Ruth, Marlene and Steve are supporting the Council’s plans for improvements in the local park.  This includes a scheme to prevent the frequent flooding which affects the Tennis Centre, the community centre, café, car park and the children play area.  This needs to be addressed urgently.  The plans provide for a shallow flood basin – a dry wild meadow area for most of the year which, together with proposals for other meadow areas, will add to the diversity of species in the park. Unfortunately Conservative cuts to Sutton Council’s budget mean we have to bid against the rest of London for all these improvements.

Plans also include a junior bike track in a visible site near to the main road.  This will be a welcome addition to facilities for young people, and its high visibility is important for safety reasons.

The path from the car park towards the by-pass will be upgraded to improve access for wheelchair users and for cyclists.

Also lighting improvements in the car park are planned, to discourage anti-social behaviour and improve safety.

The improvements include upgrading the path to the north-west, towards the by-pass, Taken all together this package of measures will increase the use of the park especially by younger and older people, and by cyclists.  It will mitigate some of the local impacts of the Climate Change emergency, and will contribute to Sutton Council’s objectives of being Active Citizens and Keeping People Safe.

The bid for funding is being made to the Mayor’s Green and Resilient Spaces Fund, and we should know the result later in the year.