Wallington South Councillors’ Winter Update

What a year it has been! One day we are celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, and then later mourning her sad passing. We welcomed our new King, got through three Prime Ministers in as many months and have gone from the social deprivations of a pandemic to the financial deprivations of a cost of living crisis. We saw war in Ukraine, a winter World Cup, had a heatwave in Summer and snow in December.
Perhaps this signals that nothing should be taken for granted. Christmas is often a time to reflect on what really matters to us – friends, family, a roof over our head, enough to eat. Let us be grateful for what we do have, and be kind to those who don’t have all of those things. See below for helpful links to help for those in need.

WARD NEWS

Snow and Ice

The recent blast of snowy weather may have felt very seasonal, but it also brings hazards and inconvenience some of us may not be prepared for. Look out for your local grit bins and feel free to use the grit on your stretch of residential road and on pavements. If the grit is getting low, report it to the council. There is an interactive map on the website to help you find your nearest grit bin.

Make sure your vehicle is de-iced and snow scraped from the roof as well as the windows before setting off. Public transport may well be disrupted so do check before heading out.

Lidl Refurbishment and Disabled Access to Wallington Train Station

The Lidl store in Beddington Gardens is undergoing some refurbishment works to improve the accessibility of the car park and the entrance to its store.
Unfortunately the works have meant that the access to the train station through the car park is unavailable. There is no public right of way but Lidl have assured us that access will be available when the car park and store is reopened. 
In the meantime disabled access to the south side platform is via the public right of way from further up Beddington Gardens and down the track that runs alongside the station. Access to stations is the responsibility of Network Rail. We appreciate that the track is not suitable for wheelchair users and we asked for the vegetation to be cut back, which has now been done. Lidl advise that their works should be completed and access restored by February/March next year.

Upcoming Streetworks

The council’s Highways Team have advised councillors of the following streetworks taking place in our area over the next month that may cause some disruption due to temporary traffic lights or road closures:

49-69 Beddington Lane footpath just north from Asda junction there are planned water company works from 21st December to 23rd December which will require temporary traffic signals.

Foresters Drive between Sandy Lane South and Mollison Drive from 3rd to 20th January utility works by Southern Gas Network will take place requiring temporary multi-way traffic signals.

We are pleased to see that the pedestrian refuge improvements at the Sandy Lane South/Stafford Road junction have now been completed to TfL’s satisfaction and they have removed the temporary ban on buses turning here so the 154 can resume its service to Roundshaw residents.

Wallington Community Events

It is the All In Wallington team, made up of local businesses, residents and your Wallington South Ward councillors (past and present) that brings you the annual Wallington Music Festival and the Christmas Fayre to celebrate the switch-on of the festive lighting.

We were delighted to be able to bring back both events in full this year following their suspension due to the Covid pandemic.

We had a lovely sunny day for the Music Festival to showcase the fantastic local musical talent curated by Dan Smith. Food and drink was provided by local businesses with additional stalls all organised by Alan Fitter, whilst the event was compered by the fabulous Jack Bennet. Much fun was had by all.

We are hugely grateful to our generous sponsors Carpenter & Co Solicitors, Raff Electrical, Sutton Council and the Gary Mason Charity. Also thanks to other local organisations for their practical help including Sutton College, Woodcote Flying Club and Churches Together along with our steadfast group of regular volunteers. The sponsorship enables us to pay a small amount to our performers and hire the necessary equipment.

The Christmas Fayre saw a range of stalls in Wallington Square, the return of Santa to his Grotto and beautiful singing from local choirs. We have a Christmas tree in Wallington thanks to Your Move and tree lights funded by Raff Electrical and erected and decorated thanks to the generosity of Beeches Tree Care. Huge thanks to Ric Adams for transforming an empty shop into a magical grotto for Santa and providing the gift bags. The free use of the empty shop is thanks to Winston Group, the owners of Wallington Square. We were delighted to have the Mayor of Sutton and our MP with the Christmas Card competition winners to perform the switch on of the lights. Thanks to our sponsors Carpenters & Co  Solicitors for their generous contribution to fund the event and thanks also to construction firm, Lifebuild for the loan of the safety barriers.

Thank you especially to all our lovely residents who supported this event by turning up in droves. The queue for Santa’s Grotto began an hour before it even opened but everyone was so patient. The elves were delighted how well behaved the children were despite the wait and have put in a good word for them with Santa! 

Old Wallington Arms applies to become a gym

The new owners of the building that once housed the Wallington Arms pub and previously the Jon Jackson has applied to change the use of the ground floor to a gym. We ensured that the pub was listed in the council’s Local Plan as one to protect so a change of use requires planning permission. The Planning Department has yet to make a decision on the application.

Permitted Development and HMOs

The Government sets out what types of development require planning permission and those which do not. In recent years the Conservative government has expanded what falls within ‘Permitted Development’ and so does not require planning permission. 

Permitted Development includes small property extensions and garden buildings that are ancillary to the property. It also includes conversion of a property into smaller units to house up to six people, known as a house in multiple occupation (HMO). The extended rules now  allow an additional two storeys to be added to flats and for commercial units to be easily changed to a wide variety of other uses – retail, hot food sales, financial services, fitness, nurseries, residential, school or industrial use.

Permitted Development means that the council has no powers to prevent these development changes from taking place.

As councillors we have campaigned against the extension of permitted development rights as residents regularly complain about the negative impacts of some of them. In particular there is concern about the number of family homes being converted into HMOs. Whilst well managed and carefully adapted HMOs can be a valuable option for a single person that can’t afford to rent a place of their own, poor conversions that seek to squeeze in as many people as possible at extortionate rents are not good either for the occupants of the property or the neighbours. It also reduces the number of family houses available further driving up house prices. As the council is reviewing its local planning policies it is looking into ways to prevent losing more family homes to HMO.

Even though converting a house into a six person HMO doesn’t need planning permission, they do still need licensing and must comply with health and fire safety standards. If you have concerns about poor quality conversions you can alert the council’s regulatory services team to check if the property is licensed and safe to occupy.

Working for our residents

Casework from our residents keeps us busy all year round. Here are some of the issues we have been helping with since our last update:

Hendfield Court – residents alerted us to the fact that the sole lift for this tall block of flats had been out of action for some time. We know there are a number of elderly people living in these flats and those on the higher floors were effectively housebound as they were unable to manage the stairs. Carers and deliveries were not always able to get to them and no one was getting any information from the managing agents about when the lift would be repaired. We therefore alerted the council’s social services team who put some pressure on the agents to get the lift repaired asap. Despite the social care team being told that all vulnerable residents were being looked after, we wanted to check for ourselves. So Muhammad and Jayne carried out door to door housecalls and provided contact details for social services. It was good to see many of the residents were being helped out by neighbours but we did need to intervene when we learnt that a resident who had been in hospital was about to be discharged home still needing round the clock carers. With the lift out of action it was not guaranteed that the carers would be able to give this support so with the family and social care team’s agreement the discharge was delayed until the lift was back in action. Thanks to the external pressure the necessary part was acquired more quickly although this has not fully resolved the problem as the lift still intermittently breaks down. Clearly a more permanent fix is required and we will keep up the pressure to see this happen.

Ross Parade flytipping – thanks to our efforts to tackle flytipping in Ross Parade we have seen major improvements in the cleanliness of this street. It was clear that the large number of flats on the bagged waste system did not help so we successfully argued that Napier Court should have communal waste bins and got wheelie bins reinstated for the new houses on Ross Parade.

Graffiti removal – it is the responsibility of the shops and private landowners to remove graffiti on their property. We would encourage local businesses in particular to promptly clean off any graffiti as otherwise it just attracts more in the area, leaving our town looking run down and unattractive to shoppers. The council will clean off graffiti on public land and Sam was successful in getting some removed from Bridge Road over the railway. We were also pleased to see the flytipping hotspot over the fencing on this bridge all cleared making this a much improved area.

Help with forms – we have helped residents apply for blue badges and disabled parking bays, and directed others to forms on the council’s website where they can report planning breaches, apply for housing help and submit comments on planning applications.

A change to our Ward Surgery Venue

Our monthly ward surgeries have now moved from the Wallington Sainsburys to Cox Pippin Cafe in Wallington Square. They continue to be held on the third Saturday of every month (except August) from 10am to 11:30am. Do drop by to say hello or seek our advice. No appointment necessary. We also recommend the coffee and toasted sandwiches!

Report issues in your area

Muhammad, Sam and Jayne report issues they see as they are out and about in the ward including litter, flytipping, damaged signs, faulty crossings, graffiti, raised paving slabs, faded yellow lines etc. You can help too by reporting issues via the council website here. The Report an Issue form gets sent directly to the service meaning a quicker response than phoning the council.

BOROUGH NEWS

Support through the Cost of Living Crisis

There is a range of support provided by Sutton Council, community groups, local charities, and partners for issues including food, finances, housing, energy and tips for saving money. See the council website for more details.

The council is also opening its libraries as warm spaces for people during the day with volunteers on hand to offer help and advice. Wallington Library is included in this scheme.

The council website also details available support for businesses.

To be kept up to date with the latest information and support for residents sign up to the council’s weekly e-newsletter, Sutton Scene, or for businesses sign up to receive Sutton Business Scene.

Sutton Council’s plans for the St Nicholas Centre

With retail in trouble due to more people shopping online, the St Nicholas Centre fell into decline and the owners were planning to sell it off to be developed into housing. The council thought this was wrong and last year stepped in to purchase the shopping centre with a view to redeveloping it in a way that would add to the vibrancy of the town centre.

The current proposal is to move the library and civic function into the centre of the high street on part of this site and also create more space for community use such as activities for young people. This will bring greater footfall into the town centre and ensure that its exceptionally long high street will be attractive to new businesses and reduce empty spaces. It fits alongside the council’s other investments in the high street such as Oru’s co-working space, the redevelopment of the old Chicago’s as a cultural and performance space and the repurposing of buildings that enabled Sound Lounge to come to Sutton.

The redevelopment of the old civic offices site will enable the council to meet its housing targets which the Local Plan directs largely to the main town and district centres thereby protecting the suburban character of the rest of the borough, which local residents agreed to when consulted  on the local plan.

Additional housing around the town centre also brings additional footfall which can only help current businesses as well as attracting more. New development also brings additional funding to invest in the area and is the means to deliver the affordable housing that is needed too.

LOCAL PLANNING NEWS

You can click on the links below to view and comment on new applications.

DM2022/01617 Crosspoint House 28 Stafford Road Wallington SM6 9AA Prior Approval in relation to the erection of 2 new floors to provide 19 self contained residential units. Granted

DM2021/01225 6 Park Hill Road Wallington SM6 0SB Change of use from C4 (6-bedroom house in multiple occupation – HMO) to Sui Generis (7-bedroom – Larger HMO) Refused

DM2022/00278 Gower House 75 Woodcote Road Wallington Sutton SM6 0PU Demolition of a two-storey former care home and erection of a four-storey residential building comprising 11 flats. Granted

DM2022/00161 Garage Adj. 86 Blenheim Gardens Wallington SM6 9PS Demolition of existing garage and erection of a detached two storey dwelling. Refused

DM2021/01802 16 – 18 Beddington Gardens Wallington SM6 0HU (Lidl) Erection of a single storey front and side extensions, new canopy, alterations to the car park layout to include, new lighting, cycle and trolley bays. Granted

DM2021/01162 Mulberry House 26 Mulberry Mews Wallington SM6 8RF Demolition of the existing property and adjoining row of garages and erection of 7 two storey terraced dwelling houses with accommodation in the roof space, refuse storage and parking to the front, accessed from Elgin Road and/or Ross Road. Still pending decision

DM2021/00835 50-52 Stanley Park Road Carshalton SM5 3HW Demolition of two semi detached dwelling houses and erection of a two storey building comprising of six flats with 6 off street parking spaces. Still pending decision

DM2021/00429 Roy Smith Garage Ltd Elgin Road Wallington SM6 8RE Demolition of existing garage and existing building and erection of two two-storey detached buildings (one with roof accommodation) to provide 8 self contained residential units. Still pending decision

New Applications

DM2022/020237 Beddington Gardens Wallington SM6 0HU Prior Approval for change of use from Class E (Commercial, Business and Service) to C3 (Residential) use. 

DM2022/01927 106A Stafford Road Wallington SM6 9AY Change of use from Class E (offices) to Class F1 (place of worship)

DM2022/019256 Woodcote Road Wallington Sutton SM6 0NN (old Wallington Arms Pub) Change of use to Class E to provide gym, alterations to fenestrations, plant equipment and cycle parking

DM2022/01840 Wallington High School For Girls Woodcote Road Wallington Sutton SM6 0PH Application to remove condition 8 (Use of sports hall) to allow the hall to be used by the public, community groups or organisations. 

DM2022/01386 Greenbelt Land At Woodcote Green Garden Centre 4A Woodmansterne Lane Wallington SM6 0SUDemolition of existing structures and erection of a 70-bed specialist neurological nursing home (Use Class C2) with associated access, parking and landscaping. 

DM2022/01264 4 Milton Road Wallington SM6 9RW Change of use from 6-bed House in Multiple Occupation (HMO – Class C4) to 8-bed House in Multiple Occupation (larger HMO – Sui-Generis). 

DM2022/00567 Workshop 105 Stafford Road Wallington SM6 9AP Change of Use from Class E (light industrial – workshop) to Sui Generis MOT garage, erection of a two storey rear/side extension to the workshop.

With our best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Sam Martin, Jayne McCoy & Muhammad Sadiq

Your Councillors for Wallington South