There was a good turnout from local residents at the recent Sutton Local committee with an interesting and packed agenda.

We heard an update from the local police – burglaries are down in our area and most of them are to do with the stealing of parcels from communal areas so have a think about where you want your online deliveries to be left. Two recent arrests in Sutton High Street have reduced high street robberies to zero. Car theft is also down – though the police agreed this could be because people aren’t reporting it.

Sutton Volunteer Centre did a presentation on the great work they do and the importance of volunteering. It’s good to see that the number of volunteers in our borough is increasing. The volunteers working in the borough Warm Spaces are giving good advice and support to many people who are struggling. If you’d like to see what volunteer opportunities are available, go to https://vcsutton.org.uk/volunteer/. And if you know of anyone who would benefit from using our Warm Spaces, there is more information at https://www.sutton.gov.uk/-/warm-spaces-in-sutton.

We heard about the regeneration programmes in and around Sutton High Street and the ideas for St Nicholas Centre. There will be lots of consultation and discussion in the coming months and nothing has been decided yet so look out for more news about how you can share your ideas about the future of the High Street.

Councillors voted to approve the following local schemes –

– installing CCTV in the car park outside the Sutton Sports Village to address antisocial behaviour

– installing lighting on the path across Sutton Green to ensure people feel safer in the dark

– funding a defibrillator in Granfers Community Centre

– funding two flag poles in Rosehill Park West and Rosehill Park East to celebrate their recent Green Flag status

– installing CCTV at the St Helier entrance to Greenshaw woods (at the request of the police – the cost will be shared with the St Helier Local committee)

The next meeting of the Sutton Local committee will be on June 22nd at 7pm.