Minutes 21072011 Sutton South Cheam and Belmont Local Committee

SUTTON SOUTH, CHEAM AND BELMONT LOCAL COMMITTEE 21 July 2011 at 7.00 pm at Overton Grange School, Sutton MEMBERS: Community Representatives non-voting: Councillor Tony Shields Chair, Cou

SUTTON SOUTH, CHEAM AND BELMONT LOCAL COMMITTEE

21 July 2011 at 7.00 pm at Overton Grange School, Sutton

MEMBERS:

Community

Representatives

(non-voting):

Councillor Tony Shields (Chair), Councillor David Hicks (Vice-Chair) and Councillors Mary Burstow, Richard Clifton, Peter Geiringer, Heather Honour, Pamela Picknett, Jonathan Pritchard and Graham Whitham

Peter Mattey (Belmont and South Cheam Residents Association) Adrian Simpson (Highfields Residents Association)

1 MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting held on 26 May 2011 were approved as a correct

record, and signed by the Chair

2 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies were received from Philip Hewitt and Penny Pemberton

3 UPDATE FROM THE SAFER SUTTON PARTNERSHIP SERVICE

The Chair introduced Sgt Brendan McWilliams and the new Inspector for the area,

Ceri Rowe

Sgt McWilliams gave an update on safer neighbourhood team priorities:

Belmont

• Following a ward panel meeting held the previous evening, priorities would

be changing after some intelligence checks; existing priorities were theft

from motor vehicles, drug dealing in the Shanklin Village area and

anti-social behaviour by motorists – there had been some joint operations with

Surrey Traffic Police

• Decrease in crime on the ward by 17% when compared to this time last

year

Cheam

• Decrease in crime by 8%

• Priorities included scams in the area, theft from motor vehicles and

anti-social behaviour

Sutton South

• Motor vehicles to the east side of Brighton Road

• Use of drugs in the Brighton Road area

• Slight increase in crime overall although figures for most categories of crime

were down

Inspector Rowe then outlined the impact on changes to the Metropolitan Police

that were happening throughout London Whilst one sergeant would be handling

two wards this would not have an adverse impact on service to the local

community He had three sergeants and a group of other officers plus the

community support officers

There followed some points and questions from the Committee concerning general issues and specific incidents The Police had taken delivery of new speed guns and enforcement activity would continue Metal items were being targeted by thieves to sell off as scrap

Resolved: To thank Inspector Rowe and Sgt McWilliams for the report

4 OPEN FORUM

Steve Padmore raised an issue on behalf of residents of Eastleigh Close

Essentially residents felt that there was insufficient parking space for them despite restrictions already in place as part of Sutton controlled parking zone During the discussion it was noted that the available 10 parking bays in the Close could be used by anyone although there was a restriction between 9 and 10am Changes would require statutory consultation The possibility of displaced parking to

surrounding roads should a scheme be introduced for Eastleigh Close only was recognised Mr Padmore and other residents accepted that a scheme could

involve parking permits for which they would have to pay It was agreed that ward councillors take the matter forward by liaising with appropriate officers regarding public consultation on a suitable scheme

Judy Okeke from Age UK in Sutton outlined the progress with a project that was being piloted in Belmont The pilot followed a consultation with representatives of the elderly in 2010 regarding access to information about services for them Age

UK had got together with Sutton Council and voluntary organisations to develop the project called Ask Us First Volunteers had developed a form to take out into the community, for completion by interested residents The forms were used to direct residents to appropriate sources of information and help People were directed to voluntary organisations rather than the Council, which sometimes could result in more choice 8 clinics had been held to date, seeing 36 people Judy acknowledged the help of local ward councillors and Peter Mattey in spreading information The project was looking at other venues including St John’s Church

It was suggested that the project could have a stall at Belmont Festival which was planned for 2012 Ian Kershaw added that information on the forms about people feeling safe in their own homes was referred to the safer neighbourhood teams Peter Mattey raised two issues Firstly, parking in Champneys Close, joining Upper Mulgrave Road in Cheam He had received a deputation of residents complaining about vans being parked on both sides of the Close so that on

occasion people could not get out of their drives The free at any time bays

seemed to be used for long term parking Residents had suggested a combined solution of the bays being converted to timed bays with additional parking

restrictions Mr Mattey was aware that Champneys Close was part of the Cheam controlled parking zone so it may have wait until this was reviewed However making the bays timed would bring the Close into line with Upper Mulgrave Road The Chair, with the agreement of the Committee, said that this could be included

on the agenda for the next meeting as the problem had existed for some time In the meantime the appropriate traffic engineer would be asked to contact Peter Mattey to discuss the matter The Committee made it clear that it was not asking officers for a review of the Cheam CPZ

Peter Mattey also raised the issue of telecommunications cabinets being placed in inappropriate locations Whilst licensed telecom operators had the power to install cabinets where they saw fit, companies could show more sympathy when installing them They were obliged to notify the Council of locations in advance and it

seemed that sometimes the Council did not raise objection because there was no point in doing so However in the case of Cedar Road the Council had raised an objection as the location was not in accordance with guidance British Telecom had ignored it, an unsatisfactory explanation had resulted and despite further representation BT had still refused to move the cabinet Councillor Richard Clifton had contacted Paul Burstow MP who was seeking a meeting with the

parliamentary liaison officer in BT Three and five foot high boxes were being

installed outside houses, not on return blank walls It was noted that in some

areas of London boxes were being stolen because of their metal content and that

Westminster Council did not allow anything of this nature to be installed above

ground

It was suggested that lists of locations where telecom cabinets were proposed in

Sutton should be provided to ward councillors so that they could warn residents

accordingly The Committee agreed that this should be taken forward A request

of The Executive to write to London Councils and the Local Government

Association about this matter was agreed

Resolved: (i) That Sutton South ward councillors take forward the issue of

parking controls to help the residents of Eastleigh Close, as outlined above;

(ii) To note the useful information reported by Judy Okeke;

(iii) That the appropriate traffic engineer be asked to contact Peter Mattey

regarding Champneys Close;

(iv) That The Executive be requested to send a letter to London Councils

and Local Government Association expressing concern at the increase in

installation of telecommunication cabinets in inappropriate residential

locations throughout the Borough;

(v) That in connection with (iv) above Ian Kershaw relay to the Development

Control team the Committee’s request that lists of proposed locations for

cabinets are circulated to ward councillors

5 COMMUNITY SLOT - ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF

BIRDS

Martyn Foster from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) gave a

talk on birds that inhabited the local area and ways in which the public could help

to preserve their habitat Examples of initiatives were a RSPB on-line wildlife

project, work with young people across London to give them experience of

connecting with nature and Sutton’s House Sparrow project This project was

coming to an end but it had worked well and the RSPB were keen that green

spaces were preserved and if possible extended

Mr Foster then answered questions from members of the Committee and public

The following issues were raised:

• Belmont Pastures and possible seeding with appropriate seed mix – Ian

Kershaw said that improvement of Belmont pastures was included in his

public realm report and Hendryk Jurk, Biodiversity Manager was

progressing the matter Members asked that this be followed up

• Promotion of nature trails and RSPB joining up with other organisations -

Martyn Foster said that the RSPB did work with other wildlife organisations

and engaged with deprived communities and children Resources

prevented the RSPB from covering all areas of London but they were aware

of projects that had been carried out in Sutton It was suggested that there

may be scope for organising nature trails for less well off children through

the public realm route

• Seed planting of railways verges - Martyn Foster said the RSPB had been

discussing this issue with Transport for London and London Underground

LU owned a significant amount of green corridor in the capital and there

was massive potential to further improve these areas for wildlife

Resolved: To thank Martyn Foster for his very informative and interesting

presentation

6 SMARTER SERVICES SUTTON - WASTE MANAGEMENT REVIEW

All local committees in the current round were receiving an update report on the results of the Smarter Services review of waste collection This Committee had considered the matter previously in March (Minute 292/11 refers) Ideas for

meeting the savings target had been assessed and recommendations presented to The Executive on 5 July 2011 Matt Clubb, Head of Waste Management and Fleet Transport, attended to outline what The Executive had agreed to achieve the target and answer questions Issues covered included the following:

• 260 people had attended local committee meetings and supplied about 60 comments/ideas; nearly 400 comments had been received on-line

• No change to the garden waste service - so people would not be charged for it

• The biggest savings were being achieved through more efficient use of Council vehicles, helping with a main aim of minimising staff reductions

• Changes would be implemented by April 2012

• Charging people to collect compost from depots was considered but the Council had a contractual arrangement whereby it benefited from sell-on of garden waste; the contractor also had to supply a certain amount of garden waste that was distributed free of charge each year

• A member visit to Beddington landfill site and Crayford recycling centre had been very instructive and was there scope for local people to visit those sites?

• Food waste trial in the Carshalton area had proved successful, was there any scope to roll it out to other areas? In response, weekly collection of food waste had been considered but start up costs would have been too much Also costs would be recouped over a longer period than the scope of the review allowed

• Refuse collection arrangements would see two staff shifts each of 6 and a half hours, with two shifts of 3 and a half hours on Saturday

Resolved: To thank Matt Clubb for his update

7 LOCAL ROUND-UP

Each member gave an update on a matter of local interest The following topics were some of those mentioned:

• Reduction in funding for social care

• Impact of proposals for Elizabeth House in Cheam

• Capital Connect train services to/from Sutton

• Bulb planting in October

• Possibility of hanging baskets for Belmont Village

• Visits to local school theatre productions

• Observing a UK Citizen ceremony

• Possible park and ride scheme for staff at Royal Marsden Hospital

• Foxes entering residents’ homes in the Highfields area

• Annual general meetings of local groups The Committee noted that packs comprising Kidney Vetch seeds and an

accompanying fact file, which contained information on the Small Blue Butterfly and how to grow the seeds, were now available to buy for 50p from London & Belcher Florists in Station Road, Belmont

Resolved: To note

8 PUBLIC REALM PROJECTS AND PRIORITIES

Ian Kershaw, Locality Lead Officer, presented his report and tabled an appendix showing progress with the various public realm schemes Key points:

• The heritage plaque project was proving difficult to take forward due to lack

of staff and complexity of getting permissions for plaques

• Hanging baskets - allocation of £1,000 was recommended to support

licence applications to Transport for London (TfL) where necessary It was

intended to seek contributions from shop keepers for the cost of the baskets

in both Cheam and Belmont Villages

• A range of suggestions for public realm funding had been received – in total

these would exceed the amount of public realm money available

• The SSNA application for landfill tax credit bid to Viridor had been

successful so £28,000 of investment would be available for Devonshire

Avenue Nature Reserve and Warren Park including associated publicity for

the Small Blue Butterfly project

• The estimated cost of further play equipment for Overton Park was £30,000

- the Committee asked that Ian Kershaw pursue possible avenues of

external funding, bearing in mind that this park had substantial sums spent

on it already

• Bench for memorial garden in Belmont – estimated cost to be supplied to

the next meeting

• Members noted the possible calls on the £15,740 allocation for transport

schemes this year The cost of providing more than one sign in Anne

Boleyn’s Walk was awaited; the Committee agreed up to £1,000 for this

purpose so Ian Kershaw could take the matter forward

• Costs of moving a 30mph sign near Downs Road/Cotswold Road junction

were awaited – so this would be brought back to Committee

• Grange Vale – this was subject to funding from the TfL local implementation

plan bid so the cost of any scheme would not fall on to this Committee

• Extension of yellow lines at Chanctonbury Gardens/Camborne Road –

agreed at £3,500 but officers were instructed to implement for less if

possible

• A national butterfly count was ongoing until 31 July

Regarding The Lodge, Cheam Park the Committee expressed their frustration and

dissatisfaction at two things: delay in getting the tenant into The Lodge and the

apparent request for more money from their public realm budget for fencing The

estimated cost had been £3,500, the actual cost £6,300 The Committee

requested that each member of the committee be supplied as soon as possible

with a schedule of outstanding works to include the cost of each aspect of the

scheme and when the tenant was moving into The Lodge Members confirmed

that they were willing to allocate £3,500 if the schedule of works was forthcoming

but nothing above that sum It was clarified that the planning application due to be

considered by Development Control Committee on 10 August was for the fencing

because The Lodge was a listed building and in a conservation area

The Committee agreed to allocate £2,000 capital and £1,000 revenue for trees

adjacent to the children’s playground in Cheam Recreation Ground The whole

project would cost £7,000 This planted area could be named later to mark the

Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012

Ian Kershaw agreed to provide a sheet showing expenditure on various projects by

ward to the next meeting

Resolved: (i) To agree to cease the heritage plaque project and reallocate the £5,860 underspend to the Committee’s public realm pot;

(ii) To allocate revenue of £1,000 to support hanging basket schemes for Cheam and Belmont Villages;

(iii) To agree to progress other public realm projects as outlined above, noting that although all projects are not fully costed at this point they are likely to exceed in total the £44,573 public realm capital yet to be

committed;

(iv) To note the position of the remaining projects identified for each ward; (v ) To thank the SSNA and Ian Kershaw for their work on the successful bid to Viridor;

(vi) To note that this is an urgent item brought forward by the Chair so as to avoid delay with progression of the Committee’s public realm programme

9 THE U - A CITIZENS' UNIVERSITY FOR SUTTON

Resolved: To note the information circulated with the agenda

10 COMMITTEE WORK PLAN

It was expected that the main topic on the agenda for the next meeting would be possible parking controls for the Belmont area Arrangements for the meeting including a letter drop to residents notifying them of it were being considered [NB Subsequently it has been confirmed that analysis of consultation results mean that the issue is likely to go to the December meeting]

Councillor Graham Whitham said that at the last meeting of the Nonsuch Park Joint Management Committee it had been reported that there were some activities

on the Nonsuch Park side which might usefully tie in with issues for Cheam Park being considered by LBS officers He had taken the liberty of advising Dominic Aslangul, Assistant Parks Manager, that if there was anything that should be considered by this Committee, to bring it to the October meeting

Resolved: To note the above and the work plan circulated with the agenda

11 NEXT MEETING

The next meeting would be held on Thursday 20 October at 7.00pm, at a venue to

be confirmed

The meeting ended at 9.45 pm

Chair:

Date: