Cllr. Hamish Pollock says:  “Carshalton High School for Girls (CHSG) has submitted a planning application to the Council for a new two-storey Sports Hall (C2014/70052), to be built adjacent to the boundary with Carshalton Athletic Football Club (CAFC), close to the path from Colston Avenue to CAFC.  Details can be found at on the Sutton Planning Register at gis.Sutton.gov.uk/FASTWEB/Welcome.asp. 

Please note: If you wish to make comments they should be submitted by 18th September 2014.”  

Cllr. Alan Salter says: “Councillors and residents met with the Head Teacher of CHSG about six months ago, and asked for residents’ concerns to be taken into account in regard to the size and use of the new building – we were advised of plans to use it at evenings and weekends – and in regard to additional traffic and parking due to increased usage of the school facilities. Although we understand the size of the hall has been reduced in size, it is still a substantial structure, and the planning application has not provided for any additional parking at the school for extra visitors.”

Cllr. Jill Whitehead says:  “Residents have commented to us as your local Lib Dem councillors that traffic and parking (on double yellow lines) in Colston Avenue over the summer holidays for sports events at the Girls School were unacceptable, and these were compounded by similar events at CAFC at the same time. Any new planning application would need to provide:- a) a Travel Plan to encourage children to come by foot/bicycle/public transport, and b) deal with the very bad traffic gridlock and associated noise and nuisance experienced by residents over the summer.”  

More in a future FOCUS and watch out for updates on our web site.

Saturday 13 September – Sunday 2 November… IMAGINE is Sutton’s largest celebration of the arts and is now in its eighth year.

The IMAGINE festival is supported by the London Borough of Sutton and its partners. All events will be eco-themed as we partner with One Planet Sutton to celebrate the arts in one of London’s greenest boroughs. There are exhibitions, a rusty orchestra, culture cycle tours, recycled puppet workshops, an eco-themed poetry slam, drama workshops and much more spread right across the borough and at a venue near you.

The opening extravaganza takes place on Saturday 13 September in Sutton High Street from 12 noon – 3pm. Join it in the High Street for an afternoon of fun filled events and entertainment to celebrate the opening of the IMAGINE festival of the arts. There’s live music, drumming and craft workshops including snails tell tales, make your own scarecrow, a mascot race, giant butterfly stilt walkers and hedgemen living statues plus lots more. Opened by the Major of Sutton and sponsored by Enjoy Sutton (the Successful Sutton BID), this inaugural event promises to offer something for everyone.

To see all the events taking place during the festival please click here for the brochure.

Sutton’s cultural gems on display for Open House weekend

The magic and majesty of Sutton’s heritage will be open to the public this month as part of the capital’s annual Open House Weekend. Twelve historic or innovative buildings will be open for free to the public for the annual event which takes place on Saturday, 20th September and Sunday, 21st September 2014.

Honeywood Museum

Residents can explore historic buildings, see exhibitions and discover more about sustainable architecture.Among the buildings taking part this year are The Circle Library in Carshalton, Whitehall in Cheam, BedZED & Regeneration of Hackbridge and Little Holland House in Carshalton. The Sutton Life Centre will be hosting kids activities and tours on Saturday, 20th September. Two guided walks have also been organised on Sunday, 21st September 2014. One is ‘A Look at Old Carshalton’, led by local historian Andrew Skelton. The other is a 75-minute tour of sustainable buildings in the borough, starting in Sutton.

More information can be found by visiting www.londonopenhouse.org and check if you need to book in advance.

Councillor Jill Whitehead, Chair of the Environment and Neighbourhoods Committee, said:

“We have a rich heritage right here on our doorstep and Open House weekend is a great chance to uncover the borough’s past. It’s also a great opportunity to explore the kind of modern buildings we all see on TV and look at the technology behind sustainable buildings. Not only that but there are special activities going on for all the family so there is something for everyone.”

Sutton Life Centre

Buildings in Sutton taking part are:

The Circle Library, Green Wrythe Lane, Carshalton (Sat only)

Sutton Life Centre, Alcorn Close, Sutton (Sat only)

All Saints Church, Carshalton (Sat & Sun)

Honeywood Museum, Honeywood Walk, Carshalton (Sat & Sun)

Whitehall, 1 Malden Road, Cheam (Sat & Sun)

St Nicholas Church, Gibson Road, Sutton (Sun only)

BedZED & Regeneration of Hackbridge, 24 Helios Road, Wallington (Sat only)

Carshalton Water Tower & Historic Gardens, West Street, Carshalton (Sat & Sun)

Lumley Chapel, St Dunstan’s Churchyard, Cheam (Sat & Sun)

Little Holland House, 40 Beeches Avenue, Carshalton (Sat only)

Russettings, 25 Worcester Road, Sutton (Sun only)

Sutton Council’s spokesman says:

Unfortunately due to driver shortage we are experiencing a backlog in our garden waste collection.

The Met takes emerging online threats seriously, which is why we launched FALCON this month (Fraud And Linked Crime Online). FALCON is part of the Organised Crime Command and is an increased capability built from our existing fraud and cyber crime teams. When at full strength FALCON will be responsible for investigating all fraud and acquisitive cyber crime impacting London.

FALCON has now taken responsibility for Action Fraud/National Intelligence Bureau referrals for 12 Boroughs and will grow to cover the whole of the MPS as staff numbers increase. The new unit currently consists of two volume fraud hubs (based at Peckham and Edmonton police stations), a small task force, the existing cyber crime unit and the complex fraud and prevention teams. Specialist hubs will be established in the east and west of London.

Already we are seeing some fantastic results from the teams working together and in partnership with London’s businesses with a number of arrests and charges as a result. On 19th August FALCON conducted an operation which centred on a criminal network that was obtaining the identity of innocent members of the public and fraudulently opening on-line credit accounts. This particular network relied on the co-operation of a delivery driver. Using staff from both the FALCON hubs at Peckham and Edmonton and the Task Force a proactive operation resulted in the lorry driver’s arrest and subsequent charges of conspiracy in relation to two fraud matters and an additional charge of theft.

Sutton Council subsidises halls and theatres by £5.65 per visit on average; 22% of residents use them.

Options include retaining historic buildings and improving our heritage offer; community groups taking ownership of theatres or council selling them.

Arts development outreach service could be created to support local groups.

Sutton Council has launched a review of it arts and cultural services in order to help make £40m worth of savings to its annual budget over the next five years.

The savings are being forced by unprecedented reductions in funding from central government and growing demand for council services.

The council has come up with proposals to protect the borough’s heritage as much as possible while having to make difficult savings in arts and culture where a minority of residents use the services. From 8 September residents will be able to give their views via an online survey at www.suttonsfuture.org. The council is also running a telephone survey and a workshop for arts groups. The review is part of the Sutton’s Future campaign which encourages the public get involved in shaping the borough’s future.

Sutton has eight cultural venues: Secombe Theatre, Charles Cryer Theatre and workshop, Wallington Hall, Grove Hall, Whitehall, Honeywood Museum, Little Holland House and The Life Centre.

The venues cost £2.2m a year to run, and generate around £420,000 a year in revenue – meaning the council has to spend £1.8m a year on them. The theatres require investment to modernise and improve them, and Wallington Hall needs major renovation work.

Sutton Council is trying to be as fair as possible by making savings in some non essential services that are not used by everyone. A recent survey has shown that they are used by less than a quarter of residents (22%) and every visit costs the council an average of £5.65 to subsidise. The majority of local people (60%) who go to cultural events, do so outside Sutton. Since the Sutton’s Future survey launched on 10 July, residents have ranked cultural services as the least important service out of 14 services.

The council is proposing to protect the borough’s heritage by retaining the three historic houses and museums – Whitehall, Honeywood Museum, Little Holland House – and enhancing their offer through external grants such as the Heritage Lottery Fund. The council will match 10% of funding secured and has already successfully bid for £251,000 for a major restoration of Beddington Park. It currently has a further £6m worth of (HLF) bids in the pipeline.

In order to make necessary savings, the council is proposing to relinquish ownership of its four theatres and halls except Grove Hall which it would lease.

Cllr. Jill Whitehead

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

“Sadly, some very tough decisions must be made and we are trying to be as fair as possible. Each of these buildings and services are competing with private sector offerings and the cultural hub of central London. On average, we subsidise each visit to a cultural venue to the tune of £5.65 yet less than a quarter of residents use the services. That is a big drain on our finances at a time when we need to make £40m in savings to protect universal services and support for our most vulnerable residents.

“We believe museums are essential to protecting the borough’s heritage. We are working closely with the Heritage Lottery Fund to bring in external funding that will improve our offer for future generations. We are looking very closely at all the options, but some closures are inevitable to make savings. If there was another way, we would be taking it.”

Proposals include:

• Boosting the borough’s heritage offer by securing external funding for Whitehall, Honeywood Museum, Little Holland House along with other sites including Beddington Park and The Grange Garden
• Meeting with arts groups to see if they want to, and are financially capable of, taking over the ownership and management of Secombe Theatre and Charles Cryer Studio Theatre. If that is not possible, the sites will be sold.
• To sell Wallington Hall as it is in extremely poor condition both internally and externally.
• To lease Grove Hall which is currently mainly used as a nursery
• To review The Sutton Life Centre. The educational facility was used by 137,976 visitors in the last financial year. It includes a library, a community centre, meeting space, a climbing wall and a multi-use games area.
• To set up an Arts Development Outreach Serviceto support cultural and community groups. It could deliver an arts programme, deliver grants, help groups get funding and find venues.

There will be a workshop where arts groups can meet with councillors and council staff to register their interest in taking over one of the two theatres, and give their views on the Arts Development Outreach Service.

Residents have until 3 October to take part in the online survey. It is expected that a decision will then be taken on the proposals at November’s Environment and Neighbourhoods Committee meeting.

·Online and telephone surveys set up as part of Sutton’s Future

·Service costs £736,000 a year to operate

Sutton Council is asking its residents to help decide the future of green garden waste collection in the borough.

The change is part of the Sutton’s Future campaign which encourages the public to work with the council to help make £40m worth of savings to the council’s annual budget. The savings are being forced by unprecedented reductions to our funding and growing demand for council services.

The discretionary service, which is currently free, costs £736,000 a year. The significant cost, combined with the fact that many people without gardens or home compost pay for a service they don’t use while others use it irregularly, means the council is proposing to change the service by either stopping it and providing alternatives or charging for it.

Green garden waste collection (GGW) is currently paid for by Sutton’s 78,174 households through their council tax bill, although the vast majority of the borough’s 27,336 flats, maisonettes and apartments don’t use it.

It is a service that is also charged for in neighbouring boroughs. For example Kingston charge £71 a year, Merton charge £65 a year and Richmond charge £60 a year.

Sutton Council is offering on a range of ways where people can make their views known. There will be three ‘Have Your Say’ events where people can share their views. A GGW online survey will run between 9 September and 3 October, and there will also be a telephone survey of 1,000 residents. Participants of the telephone survey will be picked at random.

The council is proposing two options for residents to have their say on:

·Option One – To charge for the service so that only those who use it pay for it. The council would provide customers with a 240 litre capacity wheeled bin (equivalent to three current sacks) but charge users £59 per annum for the service (£49 if they sign up before 15 February every year). There are other options such as smaller bins, shared bins and biodegradable sacks if space is limited. The collections would start in July 2015 and continue to be fortnightly. We would need to sign up at least 10,000 customers for this service to be viable, otherwise the service will be stopped.

The charge is comparable to neighbouring boroughs of Merton, Richmond and Kingston.

·Option Two – To stop fortnightly collections but help residents with other ways of dealing with green garden waste including providing a free compost bin (£5 delivery charge) and community composting sites around the borough

Councillor Colin Hall, Deputy Leader of Sutton Council, said:

“With £40m to save from our annual budget there are hard decisions to be made. We are trying to be as fair as possible. Green Garden Waste collection is a service currently paid for by everyone, although thousands of households don’t have access to it.

“We want to hear what residents think about the future of the service. We can either stop it and provide alternatives such as composting, or we can charge for it to cover the £736,000 a year it costs to run the service. We are proposing a charge of £59 with an early bird discount to £49 – so that’s roughly £1 a week.

“From September 9, people can have their say via the green garden waste online survey or find out more about our workshops by visiting www.suttonsfuture.org.”

The events where people can discuss Green Garden Waste are:

·Have Your Say event, 7.30pm to 9.30pm, Wednesday 24 September at Holy Trinity Church, Malden Road, Wallington, SM6 8BL

·Have Your Say event, 6.30pm to 8.30pm, Thursday 25 September at MR1, Civic Offices, St Nicholas Way, SM1 1EA

·Have Your Say event, 2pm to 4pm, Tuesday 30 September at Sutton Life Centre, 24 Alcorn Close, SM3 9PX

Do come and visit the Carshalton Park Environmental Fair for one of South London’s best days out!  We are praying for dry weather as the forecast as of today Friday is for rain on the bank holiday!

Alan, Jill and Hamish will probably be there most of the day – do come and talk to us as your local councillors. We’ll be helping out (as usual) on one of the Lib Dem FOCUS Bookstalls….!

Cllr. Alan Salter on the FOCUS bookstall in Sutton High Street

Over 150 stalls, children’s activities, local craft, interactive demonstrations, farmers’ market, music and performing arts, lots of tasty food, a bar with real ales and more, information, campaign groups and more…. showcasing local sustainability initiatives. There’s even a FREE bus to get you there! On average around 10,000 people attend. The event is organised by EcoLocal with a team of volunteers.The Carshalton Environmental Fair is held in Carshalton Park , Ruskin Road, Carshalton, SM5 3DD – follow this link for more map link and bus details etc.

Contact details:
E-Mail: fair@ecolocal.org.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/envfair
Twitter: @envfair
Postal address – The Environmental Fair, Ecolocal, The Old School House, Mill Lane, Carshalton, Surrey SM5 2LY

A letter is in from Penny Mordaunt MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government… please let Jill, Alan and Hamish know what you think!

Dear colleague

TOWN CENTRES AND HIGH STREETS

In my new role as Minister for Town Centres and High Streets, I wanted to let you know about an opportunity for you to praise and publicise the hard work of your local High Street partners, giving them the chance to win a cash prize and further support, by participating in our Great British High Streets Awards 2014. You might recall that my predecessor wrote to you in June when the competition was launched, and I can now confirm that thanks to business partners (Boots, M&S, Costa Coffee, BIRA and others) we now have a cash fund available to the winning towns. I’m sure you’ll agree that as well as celebrating the amazing work going on in town centres and on high streets up and down the country, this money could be really welcomed by your local town.

Given this support from business, I wanted to take this opportunity to also extend the closing date from 1 August to 30 August, ensuring more time is available for those wanting to apply.

In addition, I’m keen to showcase your support for your local towns and so we’ve added a section to the Great British High Street online portal (www.thegreatbritishhighstreet.co.uk) that specifically highlights where MPs are supporting the campaign in their constituencies. If you want to pledge your support you can do so by sending your name to highstreets@communities.gsi.gov.uk.

We are not just looking for beautiful or historically strong centres, we want examples of innovation and collaboration, celebrating where local people are making a real difference. Therefore, this competition really is open to all high streets, including those undergoing or starting regeneration.

I hope you’ll get involved in this campaign and help showcase the good work that high street partnerships have done locally. Many of you will be out and about around the country this summer and I would encourage you to tweet and upload photos to the online portal of high streets you visit, as well as those in your constituency, and together we can celebrate their hard work and success.

If you would like further information or indeed a discussion about what is going on in your local area or help and advice that we might be able to provide, please do get in touch with the team Mark.Livesey@communities.gsi.gov.uk

PENNY MORDAUNT MP

Fox and Hounds pub with a vintage Routemaster bus passing by!

What is Little Holland House? Visit the former house of Frank R Dickinson (1874-1961), artist, designer and craftsman, who built his house between 1902-04 in the English Arts and Crafts style, following the teachings and philosophies of William Morris and John Ruskin.

Inside the Grade II listed interior are his hand-made furniture, paintings, interior decoration, carvings and metalwork, which still inspire visitors today. With very limited resources Dickinson built the house and its furniture himself. Further more information call 020 8770 4781. When: Sunday 24 and Monday 25 August, 1.30-5.30pm

Where: Little Holland House, 40 Beeches Avenue, Carshalton, Surrey SM5 3LW Entry: Group visits and guided tours available at £5 per person, outside normal opening hours.

A unique interpretation of the English Arts and Crafts Movement…