Real Christmas trees will be collected from Monday 7th January until Saturday 2nd February. Put them out next to your recycling bins on your collection day.

A state-of-the-art Sutton school has won a national award after being named the most technologically advanced in the country.  Stanley Park High School, a £35m project that opened earlier this year, won the distinguished London Design Award for a new build at the Education Business Award 2012.

Judges declared that Stanley Park High School had created the ideal space to “fire students’ enthusiasms”. It was commended for its seamless mix of new and old and the way the site is divided into four small logically arranged schools for different aspects of education. The Headteacher of Stanley Park High School said: “We are delighted to have won this fantastic award. In particular, I would like to say a big thank you to Alex Thomson, Deputy Headteacher, who ensured that we have a building that the students can be really proud of.”

Cllr. Dave Callaghan, Chair of the Children, Family and Education Committee said: “This is tremendous news and acknowledges the dedication and hard work that has gone into making sure that Sutton children and young people have the best possible education resources at their disposal. I’d like to congratulate everyone involved for winning this award.”

The award ceremony took place at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday 6 December 2012. For more information about the awards visit www.ebawards.co.uk.

There will be no waste and recycling bin collections on collections on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Instead, your bins will be collected on the next available working day

These items can all go in your green bin:

Christmas wrapping paper, all types including foil and plastic coated.

Christmas cards and envelopes, including those with glitter and novelties.

All card packaging from presents

Alan, Jill and Hamish recently received a message from the Council’s planning enforcement officer about the tiresome plethora of BT adverts appearing across Sutton and across London as well.

Dear Councillor,

I am writing to you in connection with the above advertisements which have started to appear on a number of BT equipment cabins throughout the Borough.

I’ve spoken to Rob Chapman who is the Regulatory Specialist Manager for BT Openreach and who is involved in the rollout of these advertisements across the country. I’ve explained to him that due to the suburban, attractive residential character of much of our Borough, these signs have a far greater impact on our surroundings than some of the more commercial inner city Boroughs such as Westminster, Southwark etc where advertising is more prevalent.

I have asked Mr Chapman to remove the signs but he has politely declined my request as BT Openreach consider that they do not require express advertisement consent. However my colleagues and I disagree with this. Their argument focuses around their contention that the Superfast Broadband box constitutes a “building” rather than an “equipment cabin” and therefore has deemed consent (they don’t need to apply to the Council for consent). Normally we would now be seeking to prosecute BT Openreach as it is an offence to display an advertisement without the necessary consent, however my colleagues in Westminster City Council are about to embark upon their own prosecution against these signs and have already obtained Counsel’s opinion on the strength of BT’s argument. On this occasion I think it would be prudent to wait and see how Westminster get on with their prosecution and learn from their experience.

In the meantime we have the situation where these signs appear to be spreading throughout the Borough and residents are justifiably frustrated that we aren’t taking any action against them.

Please find attached a copy of a self-adhesive vinyl sign I propose to stick over the adverts in question and a photograph of one in situ. It is without question at the sharper end of Planning Enforcement practice and is designed to remind the advertiser that the advert is unauthorised and also sow seeds of doubt in those looking at the advert whether the service advertised is still available or not. Hopefully it will generate adverse publicity for BT and will further persuade them to abandon this form of advertising at least in the London Borough of Sutton….

Regards,

Michael Lowe, Principal Planning Enforcement Officer

London Borough of Sutton,Environment and Leisure, 24 Denmark Road, Carshalton, Surrey SM5 2JG

BT Cabinet with Advert

Wentworth Hall viewed from the front

Local councillors have taken up with council officers various recent residents’ concerns about the external landscaping being built outside Wentworth Hall, 80 Ruskin Road, at the junction with Woodstock Road, Carshalton.

One concern has been the steepness of the external ramps not being suitable for wheelchair users and another the apparent lack of soft landscaping at the front.  We will report back on the findings of officers and the contents of the developer’s drawings which apparently have yet to be produced for external landscaping.

Wentworth Hall corner with Ruskin Road

Some photos were taken by Cllr. Hamish Pollock on Sunday 16th December 2012 of the current state of the building are below.

Wentworth Hall, rear view from Woodstock Road

A day or two ago, more than 8,500 London buses started to accept contactless debit, credit or charge cards to pay for single bus fares.

A traditional model of the London Routemaster Bus….

The new form of technology will allow passengers to use an American Express, MasterCard or Visa Europe contactless payment to directly pay for their bus journey.  Until the New Year fare rises, passengers will be charged the single Oyster fare of £1.35.
 
At some point in 2013 the technology will be extended to the Tube and the Docklands Light Railway and at this stage a daily cap is expected to be introduced as well, as already exists with Oyster cards.
 
Further information about how the ‘wave and pay’ operates can be seen at the TfL
and the BBC websites.
 
Commenting on the new technology Caroline Pidgeon said: “As wave and pay is rolled out across London, the Assembly will be keeping a close eye on its impact to provide the best deal.”
 
The London Assembly Transport Committee, which is chaired by Caroline Pidgeon, has long taken a close interest in how this new technology will operate.  Last year the committee published a report highlighting how the new technology should never exclude people without a bank account from being able to obtain the cheapest fares.
 
Please do keep us informed about your experience, especially any problems you might face, in using this new form of technology.
 
International coverage given to the campaign to change Oxford Street
 
The long standing London Liberal Democrat campaign to reduce road accidents, tackle air pollution and improve the shopping experience of the West End recently received international attention with a report from the Voice of America on the case for removing traffic from Oxford Street.  The report, featuring Stephen Knight, has been broadcast in numerous countries around the world and can be seen here.

You may have heard more about Kingston Hospital’s very “kind” offer to take over the management of the SW London Elective Orthopaedic Centre from St. Helier Hospital, Carshalton.  There are some issues with it…. we’re told that Sutton borough councillors will be questioning the health authorities about it when they get the chance to do so.

1. The offer is not “patient-focused”, it is about NHS managers playing at politics with peoples’ health.

2. Kingston Hospital (with support from Croydon and St George’s Hospitals) are trying to do this whilst the future of Epsom and St. Helier is uncertain.

3. Kingston Hospital wants the EOC (Elective Orthopaedic Centre) on their books to help their Foundation Trust application (it’s worth £30 million per annum).

4. Kingston Hospital wants the reputational benefit of the EOC.

5. Kingston, Croydon and St George’s hospitals are using a sledgehammer to crack a nut in relation to questions about how service level agreements between the EOC and Epsom Hospital are agreed and implemented.

6. NHS Managers are using Tax Payers’ money to fund what is little more than an internal hostile takeover bid.

NHS managers are accountable to no one, other than other more senior NHS Managers, which is why we think their plan really needs some rethinking!

You can read more by clicking on the link below:-

http://www.suttonguardian.co.uk/news/10067427.Leak_reveals_Epsom_and_St_Helier_Hospital_Trust_faces_handing_over_services_to_Kingston/

You can park for free in Wallington on weekends of Saturday 15th &  Sunday16th December 2012 and Saturday 22nd & Sunday 23rd December 2012 in Wallington’s main car parks – these are Wallington Library, Shotfield; Wallington Public Hall (Woodcote Road) and Melbourne Road.

Westcroft Leisure Centre - the new look

Only 50 days remain until the re-opening of the fully refurbished £11m Westcroft Leisure Centre.

The countdown kicked off last Saturday (8th December) as the state-of-the-art 21^st Century facility enters the final phase of work ahead of its grand opening on Saturday 26th January 2013.

Work to the centre has seen the development of a 160 station gym, two different sized swimming pools, an eight badminton court sized multi-use sports hall, a day spa, dance and spinning studios, crèche, café and library.

Cllr Jill Whitehead, Chair of Sutton’s Environment and Neighbourhoods Committee, said: “We are now in the final wave of the Westcroft development which will bring first class sport and leisure facilities to the borough. We want to see as many people as possible join us at Westcroft for its opening on January 26, and sample what the centre has to offer.”

“A huge amount of time and effort has been spent making sure that this centre can host top quality events. Hopefully, the centre can hone some of the borough’s sporting talent and train the next generation of Olympic talent.”

The new centre will welcome all sections of the community – from young and old, men and women. It will help to meet two of the council’s public health aims by encouraging exercise amongst women and older people.

To commemorate the countdown, residents will be able to take part in activity taster sessions at Cheam Leisure Centre, Sutton Arena and the Phoenix Centre where they can also sign up to become a member of the new Leisure Centre.

Additionally, a Spa Roadshow will take place in Sutton’s St Nicholas Centre showing off what the new dry spa will have on offer. Anyone who visits the roadshow and purchases an ESPA product will also receive a £30 ESPA voucher. Visitors will also be able to get a free activities day pass at the Spa Roadshow that they can use at one of the centres where they can pick up a free Everyone Active membership card. See www.everyoneactive.com for the details of all the benefits.

On the opening day visitors will be able to see demonstrations of the new equipment and facilities and enjoy taster sessions of activities available at Westcroft.

The centre was closed in October 2010 for refurbishment work to begin.