Sutton’s unsung heroes were celebrated last night, Tuesday 24 February, as the winners of the 2014 Sutton Community Awards were announced.

The outstanding residents who everyday make the borough a better place to live and work have been named as:Loredana Beasant, George Hall, Mark Tomlinson, Tracy Fitzmaurice, Aaron Hearne and Shannon Fletcher.

Loredana Beasant was named the winner of the Safer Borough Award for outstanding service to the borough for keeping Sutton safe, sponsored by Subsea 7.

A busy mum, Ms Beasant successfully campaigned and secured funding in her spare time to upgrade a zebra to a pelican crossing on Malden Road. The installed set of traffic lights mean children from Cheam Fields Primary School and Cheam High can cross the road more safely.

Ms Beasant said: “I’d never done anything like this before. I just wanted to make a busy road safer. I didn’t think anything would come of it.  It’s an amazing feeling: I never did this for recognition. It’s nice to get something at the end.”

George Hall won the Improving Lives Award, recognising those who go that extra mile to make a difference to people’s lives. It was sponsored by Everyone Active.

Mr Hall did an immaculate job looking after the Chaucer Estate for the past 44 years. He is beloved by all residents and always gets involved in community events. “He doesn’t only go the extra mile he does a marathon!” said one fond nominee of Mr Hall.

Mr Hall said: “I’m very emotional. I’ve always believed it’s important to help young people. If you get to them early and encourage them they can become better people. This is a wonderful moment.”

The Community Spirit Award, sponsored by the Crystal Palace Football Club Foundation, celebrates residents who bring the community together through events, clubs or projects. Mark Tomlinson, the co-ordinator of Sutton Street Pastors, Sutton Food Bank and Sutton School Pastors among others, received the winning prize.

Mr Tomlison said: “This is lovely. I just wanted to make a difference. It’s about seeing people’s lives change and helping others to turn themselves around. The great thing for me is seeing people working together. I was the right person in the right place at the right time.”

Tracy Fitzmaurice picked up the Business in the Community Award for promoting increased prosperity, employment or access to the borough through business initiatives, sponsored by Successful Sutton.

Chair of the Worcester Park Traders Association, Ms Fitzmaurice was recognised for her hard work and determination to pull the businesses on Central Road into a cohesive group, leading them through another year. She works through the year to develop new initiatives for fund raising to extend her work in the community. Notably, she helped the local committee secure £500 in funding for its Christmas fair.

Both Aaron Hearne and Shannon Fletcher took home the Outstanding Achievement Award, sponsored by Metro Bank, for bringing credit to the borough.

Mr Hearne founded The Liam Charity in 2012 in memory of his brother. He has organised many successful events to raise money for the NSPCC ChildLine and plays an active role in the local community, supporting anti-bullying campaigns in schools and other youth services.

 Mr Hearne said: “We do what we do to help people. We don’t think about awards. So when I was told I’d been put forward, I was shocked. I wasn’t expecting to be nominated to be honest and really wasn’t expecting to be called up. It’s really cool.

“My brother Liam committed suicide when he was 14. ChildLine, which is run by the NSPCC, helps young people so I do fundraising. I also share Liam’s story with other young people to help them and honour his memory. Teen suicide has come up as an issue; families contact me and I share with them to help.”

Seventeen-year-old Miss Fletcher is an apprentice on the Bridges project, Volunteer Centre Sutton. The project supports young people aged 16 to 24 to make decisions about their future.

Cllr Ruth Dombey, Leader of Sutton Council, said:

“It is my belief that here at Sutton, our sense of community is our greatest asset. We are lucky that Sutton is filled to the brim with inspiring individuals who go that extra mile, whether they are carers, volunteers, community organisers or charity workers, and I am delighted to formally recognise their efforts to make the borough a better place.

“Congratulations to all these outstanding community members.”

The Runners-up

The Community Awards were not just about the winners, but a celebration of the Sutton community as a whole.

The runners-up for the Safer Borough Award were Chris McNamara, who assisted the police with finding a man who stole a handbag from an elderly lady, and Leigh Brooks, who intervened when an Asian woman was being racially abused by a man in Carshalton High Street.

Improving Lives Award: Pauline Hennessey and the Sutton Women’s Centre counsellors, Concepta Hill, who everyday cheers up locals in her role as a lollipop lady and The Young Commissioners.

Community Spirit Award: Jan Fielding, who is involved with countless causes in the Belmont area, loneliness-tacklers Sutton South Hello Group and Terry Haswell, an outstanding community member at Sutton Council’s Clockhouse Estate.

Business in the Community Award:  Chris Blanks, the devoted managing director of Elwyns Windows in Carshalton for the last 14 years, and Colin Newton of the KIPPA (Kimpton Industrial Park Proprietors Association) BID.

Outstanding Achievement Award: Yvonne Newbold, a tireless campaigner for people with learning disabilities and their families andJames Fletcher, who has cerebral palsy and is unable to walk unaided. The inspiring 12-year-old swam a whole mile using just his arms to raise more than £8,000 to buy an electric wheelchair.

The Safer Borough Award (winners pictured centre).

The Outstanding Achievement Award group.

The Improving Lives Award group.

The Community Spirit Award group.

The Business in the Community Award group.

View the full gallery from the event at our Flickr page.

Sutton’s hidden cinematic gems dating back to the ’20s will be revealed to all the community at an event happening this March.

Locals will be taken on a filmic journey across the borough throughout the last century.

An assortment of film clips will give insight into how Sutton has changed over time.

London: A Bigger Picture is a major Film London and London’s Screen Archives project to introduce the capital to its cinematic heritage.

Launch events will be held in every outer London borough and will mark the start of a search for more local films to add to the archives.

The Sutton launch will be held in the Europa Gallery, Central Library, on 19 March from 2 to 4pm.

A Film London archivist will introduce the clips alongside local studies experts, who will explain how they fit into and reveal rich insights into Sutton’s history.

All local film buffs and history enthusiasts are encouraged to attend and, indeed, get involved with the London-wide project over its three years.

Cllr Jill Whitehead, Sutton Council’s lead member for the arts and heritage, said:

“I am delighted that our library service is working with Film London to educate locals on Sutton’s rich and fascinating heritage. What better way to demonstrate how the borough has changed and flourished over the years, than through film?”

“Please, if you are a film or history buff or simply enthusiastic about our wonderful borough, come along and get involved in the project.”

 Adrian Wootton, Chief Executive of Film London and the British Film Commission, said:

“We are delighted to be launching London: A Bigger Picture in Sutton. This is a call to arms – we want to reach as many local people as possible to get them to engage with archive film and donate their home videos. I urge the people of Sutton to get involved and unearth their hidden gems so we can build and share a comprehensive picture of the London on film.”

Sign up for the FREE event at: www.bpsutton.eventbrite.co.uk or phone 020 8770 4747.

The hedgehog quite possibly became the new favourite animal of more than 100 local children yesterday, Tuesday 17 February, as Sutton Ecology Centre held a day honouring the spiky animal.

The young centre-goers got up close and personal with hedgehogs from Riverside Animal Centre, Beddington Park, while discovering where the creatures live and what they eat on a trail.

Organised by Sutton Council’s biodiversity team, the day also saw children make hedgehog masks and clay hedgehogs.

Meanwhile, members of The People’s Trust for Endangered Species came along to talk about their project, Hedgehog Street; Sutton Nature Conservation Volunteers told visitors how to help nature on Sutton’s doorstep; and the Friends of Sutton Ecology Centre provided fun refreshments, including hedgehog-themed biscuits and cakes.

Cllr Jill Whitehead, Chair of Sutton Council’s Environment and Neighbourhoods Committee, said:

“The great fun had by all children, mums, dads and carers who attended the Hedgehog Open Day again goes to show what a valuable resource our ecology centre is to residents, young and old.

“As one of London’s leafiest boroughs, it is important that we provide our children with an excellent environmental education – and I’m certain that all children who attended the day are now completely clued-up on our humble hedgehog friends.”

For more information about Sutton Ecology Centre and upcoming biodiversity events happening around the borough, go to the council website.

Joshua and Isabel Dear. Click to download.

Charlotte Elliot-Square.

Iris O’keeffe shows off her Hedgehog mask.