How do you think access to GP services in Sutton could be better? Do you find it easy to book an appointment with your GP or is there room for improvement?

Healthwatch Sutton wants your views to help improve GP services in your borough.  If you want to have your say, and see health services improved for the better, take part in this consultation today as with your feedback local health services will be able to see where things work well and where improvements can be made.

To give your views complete the survey at www.surveymonkey.com/s/suttongpaccess – it will only take 5-10 minutes to complete.

Dr Brendan Hudson, Chair, Sutton Clinical Commissioning Group said;

“This is a great opportunity for residents to have their say about accessing GP services, we are really looking forward to seeing our patient’s views, and they will help to shape our future primary care services, which are commissioned by NHS England. I would strongly encourage all residents to take part in this consultation.”

Healthwatch Sutton is a local independent charity that is set up to be the ‘consumer champion’ for health and social care in Sutton. The organisation engages with members of the public to find out their views and experiences of local health and social care services, and then using this information they can influence the way local services are delivered in Sutton.

If you are unable to complete the survey online or would like a paper copy please contact Healthwatch Sutton on 020 8641 9540 we can send a paper version with a freepost envelope.

If you need information, advice or assistance regarding health and social care issues please contact the Healthwatch Sutton team based at SCILL on 020 8770 4665 or email healthwatch@scill.org.uk

If you need support in making a complaint about a local health and social care provider please contact 020 8641 9540.

If you would like find out more or become a member please contact us on 020 8641 9540 or email info@healthwatchsutton.org.uk

Over 150 young Sutton athletes aged between 9-17yrs took part in numerous different sports at the finals weekend of the Balfour Beatty London Youth Games, held at Crystal Palace National Sports last weekend.

The Sutton athletes joined thousands of other young athletes from all the London Boroughs in the annual min-Olympics style sports festival.

Highlights for Sutton were the Boys Table Tennis who pulled off an amazing victory over rivals Barnet in what turned out to be a very tense and tight 5 game match. Also victorious were the Sutton Girls Squash team who for the third year in a row, reigned supreme and outclassed their finalist opponents, also from Barnet, to once again take home the squash trophy for Sutton.

Other notable successes for Sutton were the mixed Badminton team who narrowly missed out on the gold to win the silver team medal, as well as the girls Football team who just missed getting through to the finals on penalties, before claiming a valiant bronze team medal. Not to be outdone by Wimbledon Tennis, Sutton’s tennis players showed their skill and nerve by claiming a hard thought 4^th team place in the mixed tennis competition.

Other teams in action included: Boys Squash, Netball, Boys Swimming, Aquathlon, Girls Hockey and Archery; who all gained a top 10 position in their competitions, as well as the Girls Swimming, Cycling, Diving, Athletics and Boys Football.

Individual medals were also won by Sutton competitors in the Athletics, Aquathlon and Diving competitions. Other sports teams competed earlier in the season as part of the same competition, including the Sutton Judo team, where the girls won the silver team medal; and also the boys Handball team who took the bronze team medal. Not forgetting the boys and girls Paragames Swimming Teams who won silver for their team back in June.

The annual London Youth Games competition kicked off in November with the Cross Country event, all the way through to Sunday evening, 6 July – with Sutton finishing in 15^th place in the overall championship, out of all 33 London Boroughs.  Throughout the year there were weeks and months of open sports trials and training sessions at various venues in Sutton, leading up to the Games’ finals. All sports teams are managed and trained by an army of volunteer sports coaches from across Sutton’s local sports clubs.

Councillor Cllr Ruth Dombey, Leader of Sutton Council said:

“The sporting achievements of the borough’s youngsters have been quite brilliant; they have made the entire borough proud. The London Youth Games are a tremendous occasion and it was fantastic to see Sutton do so well. It has been an honour to watch all our athletes compete.”

Councillor Jill Whitehead said:

“I’d like to congratulate everyone who took part in the London’s Youth Games 2014. Yet again our youth have given some fabulous individual and team performances. A big thank you should also go to the coaches and parents who nurture this sporting talent.”

Cllr. Jill Whitehead

Sutton will soon start to prepare for the 2015 Games. To be eligible for the Sutton team, athletes must either live within the London Borough of Sutton or attend a Sutton School. All training and competition is free. To find out how you can take part next year contact the Sutton Community Sport & Activity Team on: 020 8770 4667 or e-mail getactivestayactive@sutton.gov.uk or check out Sutton Council website;- https://www.sutton.gov.uk/londonyouthgames

Chair Councillor Hamish Pollock says:

“Do come along to the Carshalton and Clockhouse Local Committee on Tuesday, 8th July 2014 at Clockhouse Community Hall, 42 Fryston Avenue, Coulsdon CR5 2PT. The main meeting will start at 730pm however there will be a display starting from 7pm regarding the Local Implementation Plan (highways and environmental improvements around the borough).”

We will hear about:-

• Police Matters: Inspector Ian Hicks to tell us about the Safer Neighbourhood Teams work in the two wards that make up our local committee area.
• Plans for the Borough’s Commemorative Events taking place at Carshalton Ponds on Sunday 3^rd August 2014. There are ceremonies to commemorate the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War on 4^th August 1914 and the dedication of the new Carshalton WW2 Memorial that was promoted by this committee.
• Corrigan Avenue Pavilion. Mark Dalzell, Head of Parks  will tell us about the future plans for the pavilion.
• School Expansion Programme Proposals Update.  We will hear about the latest situation with regard to St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Junior School and Sherwood Park School.
• Carshalton and Clockhouse Locality Needs Profile
• Local Implementation Plan and some Highways and Traffic Schemes.
• Neighbourhood Grant Applications.
• Public Realm Schemes.
• Festive Lighting Schemes.

Relatives and friends of servicemen and women from Sutton whose names feature on the new Carshalton WWII memorial are being urged to come forward.

The two War Memorials

Sutton Council is honouring those who fell in World War II with a commemoration service on August 3^rd at the Carshalton War Memorial Gardens – Honeywood Walk, and would like any relatives or friends of those whose names feature on the memorial to be attendance. This August will be 100 years from the outbreak of WWI – with the date to be marked by a programme of commemorative events across the country.

The commemoration service will launch the activities planned in Sutton to mark the centenary of World War One and honour those who served in the 1939-45 conflict. At the end of the ceremony poppies will be floated on Carshalton Ponds followed by the chance to view ‘The War to end all Wars’ exhibition at the Honeywood Museum.

Councillor Jill Whitehead, Chair of Sutton’s Environment and Neighbourhood Committee said:

“The commemoration service will give us all a chance to say thank you for the sacrifices these men and women have made on our behalf. I hope that we can find as many family and friends of those listed to share in this moment.We should always cherish the memory and example of those who took part in these conflicts; they went through the very worst so we could live in a better world.”

For the full list of names on the memorial and for more information on programme of commemorative events across Sutton please e-mail kath.shawcross@sutton.gov.uk

A cash boost of £301,313 has been awarded to Sutton Council to repair potholes on the borough’s roads.The money has been allocated to the borough from a £168 million grant by the Department for Transport’s (DfT) Pothole Repair Fund.

Last year (April 2013 – March 2014) Sutton repaired 1957 potholes compared to 701 repairs that were completed in the previous year. Sutton has also repaired every single pot hole reported to it via its website or customer service line.

A recent Sutton residents’ survey by Ipsos MORI showed that 43% of Sutton residents felt improving the condition of roads and pavements was a key issue for the borough.

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

“The residents of Sutton have made it clear that the condition of roads and pavements is of paramount importance to them.Through this successful bid this we will be able to significantly improve our roads and pavements as well as allowing us to continue in our aim of fixing every single pot hole that is reported directly to the council, something we proudly achieved in 2013.”

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said:

“Potholes are the bane of all our lives and the funding announced today is an important step in ridding our roads of this menace. But it is only one part of a massive programme of investment to get our country up to speed as part of this government’s long-term economic plan.”

What causes potholes?

Potholes are caused when moisture gets into the cracks in the road, which then expand in cold weather when they are frozen. The holes get bigger as vehicles repeatedly drive over them, causing damage to the structure of the road below surface layer.

Residents are encouraged to report any potholes they see either via the dedicated section of the website or by calling the council customer service line on 020 8770 5000.

Sutton Council’s planning department has received a planning application for:-

Demolition of existing buildings and erection of a residential development comprising nine 4 – bedroomed two storey houses with roof accommodation together with car parking, secure cycle facilities, refuse storage areas, provision of access road and associated landscaping.

The site is located in a long thin parcel of land between Wallace Crescent (odd numbers) and Carshalton Park Road (low even numbers).

Planning Application Number:  C2014/69627.

Consultation Period Ends:  Tuesday, 8th July 2014.

If you wish to view the plans or make comments on them, or lodge an objection, you can visit Sutton Council’s Development Control section at the Environment and Neighbourhoods Dept. at 24 Denmark Road, Carshalton SM5 2JG, tel. 020 8770 5070, or go on line at:

http://gis.sutton.gov.uk/FASTWEB and type in under the planning application number: C2014/69627.

Planning permission for the revised planning application for London House, 42 West Street, Carshalton SM5 2PR (C2014/69012 and C2013/69013) was granted at the meeting of the Council’s planning committee on Wednesday, 25th June.  Both residents’ representatives and also Carshalton Central Cllr. Jill Whitehead addressed the committee over their concerns over the shortcomings of the proposals.  The proposals were however granted planning permission.

This application was to convert existing office space to provide three two-bedroom maisonettes and three three-bedroom terraced houses. The changes since the original application included a reduction in size and scale to a new two-storey building with roof accommodation to be built on the site of the existing car parking space at the rear to provide three two–bedroomed maisonettes together with nine car parking spaces.

The plans involve demolition of a building within the curtilage of a Grade 2 listed building, and alterations to the interior and exterior of the listed building. The new bungalow style stand-alone building on the rear car park site, though reduced in height, will be close to properties in Sycamore Close, Beechwood Court and West Street Lane, and also West Lodge in West Street Lane, which was built in 1738 and is one of Carshalton’s most historic buildings. The new building would still come right up to its boundary.

West Street is part of the Carshalton Conservation Area, and any new development in the area would need to respect the Grade 2 listing of the building, and protect existing amenities. The revised plans whilst improved still represent over-development as far as local councillors are concerned, and will not provide much amenity space for the residents in the new homes. As the number of units will still be largely same, this will still cause traffic problems with entrances and exits onto West Street. It is necesary that historic features such as a 17^th century boundary wall, which needs to be protected.

The photo taken below recently by Cllr. Hamish Pollock of the two war memorials by the Ponds at the heart of Carshalton.

The two War Memorials as viewed from Church Hill, Carshalton