephone, internet, mobile phone and face-to-face at council offices. This year alone, more than 87,000 people left feedback after contacting Sutton Council. Of this figure 92 per cent said they were satisfied with how their query was dealt with face-to-face. The data is collected and analysed by a company called GovMetric, which is used by 75 local authorities across the country.
The council is keen to replicate this success on its website, to save council tax payers money. Each face-to-face transaction costs the council £5.87 to process. Over the telephone the cost is £2.24, but internet transactions cost just 28p. From January to November this year, residents contacted the council by telephone 314,425 times, face-to-face 31,539 times and 625,958 times via the internet.
Deputy Leader of Sutton Council, Cllr. Ruth Dombey, said: “Now more than ever it is important that we are able to deal with residents’ enquiries as efficiently and helpfully as possible, to ensure we get the best possible value for money for our council tax payers and the best possible results.
“I’m delighted residents are happy with the level of service they receive from their council. Our customer services team are doing a great job and it’s fantastic to have that recognised.
“The feedback we receive allows us to listen to residents and, if anything goes wrong, rectify it quickly. For example, when the 24-hour touchtone payment system was replaced with voice recognition software, customers told us they did not like it. The council reverted back to touchtone within a couple of days.”
Keeping Sutton moving is of course one of our top priorities. Prevention is better than patching things up, and the Council would prefer to stop potholes from appearing in the first place, reducing the number of accidents, keeping traffic flowing and avoiding costly repairs. Apparently, there are over 200 miles of road in the borough and although we inspect roads regularly, we can’t be everywhere at once. So, we’re asking for your help, please. We need your help to spot holes as soon as they start to form so that we can repair them before serious damage is done. Residents are asked to report a pothole online at www.sutton.gov.uk/potholes or by phoning 020-8770 5070, or please do let Jill, Alan or Hamish know. Here’s one we found (and reported recently)…in Harrow Road. More in a future posting.
Pot Hole In Harrow Road, Carshalton as recently reported by Hamish
The rapid increase of population in the UK in the last decade or so is continuing to have a huge impact locally as can be seen by all our web site stories of new local housing developments in Carshalton Central neighbourhood.
Consequently, the lack of affordable housing locally for the population has been a concern of national governments and local councils for decades and is becoming especially acute.
About a year ago the Council restored no. 15 The Square, Carshalton a large Edwardian property, which is once again now two nicely refurbished flats. We attach a photo of local Cllr. Jill Whitehead taken outside no. 15 The Square during refurbishment, right in the heart of Carshalton Village.
Cllr. Hamish Pollock (who works in the construction industry) says: “Asking prices of private houses and flats have barely moved in the country as a whole in 2011, but a lack of new sellers in London is keeping prices up in many London boroughs. We heard recently rather surprisingly that Sutton borough saw the highest monthly increase in London in August 2011 at over 5 per cent. August’s largest fall, of over 2 per cent, came in Hounslow borough some 15 or so miles in west London.”
