![Snowy Standstill in Sutton]()
by Paul Scully | Feb 2, 2009 | News |
First the news. I’ve had an update from the Council about various services.
51 schools are definitely closed. The remaining 9 are being contacted.
Staff in Adult Social Services are prioritising the most vulnerable and are ringing around and visiting where possible.
Waste and Recycling Services have been cancelled today. Staff who would have been collecting rubbish have been reassigned to clear the worst of the snow.
Gritters are on the main roads and were out last night. There seems to be different levels of success around the area. Carshalton High Street is passable whereas nearby Brookside is knee deep. The Brighton Road in Sutton was ungritted as of 8.30am and reports have come in about 14in of snow on the roads near Cuddington.
Parking enforcement has been lifted. The reason that we were told was worry for the safety of traffic wardens. I would have thought helping residents in a difficult time would have been up there in priorities and the small matter of yellow lines being buried under a foot of snow. Anyway, the advice is not to travel unless you really have to…but you’ll be able to park when you get there.
I walked around Carshalton this morning. People were walking along the side roads with very few cars on the roads. I was amazed how many people were out and about enjoying the snow and delighting in the peaceful beauty around Carshalton Ponds. The atmosphere was of another age gone by. One of the ponds was frozen over which meant that the birds, swans and ducks all crowded into the other pond. Children have been using lengths of guttering for skis, plastic bags for toboggans and snowballs for …well, weapons.
Latest weather forecast
Frequent snow showers this morning with a longer period of snow this afternoon and at first this
evening. Further falls of 5 to 10 cm are possible with a risk of isolated falls of up to 15 cm. The snow may turn more sleety later this evening before dying out. Frosty overnight with widespread ice.
For tomorrow –
Icy at first. Risk of sleet or snow showers later in the morning and through the afternoon. These should die out overnight. Frosty again with a risk of icy patches.
Keep an eye on the Sutton Council website for further updates on Council Services
by Paul Scully | Jan 22, 2009 | News |
First, Junior Business Minister Shriti Vadera saw some green shoots of recovery, then Margaret Beckett urged people to snap up bargains as she saw signs of an upturn in the property market.
Now, Employment Minister and Minister for London, Tony McNulty has been talking about the big increase in unemployment. He told the press that he sees light at the end of the tunnel. Sorry Tony, that’s a train coming the other way.
by Paul Scully | Jan 22, 2009 | News |
The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) have had a drive to protect the hearing of music teachers and dustbin men. Today, they advised refuse collectors to wear earmuffs when collecting glass.
Yesterday, they told music teachers to wear them when taking lessons or stand behind a noise screen. Apparently the saxophone is a danger after 15 minutes. I was sorely tempted to wear some when I tried to teach myself the saxophone a few years back, but it wasn’t the volume that I was trying to protect myself from.
The considered advice from the HSE to bin men is to empty boxes of glass more slowly to lessen the noise.
by Paul Scully | Jan 21, 2009 | News |
I sat watching Barack Obama with the same sense of expectation, hope and trepidation as millions of people around the world whilst he fluffed his inauguration oath and delivered a speech that was powerful in its oratory but still short in delivering a roadmap to deliver the promised change.
However, this is not what moved me to comment on a subject that is way out of my remit in “Making Carshalton Central”. Instead, it was the desperation of Denis McShane, the Labour MP who jumped on Obama fever to issue a press release to the Guardian explaining that Labour MPs were hard done by because Tories called a vote about the European response to the small matter of global economic meltdown.
Feeling pretty pleased with himself, he has obviously forgotten that:
1. MPs are elected to Parliament to debate, vote and legislate, not watch TV.
2. There might have been one, two or a thousand of other opportunities to watch one of the most significant inauguration ceremonies in the short history of the United States of America.
3. His ‘John Lewis’ list must extend to a video recorder.
Simple message to Dennis McShane MP: stop wondering why politicians are as popular as bankers (estate agents are starting to get the sympathy vote) and get a grip.
![Snowy Standstill in Sutton]()
by Paul Scully | Jan 19, 2009 | Carshalton Central, News |
There are a few changes for this corner of Carshalton. Click on the links to see the details.
Firstly a crossing on Westmead Corner is welcome to allow children attending Camden Junior School and people going to the shops on the parade to cross a busy road safely.
Then the two speed humps either side of the railway bridge on Shorts Road are being changed to wider road tables , which are the brick topped speed humps. These are to create convenient crossing points for the school and the alleyway.
The final change, the remodelling of the junction of Alma Road with Shorts Road, has been changed as a result of residents’ concerns. Some have lived on this corner for over thirty years, know the area intimately and have to live with the consequences of any change. Therefore, I am pleased that the change seems to have been received better than the first drawing. As ever, not everyone will get what they want but it is crucial that the Council listen and respond. The main concern was that larger vehicles already use the entrance to St Philomena’s to help manoeuvre around the corner that is made tighter by school parking. If the shopping parade on Carshalton Road is redeveloped as planned, construction workers may be using this route to get to the site so it is important to get this right.
I’ll be going back to those residents to make sure that the Council have got it right this time. In the meantime, you can see the responses to the Consultation by road, here.
![Snowy Standstill in Sutton]()
by Paul Scully | Jan 19, 2009 | Carshalton Central, News |
STEPS Zone 17 covers the roads to the North East of our ward. You can see the proposals for Cambridge Road and Banstead Road here.
Cross hatched road markings will be painted in the middle of Cambridge Road. I am told that this helps with lane discipline by suggesting that cars should only enter the hatched area if safe to do so. This road is a bus route and has a lot of parked cars by the BP garage.
At the other end, the junction with Banstead Road has been a longstanding problem. STOP markings and a 30mph circle will be painted onto the road surface. In Banstead Road, clearer road signs, indicating the existence of this side turning will replace the signs that only show a bend in the road. In a second phase of work, yellow lines will be considered for this junction. It was proposed that speed bumps were installed in Banstead Road, either side of the junction with Cambridge Road but all three councillors have opposed this.
First the news. I’ve had an update from the Council about various services.
