Saturday 19th July 11.30am

Wallington Day Fair

This wonderful event was organised by the Friends of Wallington Library with the aim of celebrating Wallington and its library. The library and gardens truly feel that they are the ‘hub’ of Wallington, and with the popular farmer’s market held monthly in the grounds it has become a focal point for the community. The small band of Friends has done so much for the library and gardens to make it into the attractive area it is. The weather was kind to us on the day and although showers threatened it remained dry. The Fair was opened to the sound of bell-ringing and the Mayor gave a speech. We were also treated to singing by local school choirs and country dancing by the area’s May Queens and attendants.

 

Also very active in the community are Scola and Orchard Hill College, both residents of the Old Town Hall in the ‘civic quarter’ of Wallington, which includes the library. Both organisations had stalls at the fair, as did the local Girl Guides – desperately seeking new leaders. I was very impressed by the quality of the work of the local Woodcote Art Group, and could not resist purchasing a painting by one of their members. When I have more leisure time available I think I would like to join an art group, however it would take me a very long time to reach the standard of the Woodcote Group members.

 

As the weather was fine I stayed & had lunch at the Library Café, to the accompaniment of the Scola Woodwind Ensemble. What a blissful way to spend a Saturday.

 

I appreciate the preparation and organisation that went into putting on the fair, but I do hope that the Friends will consider a repeat performance next year.

Thursday 17th July 6.30pm

Waste Consultation & Beddington & Wallington Local Committee Meeting

The waste consultation was meant to be a drop-in, whereby residents have the opportunity to talk to councillors or waste officers individually, ask questions, and fill in a consultation document. However when I arrived there were about sixty residents in place, sat in a circle around a couple of tables, obviously expecting something a little more formal. However despite my somewhat garbled introduction not aiding the situation (I was still a little breathless from my efforts to get to the meeting) once we all settled in and started chatting it proved to be quite a pleasant & informative exercise. It was really helpful to talk face to face with residents and find out which parts of the waste strategy changes they were happy with and what the problems were. It was also an opportunity to explain the rationale behind the scheme and what ideas were being considered to improve it. Whilst the residents I spoke to were generally supportive of efforts to reduce the waste we as a borough produce, they explained a number of practical difficulties they were experiencing with the garden waste collection specifically. These ranged from the size of the bags, not having a car, and gardens too small for composters. I encouraged them to write all these things down on the form to help with the review. There were only two residents I encountered who were not willing to engage. One was so angry she could barely look at me and refused to listen to any suggestion of putting her concerns in writing. They had come wanting to have their say in an open arena and were not prepared to consider any other way of getting their views across. This was a shame as I feel that shouting at someone isn’t the best way of getting them to see your point of view. I had much more sympathy with the residents who wanted to discuss the issues with me and highlight their concerns that way. I was surprised to bump into Councillor Scully as the informal session drew to a close, as his local committee is Carshalton & Clockhouse. I can only guess at his motivation for skulking around this meeting. He must have been disappointed to see that rather than being lynched Cllr. Hall was in friendly discourse with local community representatives.

 

The Local Committee meeting started on time and I was pleased to see some new members of the public attending to hear more about the proposals for Franklin House. Some useful questions were asked from the audience and we were pleased to hear that the local community would continue to be involved in shaping the project.

As I had expected the Wallington Station access scheme provoked some discussion. It was interesting to hear the thoughts of local people (and councillors) on some of the proposals and it became clear that local understanding of the area showed that some of the ideas, whilst OK on paper, may not be workable in practical terms. In view of this it was agreed that there needed to be informal consultation on the scheme to allow this local knowledge to be taken into consideration. An event is expected to be arranged for August/September and all interested parties are encouraged to attend.

 

Because of the time spent discussing this item Malcolm Barker had to run through his Public Realm update very quickly. He had obtained some figures for new schemes for approval at short notice and these had to be tabled at the meeting. Some concern was expressed about the high costings of public realm projects previously considered. I admit that when I first became a councillor I was surprised at some of the figures I came across. Having obtained more detailed breakdowns I have been more reassured, however it is obvious to me as someone who has worked in the private business sector that the layers of beaurocracy required to safeguard the public purse can also ratchet up the costs of implementation. We have been promised more detailed breakdown of the costs.

 

We ended with a brief report on the new tree strategy that is undergoing consultation until the end of October and the appointment of Robert Brown as the committee representative to the Sustainable Communities Scrutiny Committee looking at reducing excessive packaging by local retailers and proposals for the delivery of street scene services.

 

A sound recording of this meeting is available at:

http://www.sutton.gov.uk/councilanddemocracy/Commitee+Agenda+and+Minutes

+Library/Beddington+and+Wallington+Local+Committee.htm