Jill, Alan and Hamish have been asking for potholes to be repaired in various parts of the Carshalton Central neighbourhood in quite a number of areas following the cold winter and cold spring with the frost often breaking up the road surfaces and sometimes pavement surfaces…

Locations include the section of Wrythe Lane near West Street, Carshalton, and Milton Avenue, Sutton.  There has been a recent outbreak of orange markings in roads and on pavements in our ward from the borders with Sutton Central ward down to West Street – indicating where potholes wait to be repaired. Repairs in the area in and around Rotherfield Road were undertaken on Friday 3rd May 2013, for instance.  Cllr. Jill Whitehead says: “We have also asked for the pot holes in King’s Lane between the two railway bridges to be dealt with”.

Dear friend,

On Thursday 9th May 2013, local GPs and other clinicians met to discuss the future of St Helier Hospital and the proposals put forward by the Better Service Better Value (BSBV) review. Very disappointingly, the Sutton Clinical Commissioning Group has accepted the three proposals recommended by the BSBV review.
 
This is despite the clear opposition to these proposals that local campaigners and I presented to the meeting.
 
The decision means that St Helier is at risk of becoming a “local hospital”, losing its A&E and maternity units and Epsom is also potentially losing its frontline services, becoming a centre for elective care.
 
The second option, but less preferred by BSBV is Epsom becoming the local hospital with St Helier becoming the centre for elective care. The third option is St Helier continuing as an acute hospital with Epsom becoming the centre for elective care and Croydon University Hospital becoming the most downgraded.
 
But this is not a done deal.
 
These recommendations still need to be approved by the other Clinical Commissioning Groups in South West London before they will be subject to a public consultation.
 
I can assure you that I will continue to fight tooth and nail for the future of our local hospital. Over the next few days and weeks, I will be working with other local campaigners to plan how we can make sure the voice of the local community is heard.
 
We will be taking our campaign to the next level to ensure that NHS bosses can be in no doubt – we want to Save Our St Helier!  
 
In the meantime, make sure you have signed the petition in support of our hospital and encourage others to do so too. You can also show your support for St Helier by commenting on and sharing this facebook post.
 
Finally, if you want to know why these proposals are wrong for our local area and to find out more about the campaign, visit www.saveoursthelier.co.uk.   
 
By working together we can save our local hospital.
 
Tom Brake MP
Liberal Democrat for Carshalton and Wallington

PS: Make sure you have also signed the ‘Save Our St Helier’ Petition by clicking here.

Published and promoted by Sutton Lib Dems on behalf of Tom Brake MP, Room 2 Kennedy House, 5 Nightingale Road, Carshalton SM5 2DN.

The Upper Mill in happier times

Following concerns expressed by the Friends of The Grove Park, local residents and local councillors, here is the response from council officers on the repairs to the Upper Mill, Grove Park, Carshalton:-

Dear Councillor Pollock

The Upper Mill

Thank you for your enquiry on behalf of Jean Raffe, Hon. Secretary of the Friends of Grove Park. The Upper Mill is managed by the Museum and Heritage Service, although it has no direct budget allocation. 

The Upper Mill has been subject to vandalism, particularly since May 2011 but the Council’s insurance does not cover malicious damage as the building is unoccupied and not in use. We are very concerned about the issues raised and have investigated various solutions to this problem. 

A temporary covering was installed over the Upper Mill to protect it from the weather in late 2011 but this has deteriorated and now needs replacing. The cost of replacing with a heavy duty covering that would be less susceptible to the weather is estimated at £4500. 

The Council’s Museum and Heritage Service and the Property Services Team have discussed replacing the roof tiles with a vandal proof steel tile that has the appearance of traditional roof tiles. I am waiting for a quote to do this work. It would require Listed Building Consent but English Heritage have indicated that they would be happy with this solution. 

The Council has discussed the Upper Mill with the Heritage Lottery Fund officers but, because of the limitations of access, they were not optimistic that a financial bid would be successful to refurbish the facility. I have also spoken with the Wandle Trust to see if the Upper Mill could form part of their work in Carshalton, but again there were issues with access and funding.

A further temporary weatherproof covering is one of the items being considered for the Council’s Public Realm Funding by the Area Committee on 15^th May 2013. The Heritage Service is continuing to explore ways of providing the Upper Mill with a secure future.

I will keep you informed of any opportunities that arise.

Yours sincerely

Jane Allen, Service Manager: Heritage

Jill, Alan and Hamish have asked the Council officers to get the yellow lines in the Mill Lane area refreshed at various junctions with side roads such as Gurney Road, Papermill Close, and Palmerston Road and some of these have since been attended to by the Council.

We have asked that the yellow lines in Westcroft Road near the junction with Scawen Close be repainted as well, as they have almost completely worn away. We’ve been told that the work will be done soon.

The Diamond Centre for Disabled Riders

GOLF CHARITY TOURNAMENT

at The Oaks Golf & Conference Centre

Woodmansterne Road  Carshalton  Surrey SM5 4AN

on Thursday 23 May 2013

Golfers

There will be two groups with approximately 20 golfers playing the 18 hole course with a first tee off at 9.00 am and 8 golfers playing the 9 hole course teeing off at 11.00 am.

 

Teams of four will play the 18 hole and individuals the 9 hole.  Please aim to be at the Clubhouse at 8.00 am for coffee and bacon rolls.

 

Drinks in the Bar from 1.00 pm to 2 pm.  Lunch in the Restaurant at 2.00pm.

 

Fees

Minimum Fees of £40.00 per golfer for the 18 hole and £25.00 for the 9 hole. Donations to The Diamond Centre will be greatly appreciated.

 

Prizes

The Diamond Centre Golf Trophy and Prizes will be presented by Donna (the owner of the Oaks Golf & Conference Centre) and Steve Axon, Chairman of The Diamond Centre.

 

This is a Charity Fun Day and following lunch players are invited to visit The Diamond Centre for a brief tour of our arenas and stables with the opportunity to meet some of our riders and staff.

 

We wish to thank the Management and Staff of the Oaks Golf and Conference Centre for their continual support of the Diamond Centre over many years.

 

All communication regarding this event to Steve Axon  on 07771 914697 or diamondreport@hotmail.com

 

Steve Axon

Chairman of Trustees, The Diamond Centre for Disabled Riders

Woodmansterne Road, Carshalton, Surrey SM5 4DT

Progress photos of Honours Mead, The Park, Carshalton (conversion of the former Carshalton War Memorial Hospital built in the 1920s) were taken by Cllr. Hamish Pollock on Monday, 6th May 2013.

There will be about a dozen new homes created out of the original hospital building, the more modern extensions having been demolished.

View of Honours Mead from Ashcombe Court, The Park

Cllr. Hamish Pollock passed by the Old Carshalton Library in The Square on Tuesday, 7th May 2013, a building that is now in private hands following the recent auction.

Here is the scaffolding and start of a major refurbishment to become a children’s nursery.

Old Carshalton Library, The Square

It is very pleasing to see the complete restoration of 16 The Park after languishing for many years in an empty and rather neglected state, with the formation of new roof dormer windows to front and back.

This charming little house is situated next to Corbould Close and it is believed that it was originally built at the same time as the Carshalton War Memorial in the early1920s.

16 The Park undergoing substantial restoration work

The bollards at the back of even-numbered houses in Ruskin Road are clear to all to see. They mark the extent of the huge underground air raid shelter built by Carshalton Urban District Council in 1939 prior to the outbreak of World War Two.  Please don’t park your vehicle over the shelter!

The park, along with surrounding houses, is within the Carshalton Park Conservation Area, the establishment of which Cllr. Hamish Pollock was involved with as one of the then two local councillors in the early 1990s.

Bollards Marking the Air Raid Shelter