However, the savings mean that Sutton Council can keep its other libraries open, increase total opening hours and develop the Housebound Library service to serve vulnerable residents who were using the Mobile Library service. The council will also make more use of volunteers and community groups in order to save money, and will not outsource the library service.

The changes are being made because the council has to save £31m from its annual budget by 2019 because of unprecedented Government cuts to funding and increased pressure on services.

The council has already saved £43m from its annual budget since 2010. Its annual budget currently stands at £148.4m.

To contribute to the savings, the Library, Heritage and Arts Service has to save £1m from its annual budget by 2019.

Facing having to rationalise the service, Sutton Council ran an extensive three-month consultation through its Sutton’s Future campaign to see how savings could be made while trying to meet community needs.

Almost 3,000 people took part in two consultations. One was an online survey people could volunteer to answer and hence were mainly library users (95 per cent) and another was an independent telephone survey of 1,000 people called at random based on a representative sample of the borough – of which 58 per cent of people were library users.

Some of the key findings were:

• Sutton Central was the library used by most users of both surveys – 33 per cent of respondents to the telephone survey and 34 per cent of respondents to the online survey.
• Only one person in the telephone survey and only 2 per cent of respondents to the online survey said they used Beddington Library.
• Only 13 people in the telephone survey and 9 per cent of respondents to the online survey said they used the Mobile Library.
• 53 per cent of people in the telephone survey and 47 per cent of people in the online survey said they supported more community involvement and volunteering in libraries.
• 65 per cent of people in the online survey and 57 per cent of people in the telephone survey disagreed or strongly disagreed with outsourcing the library service.
• 32 per cent of respondents to the telephone survey said savings should be made from the library service, 53 per cent disagreed.

On Thursday 4 February the council’s Environment and Neighbourhoods Committee decided to:

• Close Beddington Library from 1 April 2016 saving £40,000 annually.
• Close the Mobile Library service from 1 April 2016 and develop the Housebound Library Service to ensure that services continue for vulnerable people. This would save £113,000.
• Rationalise library opening hours across the network of eight libraries – Sutton Central, Wallington, Cheam, Worcester Park, Middleton Circle, The Life Centre, Westcroft and Phoenix.
• Sutton Central Library will be open for 63.5 hours a week with all floors open all-day Monday and Thursday evening, and open on Sunday. Although this means losing one hour a week, residents’ access to the library will be enormously improved, and the children’s library and IT suite will have 13 extra hours a week.
• Make changes to Sunday service at Westcroft and the Life Centre from staffed to fully self-service libraries.
• Agree that the model of council-led services with community support is better than sharing the service with another borough or commissioning the service from another provider.

Cllr Steve Penneck, Lead Councillor for Libraries, Arts and Heritage at Sutton Council, said:

“I want to thank everyone who took part in our consultation. The Government cuts mean we have had to make some hard choices, but we have managed to keep the majority of libraries open at a time when many local authorities are making deeper cuts to their library service.

– Holocaust survivor Mrs. Eve Gill gives moving speech to attendees

– Theme of 2016’s event was ‘Don’t Stand By’

– 27 January marks anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp in 1945

Sutton Council marked this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day with a special commemorative event featuring a moving speech from Holocaust survivor and Cheam resident Mrs. Eve Gill.

Among those present at Sutton Grammar School on 27 January to hear Mrs. Gill’s story unfold were the deputy leader of Sutton Council, Cllr Simon Wales, and the Mayor of Sutton, Cllr Muhammad Sadiq, as well as schoolchildren and religious representatives from the borough.

Eve Gill was born in Vienna, Austria and lived there until 1938 when the Nazis annexed her country. Her father was soon interned in the notorious Dachau concentration camp as the atmosphere grew ever tenser.

Eve managed to get a place on one of the Kindertransports, the trains that carried thousands of child refugees fleeing Nazi persecution in occupied Europe to sanctuary in the UK, and was given a home in Glasgow. Eve’s father survived his internment and eventually moved to the UK to rejoin his family.

Eve Gill said:

“It was a frightening time. I was fortunate. I got out. Many others did not. We must make sure to never to be complacent. This must never happen again. Britain is my home and I love it here. Recent stories about anti-Semitism here and in Europe worry me. We must never be the ones to stand by.”

Eve married an Englishman and has remained in the UK ever since arriving. However her experiences during the darkest hours of European history have never left her.

Cllr Simon Wales, Deputy Leader of Sutton Council, said:

“Holocaust Memorial Day is itself an example of not standing by – it enables us all to lead the way in resolving not to be bystanders. Anti-Semitism, racism and hate crime have not gone away, but every one of us can make a difference in our own communities. We can all challenge prejudice and discrimination if we see and hear it in our schools, workplaces or civic spaces. The next big challenge will be for us not to stand by when Syrians and others displaced by war and strife come to us for help. After Mrs. Gill’s speech, a short series of presentations from students at Sutton Grammar School highlighted the effects of more recent genocides, including those in Rwanda and Darfur.”

“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out – because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me – and there was no-one left to speak for me.” Martin Niemöller, victim of Nazi persecution, quoted at the event.

More than 60 rare historical deeds documenting 100 years of Sutton history have returned to the borough thanks to the generosity of the Carshalton and District History and Archaeology Society (CADHAS).

CADHAS funded three-quarters of the cost of the 64 deeds, which cover more than 100 years of the Barrow Hedges Estate in Carshalton in the 18th and 19th centuries, to enable Sutton Archives to afford the purchase cost of £500. The deeds were sold to Sutton Archives by a private dealer.

Before this acquisition the Archive had only nine deeds of the Barrow Hedges Estate in its possession.

Kath Shawcross, Borough archivist at Sutton Council, said:

“A few months ago we were offered the deeds for purchase by an historian looking to sell the documents. We want to thank CADFAS for their generously funding of three-quarters of the £500 price to enable us to purchase the documents for the borough.

“The 64 deeds will really help us understand the development of the Barrow Hedges Estate area south of Carshalton Road. The earliest deed we have is 1783 and the most recent 1928.

“We only had nine deeds in our possession before, so this additional purchase is of immense value and will enable us to learn more about the history of the borough. Without the generous assistance of CADHAS we would have been able to bring these precious documents back to Sutton.”

CADHAS members have visited the library to view the deeds.

Richard Fitch, CADHAS Secretary, said:

“We are delighted to assist Sutton Archive with the purchase of these fascinating historical documents and bring them back to the borough. We are pleased to do our part in bringing back these deeds to the borough as they will enable us to learn more of Sutton’s history.

“The deeds will be kept safely in the library and made available to anyone who wants to view them. It’s great to bring some of Sutton’s heritage back home.”

Cllr Jill Whitehead, Chair of the Environment and Neighbourhood Committee at Sutton Council, said:

“We want to thank CADHAS for their generous financial gift that has enabled us to bring together more of Sutton’s history under one roof. These deeds will prove invaluable to historians or anyone in the borough wanting to learn more about life in Carshalton more than 200 years ago.”

The documents can be viewed by appointment in Sutton Central Library by telephoning Sutton Archives on 020 8770 4747.

The One Planet Sutton Progress Report for 2014-15 published today (Wednesday) shows the council is continuing to meet key priority targets under five themes:

• Cutting carbon emissions
• Cutting waste
• Valuing our natural environment
• Supporting healthy communities
• Supporting the local economy

The 24-page progress report says that of Sutton’s 32 targets, 21 targets have been exceeded, met or are on target to be met, seven are not on target and the remaining four targets do not apply to 2014-15.

Key target findings are:

• Cutting carbon emissions
  • The council’s Carbon Management Plan has saved the council an estimated £1.9m in energy costs since 2010-11.

• Cutting waste
  • Total household waste in the borough has decreased since the baseline from 77,045 tonnes in 2009-10 to 73,350 tonnes in 2014-15, representing a 4.8 per cent decrease. This is above the national average of 2 per cent waste reduction per household.

• Valuing our natural environment
  • The Sutton Food Forum was formed in December 2014 to drive delivery of local and sustainable food targets. The Sutton Food Forum has achieved Sustainable Food Cities Status and Sutton is one of only seven London boroughs to have achieved this standard.
  • During 2014-15 a number of improvement projects were undertaken along the River Wandle to enhance habitats and biodiversity, and reduce river pollution, including a Silt n SuDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems) project in Hackbridge to alleviate flooding.

• Supporting healthy communities
  • During autumn 2014 the council and its partners ran 47 free One Planet Sutton-themed events across 20 venues as part of the Imagine Festival 2014.
  • Fourteen parks across the borough have outdoor gyms, nine of which were installed in 2014. These outdoor gyms give adults access to free exercise equipment aimed at all levels of fitness and deliver health improvements.
  • In March 2015 a Stage 2 Heritage Lottery Fund bid for £1.52m was submitted to improve Whitehall Museum in Cheam and bring the heritage of Whitehall to life in the community.

• Supporting the local economy
  • Opportunity Sutton, Sutton Council’s economic development arm, has attracted £330m investment into the borough and has contributed to the continued positive progress towards the Supporting the Local Economy targets.
  • On 1 April 2014 the council commenced payment of the London Living Wage for all employees, recognising the minimum income required for employees to meet their basic living needs.

However, the One Planet targets are ambitious and there are short- and medium-term goals of 2017 and 2025 respectively. Although all goals may not be reached by 2017, the overarching aim is for Sutton to become a One Planet Borough by 2025.

For example, while between 2007 and 2013 there was a 14.4 per cent reduction in CO2, which is on track to meet the 20 per cent target by 2017, the council has only been able to reduce carbon emissions from council buildings by 15 per cent between 2010/11 and 2014/2015 when the target was 50 per cent.

This is mainly because of an increase in the use of more CO2 intensive fuels by the UK power grid, however overall Sutton has the third lowest CO2 emissions out of the 32 London boroughs.

Cllr Jill Whitehead, Chair of the Environment and Neighbourhoods Committee at Sutton Council, said:

“Sutton prides itself on being a green borough and I am delighted we are meeting the majority of the One Planet Sutton targets. We are one of the best London council’s for low carbon emissions and our carbon management plan has saved £1.9m in energy costs over the past five years. There is no question that these targets are ambitious, and the work to meet them is made even harder in the current financial climate where our budgets are being cut by government.  However, we will continue to look for ways to innovate and improve our performance and the One Planet Sutton report is a useful guide to benchmark where we are and see which areas we are succeeding in and which require more work by the council and our partners.”

The council committed to One Planet Living in 2009, creating a set of challenging sustainability targets to enable Sutton to become a One Planet Borough by 2025. But targets have twice been revised since 2009 to reflect changes in national policy and funding to local government.

Over the coming year Sutton will continue to deliver a wide variety of projects to help the borough meet its One Planet Sutton targets. These include the start of renovation of Whitehall Museum to make it into a historical and cultural hub, holding recycling roadshows and workshops across the borough, and continue progress towards creating a low-carbon energy network.

• The One Planet Sutton report can be found here.

The early bird discount offer runs until 31 January 2016, with £10 off the cost of the garden waste collection service until that date.

The charges for garden waste collections for 2016 are as follows:

The price for 2016 is for 19 fortnightly collections, six more than in 2015.

The garden waste collections will start on Easter Monday, 28 March 2016, and finish on 17 December 2016. Residents will continue to have their garden waste collections on the same day as their recycling collections.

New subscribers can choose from two sizes of green waste bin – the standard-size 240-litre bin for residents with a medium-sized garden or a smaller 140-litre bin for residents with a small garden. Residents with large gardens can have two 240-litre bins for residents with a large garden.

Green waste bins for the new subscribers will be delivered before the service begins.