The Mosaic in Trinity Square, Sutton High Street

Lots of us will be visiting Sutton High Street over the next few weeks in the run-up to Christmas. The story behind one of Sutton town centre’s key monuments is told in a new plaque, unveiled in Trinity Square. Sutton’s rich history has been proudly displayed in a mosaic opposite Waterstone’s, since 1994, but few have known the stories behind each of the 19 intricate panels. The new plaque explains what each section of mosaic means, and the history of the people and places it depicts. The centre panel shows Henry VIII’s Nonsuch Palace. Around this panel are heraldic beasts from the coats of arms of the local families of Carew, Gaynesford and Lumley – names which are still familiar to local people. Other images show the borough’s heritage buildings – including Honeywood Museum, the old cottage in Cheam, Carshalton Church, Whitehall and The Cock Inn – and past industries, including a Wandle mill, used in the lavender and agricultural trade; the first iron railway, which ran along the River Wandle and the Hannibal Aircraft, synonymous with the former Croydon Airport, which stood on the site of the Roundshaw Estate. Cllr Graham Tope, Executive Member for Community Safety, Leisure and Libraries, said: “This beautiful mosaic has been a much-loved feature of our High Street for the past 17 years, but unless you’re a historian the chances are you would not know what all of the intricate panels mean. “I hope this plaque will encourage people to take a look, and for those already familiar with the mosaic, I hope it will help them to appreciate it even more.” The mosaic, by artists Rob Turner and Gary Drostle, was commissioned by Sutton Council and funded by Appledown Properties in 1994. It measures 9m x 5m, making it one of the largest pieces of wall art in the country.

Jill, Alan and Hamish took up residents’ concerns about the deliveries to the large block of flats construction site at 229-245 Carshalton Road at the corner with Shorts Road. The council’s planning enforcement officers have been in dialogue with the developers, Oakwood Group, to deal with the Shorts Road / bus stop issues.  

The developer has prepared a Project Execution Plan and explained to the planning enforcement officers that they have recently agreed a temporary suspension of the loading bay on Carshalton Road with Transport for London who control the Red Route along the A232 Carshalton Road, between 10am and 3pm Mondays to Fridays for the duration of the project. 

This will be the developer’s principal location for the lion’s share of deliveries going forward and full details of how this process will be properly managed are contained in the report.  Their view is that by reducing dependency on the Shorts Road access they will improve matters on the ground.  This will form the basis of a formal application to amend a Planning Condition which they apparently will issue to the Council’s planning department imminently.

They discussed the bus stop on Carshalton Road with the council’s planning enforcement officers and they advised that we have agreed with TfL to relocate the hoarding further back towards the site and to provide a gantry which will serve as a temporary shelter during the Works.  This will take place in the next week to 10 days.

The developers claimed that they are “doing their utmost” to manage the site operations and to ensure minimum disruption for all intersted parties for the duration of the project.  They say that they are committed to working with the council to maintain good neighbourly relations.  More in a future posting..!

These messages are from Sutton Police

Attempted Robbery Witness Appeal

A female shop assistant bravely fought off a man with a knife who demanded money from the till at The Corner Shop, Ruskin Road, Carshalton, on Tuesday 22nd November at 17.00hrs. The suspect produced what appeared to be a kitchen knife from under his coat after his bank card was declined at the counter when paying for a packet of 20 cigarettes. As the suspect moved behind the counter, the shop assistant grabbed hold of his right arm which was holding the knife. The suspect said: “Give me the money and I won’t hurt you.” He then left empty handed when another customer walked in and before police arrived.

The suspect is described as a white man aged about 40-45, 5ft 7in tall and of medium build. He was wearing a dark coat, green jumper and blue jeans. He had a scarf wrapped around the bottom of his face and was wearing a black beanie hat. If you saw the incident or have any information that could help police with their enquiries, please contact Sutton Police station on 101. Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

We had asked the Council a few months’ ago to replace the very worn-out old street name plate sign at Carshalton Grove by the junction with Dunbar Court flats and here it is!  Some bollards have been replaced by the main road works in Carshalton Road that were funded by Transport for London recently which are designed to improve road safety at the many and various road junctions particularly along the “high” section of the road.

A New Sign for Carshalton Grove

Nicola Court at junction of Pound Street with Carshalton Park Road

This new block of twelve flats is become occupied, now christened Nicola Court with its entrance off Carshalton Park Road, right at the junction with Pound Street.  This was the site of the former Texaco Garage/Petrol Station at 31-33 Pound Street.  Some years ago, the FOCUS team of Hamish, Jill and Alan fought for a good design at the Council’s planning committee (development control committee) for this landmark site; and we feel that the developer and the developer’s building team has done a really splendid job in providing a landmark building suitable for the Carshalton Village Conservation Area.

Hamish reports: “Whilst out and about today delivering leaflets, I thought I’d record the current state of the two lots of flats currently being built in Carshalton Road. The first picture is of the three penthouse flats being built on top of the eighteen existing Hillside flats, Carshalton Road which will have fantastic views over London when completed. The second picture is the concrete frame of the new-build four-storey scheme of well over 40 flats being built at the junction of Carshalton Road and Shorts Road, the site that was described by one councillor on the Council’s development control committee as the “Gateway to Carshalton“.”

3 new Penthouse Flats being built at "Hillside", Carshalton Road

40 plus New Flats being built at the corner of Carshalton Road and Shorts Road

Pavilion/Lavatory Block in its Derelict State

The Council’s contractor has started work on the demolition of the long-abandoned Wrythe Recreation Ground toilets and pavilion, on Wrythe Lane earlier this week. This demolition is necessary owing to its long-term derelict state and the lack of funds ever being likely to be available to overhaul the building and restore it, and no realistic alternative use could be found despite many years of the Council trying to find a suitable use.  Residents may recall that in late 2007 planning approval was sought to use the building as an artist’s studio but despite approval being given, the artist’s studio scheme sadly never went ahead.

Jill, Alan and Hamish have had a complaint from some local residents  about the demolition of the toilets/pavilion at Wrythe Rec Ground on the grounds that they did not receive official house-to-house notification from the council that demolition work was going to be carried out, nor did they see any notices locally (e.g. on lamp-posts, notice boards) that this would be happening. We have therefore asked the council’s parks department whether or not we normally notify residents in this way, and if so how far away from the structures affected?  We are also concerned about what is likely to be left behind after the demolition and we have asked that rubble would be removed carefully and any dangerous areas made safe? We have asked if the area would be grassed over to maintain the integrity of the park. More in a future posting…

Corner of Shorts Road and Carshalton Road

Jill, Alan and Hamish have taken up residents’ concerns about traffic congestion in and around Carshalton Road and Shorts Road being caused by the lorries to and from the huge flats construction site at 229-245 Carshalton Road.  When allowing the planning appeal for the development of this site, a condition was imposed by the planning inspector saying that the construction method statement had to be carried out in accordance with a Project Execution Plan which clearly states that the developer’s contractor would implement a pre-booked delivery services, planned weekly which would lead to:

The avoidance of traffic congestion; ‘Just in time’ management of materials; Deliveries scheduled to arrive after 9am and before 3pm unless essential.

In addition the developer’s contractor stated that to ‘enforce the above procedure, we would turn away deliveries that have not been pre-arranged.’  They also indicated that would prepare a proposed Construction Routing Plan for inclusion in sub contractors orders.  Whilst it was stated that no access would be via Alma Road and only Westmead Road, at the time, it was not anticipated that the gas roadworks would be occurring at the same time. Planning legislation does not extend to control such gas roadworks.

However with regard to deliveries, the Council’s officers have contacted the developer’s agents on every occasion of a possible alleged breach to remind them of their agreed Project Execution Plan.  The Council’s officers have kindly agreed to contact them again on this matter and ask for details of their recorded delivery schedules.  The developer’s contractor will also have to answer to the Council’s Enforcement officers regarding the possible breach of Planning Conditions. 

We ask that future residents complaints are sent to us so that they can be directed to Mr Lowe at Sutton Council so that he can now maintain a thorough record.

So, in the meantime if local residents can PLEASE maintain a log of activity and let us know by E-mail at one of the councillors’ addresses on this web site when they see deliveries arriving before 9am and after 3 am, including date, time, vehicle, company and if possible a photograph, this would be very useful for forwarding on to the Council’s Enforcement Officers.

Hamish reports: “There seem to be some very small recent signs of progress with the long-derelict 2-4A Rotherfield Road site right in the heart of Carshalton Village.”  The site has, or so it appears, very recently been cleared again of weeds and scrub following the demolition work that took place about 2 years ago and the hoarding has been repainted. Long suffering nearby local residents may remember that the local Liberal Democrat councillors/campaigners including Hamish, Alan and Jill fought long and hard against redevelopment proposals for flats at this large site as was reported in various editions of FOCUS at the time.  In fact the Lib Dem controlled Sutton Council threw out four different planning applications for this site in the period 2005-2007 but in the end the decision of many of our democratically-elected local councillors were shamefully overruled by the unelected planning inspectorate based down in Bristol.  More in a future posting and/or in FOCUS…

The Recently-Repainted Hoarding at 2-4A Rotherfield Road

The site at 2-4A Rotherfield Road as recently cleared of weeds/scrub