A considerable number of my constituents in Sutton have been in touch with me regarding the proposals for the borough-wide Controlled Parking Zone which Sutton Council are consulting on. The important date is 16th December when this closes so it is vital if you haven’t expressed your view you do so before then via the link below:

https://sutton.citizenspace.com/chief-executives-group/parking-consultation-stage-2/

Sutton has a very high level of car ownership, due in part to us being an outer London borough which doesn’t have the high levels of public transport like an area closer to London would have and this policy has the potential to significantly affect the way many people in this borough go about their day-to-day lives whether it be commuting to work, getting their children to school or going out to the shops.

This type of scheme has been pushed by the council before in the Wallington area around the station when I was a councillor before becoming an MP. I campaigned against it as a sledgehammer to crack a nut. It gained a significant amount of opposition from residents to be ultimately rejected. I have concerns about the way this particular scheme is being rolled out in terms of the lack of consultation that I’ve heard about from those who’ve contacted me and also concern about whether the number of permits and their price will change from what is initially offered. Whilst the aim of reducing overall emissions in the borough from vehicles is a noble one, I’m sceptical that using a CPZ to do this will alleviate the problem and cause further problems to residents that use car regularly, particularly if they use a car as part of their business. The Council seem to be wanting to charge residents for their parked cars which clearly won’t be emitting anything, thus encouraging them to drive during the day.

I do appreciate that there are some areas mentioned in this group which appear to need some form of parking control, however there are plenty of other areas across the borough, particularly in the Sutton West and South wards, that do not need a controlled parking zone at all, there isn’t a strong case for it happening and it’s therefore crucial that if you oppose this happening to register your view.

I’ll be working closely with the councillors in those wards such as Cllr Lily Bande, Cllr Catherine Gray as well as Cllrs Tony Shields and Tim Crowley who have been in turn working with residents such as Sandra Ackland to raise awareness of what is going on and for as many views to be inputted as possible and I’ll continue to take on board what’s been fed back to me from residents in Sutton.