Sutton Independent Residents

Do our Council and the ruling Liberal Democrats actually care for residents or just for politically motivated business relationships.  Council owned businesses that lack intrinsic financial stability or external suppliers over whom the Council appears to have no control either ecologically or economically.

If residents wanted proof positive, of this, then the decision of the Planning Committee to approve permission on a Planning Application on Beddington Farmlands should provide it.  As a former Chair of the Conservation Access Management Committee (CAMC) from 2019-2026, I was registered to speak as an objector but sadly an urgent heart adjustment in St Helier meant I could not attend. Interestingly that gave the other unelected objector, Tony Burton, Chair of the Wandle Valley Forum, extra time to offer his organisation’s concerns.

Important to remember that there were 61 objections raised and not from uninformed NIMBYS, but organisations with a sound ecological background, like the Campaign for Rural England, Beddington Farmlands Bird Group as well as the Wandle Valley Forum.

This application was just short of two and a half years old when it came to Committee, the CAMC had presentations from two different Consultancies in that time and in the midst of it all, in September 2025, LBS Planning issued an Enforcement Notice on the Applicant for work on the original plan that should have been completed by December 2023. The fact that just a month after issue of the Enforcement Notice, the principle shareholder of the Valencia Group resigned as a director of the Applicant was dismissed as insignificant by the then Interim Head of Planning.

Listening to the Planning Committee, it appeared a little misleading when the Deputy Chair of the Committee, Cllr Clifton stated as part of his rationale to support the application was the inability to enforce the current application.

As former Chair of the CAMC, I was given access to read advice from two separate KC’s who were clear that that enforcement was possible but complex and potentially expensive.  But of course, it is important to remember that the original Restoration Management Plan was part of the Section 106 Agreement  regarding the build of the ERF (or incinerator as locals refer to it).  That planning is relevant today as not only was it a condition of Planning but there was also an agreement for a financial Bond that Viridor allowed to lapse some two months before they sold the landfill to Frank Solutions.

But stop for a moment and ask yourself what stake do the London Borough of Sutton have in the Farmlands – the land is owned by Thames Water who lease it to Valencia Thames Ltd.  Even the wages of the Farmlands Warden are paid by Viridor.  The only financial interest that the Council has is that Valencia, through its landfill gas engines are the current energy provider to the Council owned energy company, SDEN.

Longer term, the expansion of this heat network will rely on the long-planned connection to the incinerator – did anyone wonder about the weakness of the Council and Liberal Democrat objections to the recent expansion by Viridor?

Those who really care about Beddington, the health of its residents will continue to work against this wilful sale of the soul of Sutton by the current administration – interesting to review one of the Liberal Democrat election leaflets in Beddington with its false claims of involvement in the Farmlands and the rest of the ward.

The return on those lies for the residents who believed them, is an ineffective replacement of truly hardworking  Councillors by a Beddington member of the Planning Committee who didn’t participate in the debate on the Farmlands, but then check the official attendance year to date and you can appreciate that we have yet another Liberal Democrat lured by greed for Council Allowances knowing there is little discipline or work ethic required.

Attendance statistics for Councillor Sue Ebanks
Statistic	Count	Percentage
Total expected attendances:	7
Present as expected:	4	57%
Apologies received:	3	100% of absences
Absent (incl. apologies):	3	43%

And where are the caring Liberal Democrat voices about plans for the former B&Q site in Sutton – the developer is proposing to build a further 149 homes, increase the height of two of the blocks yet is actually reducing the number of affordable homes from 355 units to just 265.  https://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/26528699.sutton-b-q-site-plans-see-huge-increase-proposed-homes/#gallery1

It is just another example of the corporate tail wagging the ineffective Council dog whilst the self obsessed politicians look on.  But given recent postings from our local MP’s boasting canvassing in Southwark or giving blood in Brixton, and 51 local Liberal Democrat Councillors queuing for personal allowances, who is really fighting for Sutton residents?

On 10^th October, all of those who voted Liberal Democrat will be able to join in a dinner to “celebrate” 40 years of Sutton’s Liberal Council.  It’ll cost you £75 a ticket (as a concession for those on means tested benefits it is a bargain £50 – what Cost of Living Crisis makes that a concession?) – so lucky that so many of the senior Liberal Democrat Councillors receiving a share of over £1 million in “special allowances” so Sir Ed will get a rousing reception (no Post Masters expected to attend).

Whilst their dinner will celebrate 1986, the Lib Dems have more in common with George Orwell’s 1984 – the Thought Police (or Thinkpol in Newspeak) are a secret police force in that dystopian novel whose job is to uncover and punish “thoughtcrime” – any personal or political thought that go against the Ruling Party or Big Brother.

The ultimate goal is total psychological conformity, ensuring that citizens cannot even conceive of a revolution and if anyone doubts that comparing the Liberal Democrats to that sort of thinking is unreasonable, please look at the case of Cllr Patrick Ogbonna in the lead up to May’s local elections!

No doubt their dinner will be cause for even more leaflets like the ones arriving on Belmont doorsteps right now full of…….. well you would hope for news, but it is another cynical platform for the party with no conscience. 

In recent social media postings where Luke Taylor and the Worcester Park Liberal Democrats have tried to defend the indefensible chaos caused by local road works, they have managed to include details of their website as a useful source of information.  And in this leaflet, there is even a QR code encouraging readers to “Join Us Today” linking them to libdems.org.uk/join.

Be warned – this is the Thought Police at work – like those innocents who gave their email address to Tom Brake MP, your email becomes a conduit for propaganda and, if like a neighbour of ours, you question that or even help another group, you will be expelled.

The reason for a lack of news in their leaflets is that all they can produce are nonsense claims taking credit for the efforts of others.  They will happily spend your Council Tax on anything from removing flags to rainbow crossings or, more importantly in their books, spending money to gain political capital rather than considered benefits for residents.

For example. great Lib Dem photo opportunities for the eventual completion of the Beech Tree Place development but, when Sutton owns the land, how does the unit cost of the flats built exceed the agreed prices for the ex-B&Q site development by over £100,000 per unit.  No doubt the same smiling faces will be evident when the Council has spent £13+ million on the development of Sutton College at the Northern Gateway. But in terms of education, don’t mention the poor OFSTED report on SEND that was conducted in January but we didn’t hear about until after the election!

Don’t worry, we are sure they will get around to the potholes, blocked drains and all the other stuff that Council’s are supposed to prioritise – hope we don’t have to wait another 40 years!

Good luck to Nick Mattey and Dave Tchil who are continuing to hold this administration to account.

“I travelled each and every highway” – one of our first meetings was when we were briefed on the Beddington Lane Improvement Scheme and learned the reality of local Government. Months of chaos for road users and promises to residents of an HGV ban through Beddington – the local Guardian headline says it best:

“I planned each charted course” – I brought a raft of business experience to the role but ignorance of so many of the mnemonics that prevail in local Government.  One of my most memorable and rewarding episodes was when I saw a posting on social media from a Mum who was giving up the fight for an EHCP for one of her twin sons. At that stage, I didn’t even know what an EHCP was (Education Health Care Plan) but contacted the family, understood the issues and took on the case.  At the time, her son was coming to the end of year 6 – we won (that made me cry!) and it is so good to know that as I leave the Council, the lad is at College and has a brightest of futures.

After Richmond Green, the first Committee I chose was Planning and when a local business owner and Beddington resident asked for advice on a plan to build a new house on land bounding her elderly parents’ house to care for them.

She could not understand why permission had been rejected seven times. Her parents lived in a strongly Lib Dem ward with a stalwart Lib Dem supporter as a neighbour. The local Councillors offered no help so I sought guidance from the then Head of Planning and they took his advice and happily countered the issues and, in the face of continuing local Councillor antagonism, the family achieved their goal and gained Planning Permission.

Those personal fights for residents – securing succession of tenancy, getting landlords to look after tenants or fighting developers to support local communities – are not the stuff of electioneering brags, they are the reward for hard work rather than political largesse that prevails too often.

“Regrets, I’ve had a few” – the basis of democracy is that people choose representatives on the perceived benefits those representatives will offer individuals and all communities. But local Government democracy can sometimes confuse voters when National issues get mixed up with local priorities.

Along with my fellow Independents, we were only focused on local issues – helping residents and we had seen enough politicking at Council to know that even locally, power is everything. When you look at National trends – this is what the headline was in 2024:

So it proved – amongst the endless leaflet barrage came claims from the local candidates crediting them with responsibility for achievements of the Independent team.

That there are email trails and documentary proof of the straightforward deceit of this leaflet did not seem to concern them – but having seen similar claims in Belmont ward, it just reinforced my original opinion that they have mislaid their moral compass.  After all, their candidate who achieved the highest number of votes claimed Beddington residency but isn’t even on the voters’ roll for the ward.

Post election, the nasties continued with a lovely posting on social media from my daughter about the result attracted 170,000 views and vicious trolling – with those numbers it had to be organised by a National political party – which one, doesn’t matter, it just reflects the poison that has entered our politics.

“When I bit off more than I could chew” – of course, when you are fighting for your residents, you are often taking on “the Establishment” and some you win and some you lose.

Fighting the Environment Agency for residents on the Bridle Path who’s last three metres of garden backing onto the Wandle came under EA jurisdiction.  The EA’s financial demands to give the gardens back to residents were laughable. The Council said they tried and failed, same for the local MP but I was able to point out that the EA appointed estate agents had lied and we won the residents’ right to a fair deal!

But when the plans for the Carew Academy on the last green space on Highview was rejected by the local Planning Committee, it went to appeal and I took on the Department of Education QC at the Planning Appeal as a Rule 6 participant – but that time lost

“I faced it all, and I stood tall and did it my way” – I have attended Committees, chaired the CAMC, chaired the Residents’ Liaison Group in Highview, served on the Community Benefit fund where we have given £680,000 to local community projects, held Viridor to account at regular Community Liaison Groups and of course taken on individual and community case work.

It has been immensely hard work but equally rewarding, fun and occasionally frustrating and I will miss it.  I have had some wonderful messages since losing my seat and I am grateful for every single one.

I hope that the new incumbents can offer something to Beddington – up to 2018, I had 40 years living in the ward but never had a sense of representation from any of the previous Lib Dem representatives. 

Good luck to all and best wishes but most of all thank you all for your support and please continue to give that support to Cllr Nick Mattey and Labour Councillor Dave Tchil in Hackbridge – he is so dedicated to the benefits of his residents, he could be mistaken for an Independent!

At the 2024 General Election, my wife’s health meant that a visit to the polling station would have been a struggle so for the first time ever, we chose a postal vote.  I didn’t change the option so this weekend, like thousands of people across the London Borough of Sutton, I received my postal polling card. It is for Beddington Ward along with clear instructions as to how the system works.

I was aware that there is a full range of candidates but even I was slightly daunted by the Polling Card and thought that anyone receiving it – and for that matter, people who vote on 7^th May at a Polling Station – would perhaps find it overwhelming.

The first thing that struck was the presence of so many parties who have not canvassed the area properly – you may have seen Social Media claims from Greens and Reform but what are they really offering residents of Beddington?

The second element that was noticeable were the flags – everyone is following a flag blindly apparently following their party policies rather than dealing with local issues.

The Independents don’t have a flag, because we are there for the benefit of local residents.

And funnily enough, that bounced me back to the latest Liberal Democrat communications – a personal letter from one of their candidates making clear that the vote was about “a Council run by Lib Dems” – nothing about the issues facing residents in Beddington. One supposes that the printing of this personal letter in Manchester, reflects the National, policy driven nature of their campaign.

Tim Crowley, Nick Mattey and Tim Foster have a proven record of service to residents and hope that we will once again be trusted with your votes – you can see for yourselves that with no fancy flag, we will be easy to spot on the ballot paper.

You have three votes each on May 7th – make them count:

Vote Sutton Independents:

Tim Crowley      ☒

Tim Foster          ☒

Nick Mattey       ☒

Promoted and published by Nick Mattey 34 Crichton Avenue, Wallington , Surrey SM6 8HL  on behalf of Tim Foster Tim Crowley and Nick Mattey

For a political group who, through their contrived bar charts refuse to acknowledge the existence of Sutton Independent Residents, the Liberal Democrats are now copying our communications from 2022 – that was the second successive election where they lost to us.

Back in 2022, we published a map which recorded the failings of the Lib Dem administration and highlighted our understanding of the local issues:

Now, headlined by local MP Bobby Dean, the Lib Dem’s latest leaflet is a map where claims are made of a “Record of Action for Beddington” – we make no bones about calling it out as a deceit but what is more puzzling is that on 9th April, with great fanfare, the Liberal Democrats launched their manifesto under the banner of “Keep Sutton Moving Forward”

The manifesto is centred on seven “Key Pledges” for Sutton:

• Develop a District Centre Plan for every high street
• Fight to extend St Helier’s Emergency Department
• Identify and fix 50 local hotspots in need of love
• Introduce a new Rental Standards Charter for the borough
• Lead several initiatives that together form a ‘Community Green Movement’
• Democratise community funding pots
• Put Sutton on the map for sciences and culture

Perhaps when Mr Dean or his cohorts knock on your door, you may ask if yours is one of the “50 local hotspots” and whatever happened to the “Cost of Living Crisis” that is on every leaflet or Bobby Dean’s “Bringing back community police”.

It all comes down to “making it up as they go along” but if you give the Lib Dems your vote, when they come up with something you don’t like, they will be quick to say it was in their manifesto, they just don’t want to advertise it!

You have a team with Sutton Independent Resident with years of experience and a record of fighting for residents – we’ll never win a beauty contest but you can be confident that residents will always be more important than party lines.

You have three votes each on May 7th – make them count:

Vote Sutton Independents:

Tim Crowley      ☒

Tim Foster          ☒

Nick Mattey       ☒

Promoted and published by Nick Mattey 34 Crichton Avenue, Wallington , Surrey SM6 8HL  on behalf of Tim Foster Tim Crowley and Nick Mattey

Cllr Tim Crowley had made his decision: after twenty years of public service, the time had come to step back and prepare for retirement from politics. That was until an unexpected approach changed everything.

Following the tragic passing of Pam Marsh, who had been preparing to stand in Beddington ward, fellow independents Cllr Nick Mattey and Cllr Tim Foster asked Cllr Crowley to step forward in her place. He could not say no.

“I had fully intended to retire from politics and was not looking to stand again,” said Cllr Crowley. “When Nick and Tim approached me following Pam’s passing, I reconsidered. Pam was a committed and effective community representative, and continuing that work in Beddington is something I feel I can contribute to.”

Standing as an independent will allow Cllr Crowley to focus exclusively on local issues, with a priority of holding the operator of Beddington’s incinerator to account over repeated emission breaches — a cause he has championed for 16 years.

“Independence means I can speak frankly, work constructively with councillors of all parties, and deliver the scrutiny and accountability Beddington deserves,” he added.

Cllr Crowley paid warm tribute to his Conservative colleagues, whose dedication and hard work have shaped Sutton for the better over many years. He reserved special thanks for Cllr Moira Butt, councillor for Carshalton South and Clockhouse, a close colleague and friend of twenty years. “Moira has been an outstanding colleague and a tireless champion for local residents,” he said. “I owe her a great deal and wish her every success in the elections ahead.”

I looked at this latest effort that arrived recently and found the claims to be more than a little exaggerated.

The minutes of the Public Transport Liaison Group are available for inspection – it is a cross party group with representatives from all groups in Council. Contributions regarding changes to the 154 bus and greater improvements required were made by a Mr Charles King of the East Surrey Transport Committee – not “the Lib Dem Team”.

The improvements to the Wandle at Richmond Green were introduced by the Biodiversity Officer to members of the Beddington Neighbourhood Forum – no Lib Dems there – and you will note from the plans that the architects are the South East Rivers Trust – not the “Lib Dem Team”

Add that funding for the Beddington Park equipment was a collective decision of the Local Committee and none of the “Lib Dem Team” have attended the ward panel with the police – the rest of the claims are really exaggerations to fit the image they are trying to create. Even worse is the comment on illegal e-bikes when our own Cllr Nick Mattey is on record as being dismissed out of hand at Council by the former Chair of the Environment and Sustainable Transport Committee – now Leader of the Council – when Nick has asked questions about e-bikes at Council.

The final – slightly comedic errors come on the reverse of the same leaflet:

It’s the mistakes you make when you to save money producing a generic leaflet and try to pass it off as local.

• Better public Transport – more claims about the 154 – no, that is Charles King at the East Surrey Transport Committee that you should be praising.
• Fighting for our local NHS – Beddington has neither a doctor’s surgery or dentist – that’s local, for residents in Beddington Lane it is two buses to get to the doctors in Wallington
• Action on the Cost of Living – that’ll be the 4.99% increase in Council Tax?
• Protect our Environment – not a single mention of the Beddington incinerator with its regular environmental failures or breaking the 2019 promise to put an HGV ban through Beddington Village?

And the final generic insult to the people of Beddington – that clear choice – let’s just put the true picture out there:

You’ll be getting our leaflets – no exaggerations, just a record of real hard work and achievement for residents – we would like to continue the good work after May 7th – vote Independent.

Here is the official itinerary of the Brendan Hudson Ward Tour:

 STOP 1: Beddington North Ward (2018)

First appearance on the comeback stage.

Dr. Hudson rolls up as the Liberal Democrat candidate, full of former-mayor swagger. He teams up with self-appointed Beddington “champions” Cllr Pat Ali and Cllr Nighat Piracha.

The Lib Dems ran a massive leaflet campaign claiming credit for things they were never involved in—even taking credit for installing pedestrian crossings that had never actually been built.

• The Result: It failed miserably. Ali and Piracha lost their seats entirely, and Dr. Hudson was pushed into an embarrassing 6th place with just 713 votes 
• Irony Level: Expert.

Undeterred! One ward down, plenty more to fail in. Pack the yellow rosette, we’re off!

 STOP 2: Carshalton South & Clockhouse Ward (2022)

Moving up the Stafford Road (because why change your postcode when you can just change your constituency?).

Fresh from his Beddington thumping, our intrepid explorer tried his luck again.

• The Result: 1,523 votes. Still not elected. The seats went to two Conservatives and one other Lib Dem who somehow managed to out-poll him.
• The £20,000 Insult: The Liberal Democrat who was elected, Amy Haldane, quickly decided she didn’t actually like the work involved with being a councillor and stopped turning up to the Council. This forced a by-election that cost local taxpayers £20,000.

 STOP 3: Hackbridge (2026)

Now he’s gone full east, because apparently, Sutton’s wards form a perfect escape route.

After two spectacular failures and more than a decade since he last held a seat, Brendan Hudson is back on the leaflet trail. He is now the Liberal Democrat candidate for Hackbridge, promising whatever former mayors promise when they’re door-knocking in a brand-new neighbourhood.

The Hackbridge Reality Check

This is where the political tourism stops being funny and starts being insulting.

Dr. Hudson is a medical doctor. Yet, he is lured back by the “joy of politics” to represent a Lib Dem party that built a primary school just 700 metres from the Beddington incinerator. How did his party justify this? By using a flawed air quality assessment that practically pretended the massive, toxic incinerator next door didn’t exist.

Irony Level: Off the charts.

The Longest Game of Musical Chairs in London

Dr. Brendan Hudson: former Mayor, former Councillor, current professional ward tourist.

His political strategy appears to be:

1. Lose badly.
2. Move a couple of miles.
3. Repeat until a seat accidentally falls into his lap or retirement finally catches up.

It’s not just politics anymore. It’s performance art. It’s the longest, slowest, most polite game of electoral musical chairs in London history.

Hackbridge deserves a dedicated local champion—not a politician looking for a consolation prize.

As we look to the Local Elections in May 2026, we can only reflect on an inefficient and wasteful administration overseen by a Liberal Democrat “majority” which has relied on two Councillors turned MP who will forsake their Parliamentary duties at the drop of a hat to bolster the Lib Dems in the Council chamber.

Quite why we have to have leaflets and social media posts from Bobby Dean with photographs posed with fellow Lib Dems.

But then Luke Taylor Councillor (?) for Sutton West and East Cheam, part time MP for Sutton and Cheam, posts enthusiastically on social media about his efforts and progress for the Lib Dems in Southwark – is he moving again?

It is what happens when voters vote for a party rather than who represents them you hope to be served by your Councillors but what you get is politics – it is why Nick Mattey, Jillian Green and Tim Foster as Independents have served Beddington residents so well over the past eight years. 

We are not Pound Shop Politicians following the herd to collect inflated allowances, we work for residents fighting their corner and holding the Council and their myriad of wholly owned companies to account.

Our residents are represented on many committees – Strategy & Resource, Licensing, Environment and Sustainable Transport, People, Local Committee and Planning  – we fight your corner with Viridor on the Community Liaison Group, fight Council inertia on the Beddington Farmlands and served the Highview Community on the Residents’ Liaison Group. We promised to put residents first and that is exactly what we have done and what we will continue to do, with your support.

BUT WHEN YOU COME TO VOTE – DON’T SPLIT YOUR OPTIONS – TO KEEP THE COMMITTEE REPRESENTATION IT NEEDS THREE OF US!

It is always worthwhile looking back over the past couple of years at how we have represented local people:

• Acting when residents of Willoughby Avenue/Nicholas Road /Bedlow Way were dealing with threats to their green space.
• Ongoing support for residents of Mellor Close
• Chairing the residents’ liaison group on the build of the controversial school on the Highview Playing Fields
• Chairing the Conservation and Management Committee on the Farmlands
• Supporting resident opposition to convert the Bandon Hill Lodge into an HMO
• Supporting residents in Upper Road on opposition to the Council’s indifference to the proliferation of HMO’s and getting an Article 4 Direction adopted.
• Simple caring projects like the bench on the Plough Broadway
• Continuing support for SEN parents with Cognus and Social Services
• Holding the Council to account on HGV traffic, events in Beddington Park, environmental issues, their casual attitude to pedestrian safety regarding Forest Bikes. moving the Carew Academy out of Carew Manor to the inappropriate site on Highview saying that Carew Manor was not suitable for SEN education – and moving in pupils from Sherwood Park School.
• Fought the Environment Agency on behalf of Bridle Path Residents to have full title to their garden space when the Council and local MP could not help

Most importantly, reacting immediately that a resident contacts us with any issue. Sutton Independent Residents have “punched above their weight” for the past 8 years, representing residents and hope to be able to continue to serve for the next 4!

Just a few highlights of waste to remember when you set up the direct debit for your Council Tax.

• Life Centre reopens with fanfare about Orchard Hill SEN facility and in house café “saving” £180,000 a year when it has racked up accumulated losses of £4.5 million after its initial £8 million cost
• Comparative unit cost of housing between Beech Tree Place, Chalk Gardens (ex B&Q) and Elm Grove
• £26 million to acquire the lease of the St Nicholas Centre with grand plans to relocate the Civic Centre only to find the conversion cost prohibitive
• Rehousing Sutton College in a prestige development at the Northern Gateway with the Council paying our £13.9 million of the £19 + million cost with no hope of a financial return for Council Tax payers!
• Farmlands – this Council would not enforce Planning Law on Viridor and in September finally issued an enforcement order on Valencia – gave the 18 months to remedy – remember, Valancia remain the only source of heat to SDEN. Valencia have a planning application awaiting presentation to the Planning Committee – dare the Lib Dems look at it before the election?
• And they want to lend another £1 million to SDEN to expand the system – different customer, different terms proposed – still it isn’t the Council officers’ money – it’s yours!
• Sutton Living have their hands out for help on the construction costs of converting the Grove in Carshalton – 10 apartments (not one affordable unit) and the Council has “lent” them another £1 million (yes, an additional £100,000 cost per apartment) to finish the job

Remember, we are Independent of politics, we are here to serve residents and get a fair deal for all. May seems a long way off, but it isn’t, contact us anytime

nickmattey@me.com:

timfoster53@gmail.com

jilliann1953@gmail.com