Brownies High Tea for UK Parliament week
It was a great pleasure to receive an invitation from the 7th South Wallington Brownies to join them in celebrating 100 years since women got the vote as part of UK Parliament Week.
At the event I chatted to a number of Brownies about the research they had been doing, answered questions about my work as a local councillor, and tasted some delicious biscuits and cakes.
Planning application in for flats above The Whispering Moon, Wallington
An application has been submitted to build 33 flats on top of the Whispering Moon pub in Ross Parade, Wallington.
Whilst additional housing in a fairly non-controversial location is welcome, the design is quite bold. I would be interested in the views of local people on the design.
The application does not include any affordable housing on site but offers a contribution towards affordable housing delivered elsewhere.
Details of the application can be viewed online and comments submitted up to 8th May:
DM2018/00354 5-6 Ross Parade Wallington SM6 8QG Erection of part four, part five storey extension to existing building comprising 33 self contained flats (twenty four 2-bedroom, eight 3-bedroom and one 4-bedroom) with refuse store and 62 cycle parking spaces.
This application has now been withdrawn by the applicant
Save Our Pharmacies
Steve, Jayne and Muhammad are supporting the Save Our Pharmacies campaign.
Earlier this year the Government proposed cutting £170 million funding to pharmacies in 2016/17. This massive cut could lead to the closure of one in four pharmacies – that would mean eleven across the borough of Sutton.
Pharmacies offer a huge range of services to take pressure off GPs and A&E departments — closing them makes no sense.
Please sign our petition calling on the Government to stop these cuts.
The Sutton Liberal Democrats have also proposed a motion for debate at Full Council on Monday demanding that the Government reverses its proposals to cut the funding for pharmacies.
Poppy Collectors required in Sutton for Poppy Week
Poppy Day in Sutton takes place on Saturday 29th October.
Voting Leave does not make racism acceptable
A small number of people with views to the far right used the EU Leave campaign as an excuse to legitimise racism. Now the country has voted to Leave the EU we are starting to hear about incidents of racism where they had not been encountered before.
The Police Borough Commander has written to us to advise that the Met Police are taking action to provide reassurance to communities and that any incidences of hate crime will not be tolerated and will be investigated.
The local Police advise that they have had no incidences recorded, however I have lately received reports of local people being racially abused both during and after the campaign.
I would strongly advise anyone who has been subjected to racist abuse to report it to the Police. We need to stamp down on this quickly and hard and be clear that racism and hate crime is not acceptable under any circumstances in the London Borough of Sutton.
I believe that the vast majority of people in Sutton are kind, tolerant, thoughtful people who find racism abhorrent, and the people who voted to leave the EU did so for reasons a million miles away from the views of these Far Right groups. Which makes it all the more important that we stand united to fight any upsurge in racism in our local area.
Police letter below:
Dear Friends,
UK EU Referendum : Keeping London Safe and Secure Together
The EU Referendum may have divided public opinion, but one thing that I am certain we can all agree upon is our great liberal values, including the principles of democracy and tolerance. The very large majority of us are proud of our nation’s diversity and the value that difference can bring. This is obvious in our #westandtogether campaigns, when all communities of all backgrounds and from every neighbourhood stand together in unity against hatred and extremism. We are also highly aware that some critical events, whether at home or abroad, can incite incidents of intolerance and/or hate which we will not tolerate. We are also mindful that when this happens communities can feel insecure and unsafe. The MPS has responded quickly by putting in place a comprehensive policing plan across each borough that will enable us to communicate directly with communities to reassure them; to engage at a personal level in local communities, building further trust and confidence; to have local policing plans that provide highly visible policing at times and in locations which meet the needs of our communities; and to monitor community sentiment through a rolling community impact assessment. There have been some isolated incidents of hate crimes and I am proud of the way in which communities have come together and shown unity. Any act of hate crime is not acceptable and will not be tolerated. We would appeal to anyone who witnesses or suffers any hate crime to come forward and report it immediately. We have over 900 specialist detectives who investigate all hate crimes and want to bring offenders to justice. I would like to encourage you to get to know your local Neighbourhood Officers who will be able to offer support and friendship.
With my best wishes,
Mak Chishty Commander Engagement
Wallington Cleans Up
With the excuse of the Clean for the Queen campaign the Wallington South ward councillors decided to enlist help in tackling some Wallington ‘Grot Spots’ that were outside of the Council’s jurisdiction.
We were pleased to be joined on Friday by local residents as we got to work on the rear of the shops beside Readers’ Walk in the town centre.
Armed with litter pickers and shovels, in about an hour we had filled a truck with black bags full of rubbish, some of which had clearly been around for quite some time. We also discovered double yellow lines along the rear, which had been obscured by the debris.
By the way – whilst the ‘after’ picture was being taken I was still working away picking litter round the corner at the back of Iceland – but my colleagues had forgotten all about me and nearly drove off leaving me there!
After ensuring that this area was much less of an eyesore some helperss went on to tackle litter in shrubbery on Woodcote Road, whilst Steve, Alan Fitter, our council cleaning operative & I headed off to the pathway that runs along the south side of Wallington train station. We had received complaints about the litter in this area but were having trouble getting it addressed as the council and Network Rail couldn’t agree who was responsible for the pathway. So we decided it was a mess that couldn’t wait. We did our best and cleared two areas nearest to the access to the station, but our backs gave out before we could finish the whole of the pathway. The shrubbery needs addressing so that the entangled litter can be dealt with. We have asked the local Safer Neighbourhood Team Sergeant if they could do a Community Payback Scheme here to finish the job. If not we will be back giving it another go – hopefully with more willing volunteers.
A huge thanks to the community-minded residents that came to give us a hand. You were real troupers and worked very hard.
Let’s hope the area stays litter-free for a few days at least!
Young People’s Careers Fair – Weds 3rd February 2016
Over 45 employers and training providers are lined up to talk to young people about their career ambitions at the annual LB Sutton Careers Fair.
If you are between 15 and 24 feel free to drop into the Pulse Centre at Carshalton College anytime between 1.30pm and 5.30pm on 3rd February to get advice and inspiration about the next stage in your career development.
There will be information on preparing your CV and interview performance, how to access apprenticeships, advice on applying to college or university, details of current local job vacancies, as well as an excellent opportunity to talk to local employers and businesses.
If you are an employer then there is still room for you to attend.
For more information contact: Sutton Education Business Partnership (SEBP) on 020 8770 6962
Today’s Advice Surgery is in Wallington Library
Our Ward Councillors Advice Surgery for December will be held in the Iris Tomlin room at Wallington Library from 10-11.30am.
This is a change from our usual venue of Sainsburys and is just for the December surgery.
Free Christmas Dinner for Wallington Seniors 8th December
Our wonderful Wallington Arms Public House is hosting a free Christmas Dinner for senior Wallington residents.