Proposed Cycle Path in The Grove Park & The Next Meeting of the Carshalton & Clockhouse Local Committee

 

Councillor JilL Whitehead pictured in The Grove Park by the bridge to Westcroft Leisure Centre

Councillor Jill Whitehead pictured in The Grove Park by the bridge to Westcroft Leisure Centre

Cllr. Jill Whitehead reports:

“On Tuesday, 15th October 2013, your local councillors all attended the regular committee meeting of the Friends of The Grove Park of which Cllr. Hamish Pollock is chair and of which I am a past chair and now a committee member. We learned of the proposals by an organisation called Sustrans about their proposal for a new cycle path (to be shared with pedestrians!) in The Grove Park between the gate at Papermill Close and the ballcourts by the bowls pavilion towards the High Street, Carshalton, together with a link up using the existing footpath leading to the newly refurbished Westcroft Leisure Centre.” 

The footbridge near to the Westcroft Centre (see picture)would be widened to 3 metres also. Generally speaking, the existing/old paths would be followed but widened substantially, as the route of the cycle path which would be approx. 3 metres wide (10 feet in old money). 

This proposal is part of a borough wide strategy to improving cycling routes following requests from local residents and cycling organisations.  Proposals are being developed for cycle paths in both Carshalton Park and The Oaks Park in Carshalton.

Much was discussed  on Tuesday- including removal of the existing footpath’s “blind spot” by the bowls pavilion, the proposed colour of the path’s surface and the metal edging, the surface of the path being durable and non-slip for the steeper parts, directional signs and notices for cyclists and pedestrians.  A land drainage pipe would be taken under the path where it crosses the ditch near Papermill Close

Further details will be available and will be discussed at the next Carshalton & Clockhouse Local Committee to be held from 730pm on Tuesday, 19th November at Carshalton Beeches Baptist Church, Banstead Road, Carshalton Beeches, quite near the parades of shops.  Please let us know what you think.

Plenty of parking available in Sutton town centre

Gibson Road Car Park, Sutton

Gibson Road Car Park, Sutton

Parking spaces have continued to be easily available in Sutton town centre car parks following the closure of Brighton Road car park on 30th September. Former Brighton Road users have moved over to other car parks but there is still plenty of spare capacity.

Cllr Jill Whitehead, Chair of Sutton’s Environment and Neighbourhoods Committee, said: “We studied parking capacity and usage very carefully before we made the decision to close Brighton Road and were confident there was sufficient space available. We are pleased that it has started well and will continue to monitor the situation.We realise, of course, that it has been inconvenient for some drivers and we are grateful for their willingness to change their routines.”

Opening hours at Gibson Road car park have been extended to 6am-11.30pm to help drivers and, again, this has proved sufficient to meet the need of commuters for an earlier opening and later closing time. Although some people were concerned that the closure may stimulate extra demand for on-street parking, this has not been the case. Nor have there been problems with long queues of cars waiting to get into the car parks or any unusual issues with traffic flow through the borough.

Jill added: “We are not complacent and council parking staff will continue to monitor the impact in the coming weeks and months, but thus far we are very pleased with how the closure has been managed.”

SCOLA’s Hub for Innovation, Networking & Entrepreneurship

shineSCOLA (Sutton College) is the premier provider of adult education and training in the London Borough of Sutton offering over 1000 part-time courses in the day and evening. Enrol on a course to gain qualifications or pick up a new skill.

The SCOLA SHINE (SCOLA’s Hub for Innovation, Networking & Entrepreneurship) initiative is now one year old.

Working with clients to develop their businesses from start ups, growing and established businesses, the project has had a successful first year.

To celebrate, SCOLA will be holding a week of FREE events/seminars as below and hope that you can join us.

We will also be launching the new SHINE Club. For under £20 per month members can access flexible workspace facilities, networking opportunities, a diverse range of seminars as well as help with leads & funds.

More details on the SHINE Club will be revealed at our launch week, starting with our evening celebration at the SHINE centre on Tuesday 5th November, 6pm.

To join us at this free event, please RSVP to business@scola.ac.uk

The London Borough of Sutton, working in partnership with SCOLA is offering businesses the opportunity to access a range of business support measures in a professional environment. SHINE will act as a springboard allowing businesses to become successful and sustainable in these difficult economic times and will provide facilities for businesses to meet and network.

“SHINE is a great way to strengthen existing businesses and support new ones. The London Borough of Sutton recognises the value of our District Centres and is working hard to strengthen their economic vitality.” – Amanda Cherrington, Head of Economic Renewal and Business Environment, London Borough of Sutton.

Westmead Road – Drainage Clearing….

Following a number of residents’ complaints taken up by the FOCUS team recently, local Poets’ Estate resident and local Cllr. Jill Whitehead reports: “Thames Water have just completed a dredge of all the drainage outlets in Westmead Road and roads off it, and cleared out years and years of old build up of silt as well as other things blocking the flow (such as builders’ rubble). 

Policing the St. Philomena’s School Car Boot Fairs noise and disturbance. Local councillors ask the council officers to investigate…

Your local councillors have taken up residents’ complaints about the perennial St. Philomena’s School Car Boot Fairs which occur about 5 times a year. We have asked the appropriate Council department to talk to St. Philomena’s school again about their car boot sales – in particular this coming Sunday’s event (13th October) – as local residents’ patience is wearing thin in regard to very early morning noise and disturbance?

The real issue for local people and ourselves as councillors is the start time.  The school gates open to sellers at 6.30am, which means that cars and vans generally start arriving and queuing from 5.30am onwards on a Sunday, with all the noise, radios, shouting and engine noise this entails, not to speak of car horns being used.
 
Local residents are obviously in a built-up residential area, not a field remote from residences, but this does not appear to have been considered by the school.  Ideally we would all like to see a later start time of say 8am entry to sellers – this would give us a least the opportunity of some peace for local residents so early on Sundays. 

However, we would remind everyone that these car boot fairs are not limited by any planning consent or planning conditions, as none are required by planning law which is laid down by Parliament and not by Sutton Council.
 
One of the three of us lives about one quarter of a mile down the road from this event and also gets such disturbances, and so we can well understand residents’ frustrations. Parking and congestion is also very bad in the area whenever these events take place.
 
We would hope that the school will be more helpful, sympathetic and community minded towards local residents’ concerns. We are seeking council officers’ help in persuading the school to police its parking, and prevent noise and disturbance occurring would help. More in a future posting…

Secondary school places in Sutton borough: Admissions….

School admissions: Secondary school admissions operate on a preference based system, and it is not always possible to offer every child their top preference or, in a small number of cases, any of their preferences. Sutton local education authority’s firm recommendation is for parents to consider all schools local to them – whether in Sutton or in neighbouring Boroughs – and to try to use all of their six preferences.

With regard to any parent home educating their children, whilst this is a suitable arrangement for some families, the Council’s education department would not advise a parent to maintain this whilst waiting for a preferred school, particularly if they are some way down the waiting list; once term is in full flow, movement is very slow and a place may not come up for months or even years, if at all.

Within the admissions system, all schools must consider applicants equally, regardless of which Borough they reside in, and we have to be midlful of the principles of the Greenwich Judgement.

This Greenwich judgement required that schools must not treat pupils living outside the local authority area in which the school is located less favourably just because they live outside the area. To simplify, this means that a catchment area or areas cannot, when taken together, align entirely with the home local authority’s boundary.

Whilst competition for places at the grammar schools is fierce, if out-Borough students were not considered, the standards for entry would not be affected and the same test pass marks would exist. If their child is of grammar school standard, and this is a route they wished to consider, we would recommend they take the test at the appropriate time.

The admissions literature is clear on the types of school in Sutton, and how the application process works. More detailed information is given on school open evenings and any parent meetings the primary schools hold to discuss transition.

With regard to school places, there is a report publically available on the internet about school places (the Council’s Children, Family and Education Committee -being held on Thursday, 10th October 2013.) which states that subject to Committee approval, local grammar schools will be expanded in Sutton, as well as comprehensive schools.  Details of which schools are stated in the report (visit www.sutton.gov.uk for details).  The report also states that secondary expansion is not required until September 2015 and we are planning accordingly for this date. 

Local residents may wish to familiarise themselves with the above report, which for the secondary sector is succinct.  Sutton Council is working with Secondary Headteachers with regard to Phase 2 (September 2016) and a longer term strategy which may include a new secondary school.

Ruskin Road / Park Lane Traffic Lights / Pedestrian Crossings Junction

The roadworks have been underway for the last few days at this busy junction with temporary traffic signals in place.  Local councillors Jill, Hamish and Alan have been advised the road works should be completed for the Park Lane/Ruskin Road junction signal modification works sometime in October.  These road works are based on the scheme that was agreed by the council’s Carshalton Local Committee after the local residents’ consultation earlier this year.

IMG01801-20120406-1238

Cllr. Jill Whitehead reports: “Local councillors originally asked for this safety improvement scheme because All Saints’ Primary School was being expanded from 35 to 60 pupils each year (from last September), and there would be many more parents with young children wanting to cross the road. The scheme is being promoted by Transport for London (TfL) for road safety reasons. Also, TfL are putting in a new innovative type of crossing which they are trying out here”.

 Cllr. Alan Salter says: “Residents may have questions regarding these works, so if you wish to discuss further, please contact Sutton Council’s project engineer on 020 8770 6455”.

Sutton Council will be placing yellow line restrictions in nearby parts of Park Lane to improve safety near the pedestrian crossing points on Park Lane north and south of its junction with Ruskin Road.  The yellow lines will prevent obstructive parking in Park Lane.

Water – Tom Brake MP asks for your views….

Dear Friend,

Sutton and East Surrey Water supply water to nearly 700,000 people locally. They are currently consulting on their business plan that will set the price of our water bills up until 2020. They are proposing to increase bills by £7 to £193 (excluding inflation). This will enable them to reduce leakage, the number of burst pipes and introduce a discounted tariff for those most in need. 

Sutton and East Surrey Water are asking local residents for their views on this proposed increase and you can respond by clicking on:-https://www.waterplc.com/pages/about/draft-business-plan-2015-2020-feedback/. In addition, they are asking customers for their views on the following choices and the impact they would have on your bills:

  • -£3 No resilience programme
  • +£3 Install a further 32,000 meters
  • +£5 An accelerated resilience programme
  • +£2 Reduce leakage by a further 500,000 litres

You can make your views known by completing the company’s online survey.  But I also want to know what you think about Sutton and East Surrey Water’s proposals, so that I can pass your comments onto Ofwat, the water regulator, which, ultimately will set your water bill until 2020.  Should water bills be increased by £7 so leaks can be reduced, resilience of the network increased and more meters installed? Should we be investing more in our water network?

Regards
Tom Brake Liberal Democrat for Carshalton and Wallington

Tom’s E-mail is:- brake@tombrake.co.uk

 

The Grove Park: Proposed Cycle Path Consultation – Cllr. Jill Whitehead writes…

Cllr. Jill Whitehead says:  “Last Saturday 28th September, I spoke about the large amount of  money invested by the Heritage Lottery Fund at the council’s local Honeywood Museum in Carshalton and also the Wandle Valley Partnership’s planned investment in a new cycle path in The Grove Park – the consultation was held last Saturday in the park.  The main speaker was Wesley Kerr Chair of the Heritage Lottery Fund Grants Committee for London, and former BBC TV journalist – he is also in the photo (the tall guy).”

The Grove Park - Cllr. Jill Whitehead and others

Cllr. Jill Whitehead and others