Sutton Independent Residents

This week you may have been a recipient of Sutton Council’s latest copy of Sutton Scene. The leading item was a video presented by Councillor Jayne McCoy – Deputy Leader of the Council and Chair of the Housing Economy & Business Committee.

During the video, presented from the garden and interior of one of the new “Council Houses” she extolled the virtues of the London Borough of Sutton and it’s commitment to “affordable housing”.  The house she presented from looked outstanding but then you begin to consider and perhaps count the cost, the picture may not look quite so virtuous.

The agenda for the next Housing Economy & Business Committee has been published and includes the costs of the 93 “units” that have been built.

Richmond Green houses come in at a total expenditure of £7.737 million, nearly £370,000 per house excluding land value.  Now consider that 12 of those are two bedroomed houses and the value for money equation becomes an irrelevance.  And it is not just the appalling and profligate cost of demolishing 28 serviceable bungalows and replacing them with 21 new houses .

This is not some green field site, these houses have been built so close to existing properties – many inside the limits of Planning Guidelines – yet no provision has been made to protect the privacy of those residents.  Everyone attending Public Consultations and Planning meetings came away with the impression that their privacy would be protected by obscure glazing. No,  the Council’s only provision for obscure glazing is between the new houses and the privacy of just one existing resident.

In her (self) promotional video, Councillor McCoy talks of more sites, more Council houses – if it is next door to you, involve yourself in the Public Consultation and read the small print!

And Sutton Council, obscure glazing is the very least you could offer the residents of Chiswick and Twickenham Closes.

In response to resident concerns, I requested a timetable / schedule of works for Beddington Lane and received the following reply from Highways and transport  – I hope it helps!

Dear Councillor Foster,

Re: MBR ENQ Ref: EHR-ME18-1245 Beddington Lane

Thank you for your correspondence.  Unfortunately a large number of the temporary lights works that have been in place in this period have not been part of the Beddington Major project works.  London Borough of Sutton (LBS) do try and limit the use of temporary lights within the borough and only use them when necessary for safety reasons. The use of temporary lights is predominantly decided upon by the LBS Streetworks team in line with NRSWA legislation.

The existing works on Beddington Lane are part of phase 1 of the project and these should be complete mid October.  The current schedule for these works is listed below. The remaining works for phase 1 are yet to be programmed with materials still being selected on cost reasons.

17-21 September

• Preparatory works will be undertaken around the existing pelican crossing to the south of Guy Road to enable the future changes at this location.  It is planned to use temporary traffic lights in place of the pedestrian crossing facilities that have been decommissioned.

24-29 September

• Preparatory works will be undertaken around the existing pelican crossing to the south of Derry Road to enable the future changes at this location.  It is planned to use temporary traffic lights in place of the pedestrian crossing facilities.

• 24th Daytime – Transport for London decommissioning of the pelican crossing at Guy Road.

• 24th Overnight – The road markings for the existing Guy Road Crossing will be removed.  Temporary traffic lights will be used to ensure the safety of operatives undertaking these works.

• 25th Daytime – The installation of the zebra crossing equipment at Guy Road will be undertaken.

• 25th Overnight – The new road markings for the zebra crossing will be marked out.  Temporary traffic lights will be used for this aspect of the works.

1-5 October

• The foundations for the brick planter will laid and constructed adjacent to Beddington Village Hall.

• 1st Daytime – Transport for London decommissioning of the pelican crossing at Derry Road.

• 1st Overnight – The road markings for the existing Derry Road Crossing will be removed.  Temporary traffic lights will be used to ensure the safety of operatives undertaking these works.

• 2nd Daytime – The installation of the zebra crossing equipment at Derry Road will be undertaken.

• 2nd Overnight – The new road markings for the zebra crossing will be marked out.  Temporary traffic lights will be used for this aspect of the works.

A temporary crossing using the temporary traffic lights will be put in place in both crossing locations until the new zebra crossings have become operational in this location.

The traffic management for phase 2 of the works has not been planned yet so the use of temporary traffic lights cannot currently be quantified.  What can be expected is that their use will be limited to an absolute minimum and only used in the event of safety requirements.

FM Conways are being managed strictly within contract requirements, and regularly supervised on site by LBS Officers to ensure effective delivery of the project.

Along Beddington Lane other works can potentially take place which are not London Borough of Sutton works which may require temporary traffic lights.  This as mentioned before would be decided upon by the LBS Streetworks team.

Street Cleaning, Missed Waste Collections and Other Complaints

 3^rd May saw life change for me when I was given the honour of becoming the Independent Councillor for Beddington North Ward.  Instead of living a quiet life walking the dogs, going to the gym, and enjoying retirement with my husband I have found myself dealing with residents’ problems with street cleaning, missed waste bin collections, housing issues and other things.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining, it is something I enjoy trying to help people.

Having witnessed first hand the ineffective street cleaning I asked the London Borough of Sutton officials what the protocol was for it.

Here is their answer:

“All of Sutton’s residential roads should be visited once a fortnight.  The Beat Sweepers visit several roads each day and will clean according to need, with some roads needing more attention than others.  Weed spraying occurs twice annually.  The second cycle has just been completed across the Borough.

If there are particular locations for street cleaning to be dealt with quickly please do use the Council’s online service to report incidents through Report It:  http://sutton.gov.uk/report as the information is sent directly through to our contractors for an immediate response.  This avoids any ‘double-handling’ by Neighbourhood Services.  If requests are not responded to they can be further escalated through Report It using the CAS reference number. These escalations should be investigated by Veolia’s management team.

With regards to the inspection of trees, we conduct cyclical inspections on a four yearly basis allowing us to survey and allocate tree works where required, beyond this we also conduct emergency tree works where required.  Basal growth removal and tree watering is carried out within a cyclical system that the tree contractor receives at the start of the year allowing them to plan and conduct tree works throughout the London Borough of Sutton and within your Council ward”.

So there you have it, report on line, if you have access to a computer and you can operate one.  It really makes me mad that the London Borough of Sutton rely so heavily on the internet and computers.  It’s all very well for those of us who can use them but what about Great Aunt Aggie age 95 who lives alone and can’t get out very much and relies on her phone.  She has to call the 020 770 5000 number, listen carefully and hope against hope she presses the right number.  Then she has to listen to the message that says “you are number xxxx in the queue, estimated waiting time is xxxx”.

Residents of Beddington North, if you have a problem please let me or the other Councillors know if you are experiencing problems, with where possible, the CAS reference number to help us to expedite the matter.

As Councillors we have to follow a protocol as detailed below:-

1. Where necessary get a Resident’s Consent Form signed.
2. Email Member Enquiry with the problem plus a scanned copy of the signed consent form.
3. Member Enquiry then email a confirmation of receiving the complaint and give it a reference number. The confirmation gives Councillors a date by which they can expect a to hear from the responsible Council officer.
4. Member Enquiry send the original email complaint to the appropriate Council officer for a response.

There you have it, the way to report not just street cleaning or missed waste collections but any other problem you may have.  To say I am sceptical about the on-line reporting system and the call centre is an understatement.  However, I have been in email dialogue with the manager responsible and I am waiting to see if she can bring about improvements.  She has only been in post a short time and, so far, has been very helpful. Fingers crossed and watch this space.

 

 

As a resident and Councillor representing an area of the London Borough of Sutton that has an established Industrial presence, I have become aware of a conflict where if we are not vigilant, those who govern us at a National as well as local level are leading us to an impossible and ungovernable impasse.

Central Government has driven a change in Business Rates that many observers have said is decimating our High Streets as the new system has loaded expense onto the retail sector that impacts its ability to face its online competitors on a level playing field.

At the same time, it has allowed local Council’s to retain the Business Rate revenues as they have had their direct grant support from Central Government taken away.

It struck me recently when answering a concern from a local business in the Industrial area of our ward, that while the business was in our area, the person I was helping was not a resident and actually had no democratic voice.

I was put in mind of the origination of the American Revolution, the Boston Tea Party where the cry was “No taxation without Representation” – here we had a business paying large amounts of money to a local Council and, apart from a local business association, no representation.

I had no hesitation in assisting because established local business success in the area means more jobs and more prosperity – however, I then reflected on the reality of our local authority and their apparent disdain for Beddington North residents.

They have decided there is a way to give big business a quid pro quo return for the rates revenues. Allowing big business to ride roughshod over local residents and bring their polluting industrial operations into an area with an inadequate road/rail infrastructure

We have an incinerator imposed on us, current propositions for two other major industrial developments with large traffic flows, a plan for another bus depot as well as a supermarket distribution warehouse.

The London Borough of Sutton may only be a symptom of the malaise – after all we read about other authorities in financial difficulties.  But with the Liberal Democrat domination of every committee, they will continue to allow business rate revenues to drive their policies irrespective of the health and welfare of local people and the contradiction of their Cleaner Greener policies.

If there was a plan to put 600 additional vehicle movements a day into Carshalton or Central Sutton it would cost them the Council. And while they may regret Independent Councillors in Beddington North, they may ultimately be prepared to sacrifice another ward like Wandle Valley as the residents feel the pressure of the housing developments and taste the pollution from the incinerator and the traffic congestion – remember, local North /South traffic has three options – Purley Way, Beddington Lane or London Road.

We need broader representation and a balanced Council that drives probity in its management of local services, encourages and incentivises local businesses but most importantly, puts the welfare of its residents above any other issue.

Ward Councillors were briefed recently on changes to the waste collection days in up to 14% of homes in the Borough.

This affects some roads in Beddington North and those who will be having changes will hopefully have received notifications as detailed in the document:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/12p8ixUh8NwZef_f6ai1-M_x0Kv6RXB8lUa7Ft_eWZMk/edit?usp=sharing

This is the implementation of a South London Waste Partnership Strategy across Croydon, Sutton and Merton and there will be a certain level of chaos – guaranteed!

Today we received further notice from Mary Morrissey, Strategic Director of Environment, Housing and Regeneration that included this piece of management gobbledigook – so if you don’t really understand the letters and postcards you have received, you are probably in good company.

As always, your local Councillors will help where they can – if your road is not listed, and you have not received letters and postcards, your service will be as normal !!??

Risks and Mitigations A full risk register has been prepared for the change project, with the main risks detailed below, with associated mitigation activities:

Due to the proposed changes taking place at the same time as the mobilisation of Croydon (September) and Merton (October), any challenges with implementation will put Veolia under increased pressure, which could limit the amount of resource available to Sutton. Through working with the South London Waste Partnership and attendance at the mobilisation board, officers will seek to mitigate this risk.

The number of properties affected by each change have been finalised. However officers will continue to work closely with Veolia to ensure due diligence is being undertaken on the data at both project and operational levels and any changes such as new builds within the area of change becoming occupied, are taken into account .

With the transfer of some rounds to Croydon crews, there is the risk of the loss of local knowledge from current Sutton crews, which could adversely impact upon collections where layout or collection points are non standard. Work is therefore being undertaken through crew shadowing and supervision to mitigate this.

Due to the planned changes, there is a risk of an increase in missed collections when the new service goes live. To mitigate this, three lines of communication material is being distributed to affected residents. As some residents may be away on holiday, officers will review and and a fourth line put in place if necessary.

The number of days between collections will be longer than 16 or 21 days in some cases. This would leave residents with high volumes of waste uncollected over the period. This will be mitigated by additional collections taking place where there is a wait longer than 14 days, with the cost being borne by Veolia.

Green garden waste collections will remain on the current collection day after the changes have been implemented. This could cause some confusion amongst residents. Separate garden waste communications will therefore be sent out to ensure this is properly understood.

There is the potential for some risks to occur at the same time. Therefore, interdepencies are being identified through the project risk register and appropriate mitigations developed. The proposed changes, risks, mitigations and communications materials have been fully assessed, consulted on and agreed with the Chair of the Environment and Neighbourhoods Committee.

I have now been a Councillor for nearly three months and I really love representing the residents of Beddington North Ward.

What have I learned over this time?  Well, it’s certainly politically loaded in favour of the Liberal Democrats but why wouldn’t it be when they still have a majority albeit much reduced.  It’s interesting to sit in meetings, some of which would bore the most tolerant of individuals to tears, and that includes me.  I sit there sometimes and wonder “what the hell is this about” and “how is this going to help anybody”.  Nine times out of ten I come up with the answer “not at all” but I now realise that there are national and Greater London Authority strategic demands that must be met.

I have made it very clear to all those I come in contact with that I am an Independent Councillor doing my best for those who live in Beddington North.  I am not interested in getting caught up in all the political wrangling where one side “knows what’s best” and cannot be turned from their objectives and the other side challenge vociferously to no avail.  Any decisions made should be what is best for the residents of Sutton and not to score political points that advance careers within a Westminster party.

Anyway enough of politics – together with my fellow Councillors Tim Foster and Nick Mattey, we are determined to shout loudest for Beddington North.

Our latest concerns are obviously the incinerator, or ERF as officials and ruling party call it, I shall continue calling it an incinerator.

The next is SUEZ the waste transfer facility which are looking to operate 24/7 and will be sited next to the incinerator.  There is also the prospect of a logistics company moving into an area, formerly Metropolitan Open Land

Thirdly the defence of the Sheen Way Playing Fields against possible development with the building of a new special needs school for over 240 pupils.  I wish to make it clear that the residents recognise and support the need for a new school but not on the playing field.  The Highview Estate has narrow roads which are difficult to negotiate at the best of times.  With 18 seater mini buses plus 100 cars for teachers the lives of residents would become intolerable.  This is without the traffic dropping off pupils at Highview Primary School and the use of The Chase and Godalming Avenue as a cut through by those trying to jump the queues on Stafford Road.  More pollution for residents of Beddington North I hear you cry and before some bright spark says “air is everywhere”, I presume meaning pollution otherwise we’d all be dead and wouldn’t need to worry about all of this, yes it is but that doesn’t mean Beddington North should suffer more than anybody else.

Carew Manor may not be ideal but it is surrounded by a huge green space and can more easily absorb carbon dioxide due to the wonderful trees in Beddington Park.  Sheen Way is a confined space bordered by houses, a railway line and light industrial units and was originally intended as a community space for the residents and their children together with an educational use as a school playing field.  It does have one or two lovely old trees and in fact bats and other wildlife have been seen on the site.  Indeed I got quite excited in early spring to see lapwings on the field.  I imagine they were looking for a nesting site as the Beddington Farmlands are in a bit of turmoil and probably not suitable for ground nesting birds.

Having looked at the Local Plan approved in February of this year, strangely enough before the election was called, there is a statement to protect open space, which makes it a contradiction as there is also the planned development of Sheen Way Playing Fields.

I am hoping that we can press for a proper air quality assessment to be done in the Beddington Lane area before the incinerator comes on stream in October and this will mean better air quality monitoring equipment and more of them sited where they will capture the right data.  It is important that we have baseline figures to begin with.

What can residents do to help support your Councillors in Beddington North.  I am a huge fan for everyone pitching in to help their community and together with the support and enthusiasm of your Councillors I really feel we can give the ruling party a run for their money.

Make your voices heard, if there is a consultation doing the rounds for proposals that affect you get involved, email the Council, register objections, shout as loud as you can. Don’t think you cannot make a difference, you can and with your help we will.  The residents of Highview Estate are forming a Residents’ Association.  There may be other areas in Beddington North that might like to consider this.  If so, I may be able to help.  I paraphrase a well known saying.

“For a ruling party to get their way good men need do nothing”.

 

Last Saturday and Monday, there were presentations at Beddington Village Hall about a proposed new use for the old County Skips site on Beddington Lane (on the left hand side of the road travelling north on Beddington Lane opposite the bus garage).

Councillors Foster and Mattey visited the exhibition on Monday and we asked how many people had visited on Saturday and were told four – Chair and Vice Chair of the Beddington North Neighbourhood Forum, a Beddington South Councillor and your local MP, Tom Brake.

It was not much busier on Monday and we thought it important that even if you were unable to make it to the presentation, then you should at least have sight of it.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DZdFqd9OYdQkbYor-EbRJdvOWJNrCRQJ/view?usp=sharing

Previous administrations have designated the site for waste usage and there is existing planning permission for its use in that industry.  Councillor Mattey and others are far better qualified to comment on the technical / industrial proposals but there is major concern about traffic implications.

The Beddington Lane improvement scheme will ban HGV traffic over 7.5 tonnes from driving through Beddington Village.  That means that all the traffic from this SUEZ development will be channelled north and out on the same Coomber Way route as the Incinerator traffic.

Numerically, SUEZ state that there will be 343 “operational vehicles visiting the site daily – that actually means 686 additional vehicle movements on Beddington Lane daily.

The Local Plan has also allowed the re-assignment of Metropolitan Open Land close to the Incinerator for industrial use and, whilst there are not yet firm proposals, discussions are progressing on the idea of warehousing, which means more HGV traffic.

So add two bus garages to the mix and we believe that congestion and pollution make the position untenable.

Beddington North Councillors proposed that rather than look at traffic impact studies on individual applications, that an overall Traffic Impact study should be undertaken and that approach has been tentatively agreed by Officers of the London Borough of Sutton.

But please, where there is an opportunity for public consultation, take that opportunity to voice your opinion – before the event it has impact, when decisions have been made, it’s too late – they don’t get reversed!

Car sales people have been the butt of many a joke often dismissed for sharp practice or even sharper tongues, but there is so much that our politicians – especially the local ones – could learn from that industry.

Let’s start with the basics – if you are selling, Qualification is the phrase used, finding out what your customer wants, their needs, their dreams and their commitments.

For politicians, this process is referred to as Consultation, with politicians deciding what the voter wants, what their dreams ought to be and framing questions to deliver the policy that they want to impose.

A sales person is trained to listen to the answers given by their customer and to describe how the features of their product will benefit the customer and deliver what they want.

A politician will tell their electorate what they can have, fitting as many as possible into the straightjacket of legislative control of their lives, of course referring to consultation as proof of voter desire and blaming failure on everyone but themselves.

Most importantly, if a sales person fails to persuade a customer of the benefits of their product, they are trained to make one of the most difficult of calls – the lost sale call. It is difficult because the customer may identify the sales person as being at fault – it may be their product did not measure up – whatever the outcome of that call, it is a valuable exercise in improvement and learning how to win next time.

When I stood for the local elections, I canvassed neighbours who I had known for 30 – 40 years asking for their nomination.  I did not seek their vote, just their support for my suitability as a candidate.  One of those neighbours had been a supporter of the Liberal Democrats although he had allowed the lapse of his membership because of Nick Clegg’s prevarication in Government on Student Fees.

Since the decimation of the Liberal Democrat vote in Beddington North, rather than reflecting on the imposition of the incinerator on the ward, the destruction of the community in Richmond Green or the planned development of the Sheen Way Playing Fields – the local Liberal Democrats trawled the election nominations and wrote to my neighbour officially expelling him from the Liberal Democrat Party.

It is vindictive, short sighted and self-defeating – will that Lib Dem sales person sell their product to that person again?

Much better to reflect on the mistakes, listen and most importantly CHANGE!

One of the most unexpected parts of our new roles as Councillors is the training.  Acting as an interface with Officers in the Council and helping residents brings all sorts of new challenges.  We have had training on a Code of Conduct and soon we have Equality and Diversity training then of course there are the specialist committees where we represent the wider community and operate within legal frameworks.

For the Planning Committee that I am pleased to be involved in, there were three hours of training presented by a barrister and an hour is scheduled before every meeting to familiarise ourselves with the Local Plan.

One thing I have learnt already is that if you are objecting to a Planning Application, please involved your local Councillor.  They can join you in presenting your objections to committee and can be realistic about the success of your position.

It always helps to know which ward you are in so I have attached a link to the Beddington North Ward which lays our responsibilities as Councillors very clearly!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qUMmDZKvlkHTTFt7ZdET_IBSpWzztZCH/view?usp=sharing

And please get involved with the consultation on Beddington Lane – National and Local Governments depend on public apathy about consultation to push through their ideas – get your idea in as well!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tWmR-a4h2nqsK60QF0uM_BK5NOSVhgpw/view?usp=sharing

Tomorrow is Carshalton Carnival and although it is outside this ward, it is a great event and I hope it gets a lot of local support.  But also deserving of local support are the group who have proposals to relaunch the Charles Cryer Theatre.

They have a presentation tomorrow from 12 noon – 2.00 pm outside the theatre – they deserve our support and I will be going along to give them mine – see you there.

Today the calendar tells me it’s the 3^rd of June and I can’t believe a month has gone by since the residents of Beddington North ward placed their trust in me.  It is a privilege to serve them and together with the other Independent councillors, Tim Foster and Nick Mattey, Beddington North residents and their interests will always come first.

On the 8^th of May I signed a Declaration witnessed by the Chief Executive.  I must admit to an inward smile as I felt like George Washington signing the Declaration of Independence (ts)!!

What’s it like being a first time or Fresher Councillor.  A little daunting to be honest with so much to learn and absorb.  The Freshers Fayre where Councillors meet representatives of different Council Departments was very informative.  The staff of ICT were extremely helpful in trying to get my lap top set up for the different Council systems.  I’d like to thank them for their patience and I can report that after two hours all is working as it should.  Now they have to sort out my phone!!!

What has struck me in my first month as a Councillor?  The party political posturing for a start.  It is my opinion that local councils should be run by Independents who have the interests of the residents at heart and are not bound by ridiculous party politics.  A local government of all the talents would be a good democratic way to go but while the Liberal Democrats have a working majority this is most unlikely.  However rest assured I, together with Nick and Tim, will shall do our utmost to oppose matters which are going to affect our lives in Beddington North and to keep you all informed.  I suspect the Liberal Democrats will do everything they can to sideline our opinions, they do this at their peril.

Councillors are given a basic allowance plus more allowances depending on what positions they hold on the Council? This was news to me, I thought a small allowance for time, effort and expenses, would be offered.  If Councillors allowances were cut just think of the good that could do, perhaps for a carer or to keep a specialist unit open in a school.

I have been delegated to sit on the Licensing Committee, the Scrutiny Committee and the Neighbourhood & Environment Committee.  This is as well as full Council meetings and all the training and induction so a very busy time is in store.

I have been dealing with several residents’ problems.  I am assured that my enquiries of Council officers should be dealt with in a certain time frame – we shall see – answers are due by 6^th June.

A wise man has told me to concentrate on things that affect Beddington North and I will do just that but it does not stop me having concerns about matters that come to my attention.  Ruth Dombey in her short video on Sutton Scene says the Liberal Democrats have work to do.  They are committed to working with Age UK to help the elderly.  I hate to point the finger but Ruth you’ve had years to sort these things out and I’m sorry but blaming it all on Government cuts just doesn’t wash.  Yes there are strategic matters that are demanded by central Government and the Mayor of London and this can affect funding but this is not the whole problem.

Ruth Dombey says the Liberal Democrats are the party for the environment, really, so why have we in Beddington North had to see the building of an incinerator and not the country park we were promised.  It seems to me that our ward is the dumping ground for anything Liberal Democrats don’t want to put in another area to jeopardise their support.  The Charles Cryer theatre is another case in point.  Nowhere in the Borough for the performing arts is a real problem.  I suspect although I have no actual knowledge that the bids that are coming in to run the Cryer will be listed as not suitable and the original plan to knock it down together with the Gurner building and the Fox and Hounds pub to build flats will go ahead.  I may be wrong here, I hope I am, but I’m not holding my breath.

So, residents of Beddington North, what are my aims as your ward Councillor.  To endeavour to do my job as honestly and as transparently as possible.  To keep you informed of situations that will affect all our lives and to fight as hard as I can when I think they are wrong and to hopefully encourage others to consider standing as Independents in four years time.

Beware political parties in Sutton the Independents are coming!!!