London Borough of Sutton

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

London Borough of Sutton
Sutton
Shown within Greater London
Geography
Status London borough
Area
— Total		 Ranked 310th
43.85 km² (16.9 sq mi)
ONS code 00BF
Admin HQ Sutton
Demographics
Population
— Total (2006 est.)
— Density		 Ranked 80th (of 354)
184,400
4,205 /km² (10,891 /sq mi)
Ethnicity
White British
White Irish
Other White
White & Black Caribbean
White & Black African
White & Asian
Other Mixed
Indian
Pakistani
Bangladeshi
Other Asian
Black Caribbean
Black African
Other Black
Chinese
Other		 (2005 estimates)[1]
80.0%
1.9%
4.3%
0.8%
0.3%
0.8%
0.6%
2.7%
0.9%
0.4%
1.8%
1.4%
1.8%
0.3%
0.8%
1.2%
Politics
Sutton London Borough Council
Logo of Sutton London Borough Council
Leadership Leader & Cabinet
Mayor Cllr. Myfanwy Wallace
Executive Liberal Democrat
MPs Tom Brake
Paul Burstow
London Assembly
— Member		 Croydon and Sutton
Steve O'Connell
Coat of Arms
Coat of arms of Sutton London Borough Council
Official website http://www.sutton.gov.uk/

The London Borough of Sutton (pronunciation (help·info)) is a London borough in South London, England and forms part of Outer London. It covers an area of 43 km² (16.6 sq mi) and is the 80th largest local authority in England by population. It is one of the southernmost boroughs of London.[2] It is south of the London Borough of Merton, west of the London Borough of Croydon and east of the Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames.

Contents

[edit] History

The borough was formed in 1965 by the merger of the Municipal Borough of Sutton and Cheam with the Municipal Borough of Beddington and Carshalton Urban District which had previously been part of Surrey.

[edit] Districts

The borough includes the areas:

see also Sutton parks and open spaces

[edit] Cultural attractions and institutions

  • The Secombe Theatre, Sutton.
  • The Charles Cryer Theatre, Carshalton.
  • Sutton Library.

[edit] Governance

The governance of the borough is by Sutton Council, which is responsible for the administration of Sutton. The borough shares its London Assembly member with neighboring Croydon. It is a safe Conservative seat with the south of Croydon and parts of Sutton traditionally voting towards the Conservatives. The current Assembly Member is Steve O'Connell a local councillor from Croydon who was elected with an increased majority of 43% from Andrew Pelling's time in the seat. Sutton is represented in the European Parliament by the London constituency.

The London Borough of Sutton Council has had a Liberal Democrat administration since 1986. Prior to that it was a Conservatives council. Lord Tope was the Leader of the Council from 1986 to 1999. Cllr. Sean Brennan has been the Leader since October 2002. There are two Deputy Leaders on the Council, they are Cllrs. Ruth Dombey and Colin Hall. The current Conservative Leader of the Opposition is Cllr. Paul Scully. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition is Cllr. Tony Shields.

Following the London local elections, 2006, the Liberal Democrats returned 32 Councillors and the Conservatives 22. The Labour Party lost all of its seats on the council. In 2007 councillors from each of two parties defected to other political parties; one to the United Kingdom Independence Party from the Conservatives, and one to sit as an Independent from the Liberal Democrats.

Sutton is divided into two parliamentary constituencies, Sutton and Cheam and Carshalton and Wallington.

Paul Burstow is the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Sutton and Cheam, replacing Conservative Lady Olga Maitland in the 1997 General Election. He was previously a Liberal Democrat Councillor.

Tom Brake is the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Carshalton and Wallington, replacing Conservative Nigel Forman in the 1997 General Election.

[edit] Recent Controversy

Sutton Council has been recently lampooned in a satirical fictional novel entitled 'Maggots - A Binman's Woeful Tale'. The book, published in 2008, was written by Penny Spirling under the pseudonym Frank Roberts. In March 2008 The Mail on Sunday exposed Mrs Spirling as the author. The book centres on the fictional 'London Borough of Cheatham' which introduces a controversial fortnightly waste collection, stirring up public a fierce public outcry.[3]

The 270 page story gives an unflattering portrayal of local politicians with the main character, Councillor Cyril Huckley manipulating the truth to sell the idea of alternate weekly collections (AWCs) to a sceptical public.

The similarities between 'Maggots - A Binman's Woeful Tale' and events in Sutton in 2001 prompted suggestions that the story is based on the real-life experience of Sutton Council, which introduced AWCs but was forced to overturn the scheme due to opposition from the public.[4]

[edit] Notable individuals

Notable individuals associated with the borough, are (or have been):

[edit] Education

Education is to an extremely high standard in Sutton and the Sutton LEA is regularly in the top 5 of the whole country. There are several primary schools in and around the borough.

[edit] List of primary schools

  • Abbey Primary
  • All Saints Benhilton Primary
  • Bandon Hill Primary
  • Barrow Hedges Primary
  • Camden Junior
  • Cheam Common Infant & Juniors
  • Brookfield primary school
  • Cheam Park Farm Nursery and Infants
  • Cheam Park Farm Juniors
  • Dorchester Primary
  • Devonshire Primary
  • Highview Primary
  • Homefield Preparatory School
  • Manor Park Primary
  • Muschamp Primary
  • Nonsuch Primary
  • Robin Hood Infant & Juniors
  • Rushy Meadow
  • St. Dunstan's Primary
  • Stanley Park Infant & Juniors
  • The Avenue Primary
  • Westbourne Primary
  • Tweeddale Primary

[edit] List of secondary schools

There are also a number of Private schools including Sutton High School for Girls and Collingwood School

[edit] Further education colleges

[edit] Climate

Sutton has a temperate climate in common with most areas of Great Britain, it is similar to that of Greenwich in Inner London: its Koppen climate classification is Cfb.[5][6] Its mean annual temperature of 9.6 °C is similar to that experienced throughout the Weald, and slightly cooler than nearby areas such as the Sussex coast and Central London.[7] Rainfall is considerably below England's average (1971–2000) level of 838 mm, and every month is drier overall than the England average.[8]

The nearest weather station is at Gatwick Airport.[9][10]

Weather averages for London Borough of Sutton
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °F 38 39 42 46 52 57 61 61 56 51 43 40 49
Average low °F 34 34 36 38 44 50 53 52 48 44 48 36 42
Precipitation inches 1.2 1.2 1.6 1.2 1.6 1.2 1.6 1.6 2.8 2 2 2.4 2
Average high °C 3 4 5 7 11 14 16 16 13 10 6 4 9
Average low °C 5 5 6 8 10 13 15 16 13 11 8 5 9
Precipitation cm 3 3 4 3 4 3 4 4 7 5 5 6 5.07
Source: Weatherbase [11] Nov 2007

[edit] Transport

Sutton is one of only five London Boroughs not to have at least one London Underground station within its boundaries. The main public transport used in the borough are local rail from its various regional stations and local buses.

[edit] National and international travel

Sutton is linked into the national motorway network via the M23 and M25 orbital motorway. The M25 skirts the south of the borough, linking Croydon with other parts London and the surrounding counties; the M23 branches from the M25 close to Coulsdon, linking the town with the South Coast, Crawley, Reigate, and London Gatwick Airport. The A23 connects the borough with the motorways. The A23 is the major trunk road through Croydon, linking it with Central London, East Sussex, Horsham, and Littlehaven. The old London to Brighton road, passes through the west of the borough on Purley Way, bypassing the commercial centre of Croydon which it once did.

Sutton railway station
Sutton railway station

The Sutton and Mole Valley Lines railway route south from Sutton links the borough to Sussex and Surrey to the south, and to Central London to the north: providing direct services to Dorking, Epsom, Horsham, Leatherhead, Wimbledon, Croydon and Wandsworth. Also running through Sutton is the Sutton Loop Thameslink line which links Luton and St Pancras International directly with the stations on the loop. The main station for all these services is Sutton railway station to the south of the town. The station is the largest and busiest in Sutton. Passenger rail services through Croydon are provided by Southern, First Capital Connect and South West Trains.[12] A pilot scheme launched by the Strategic Rail Authority, Transport for London and three train operators is designed to encourage more passengers to travel off-peak. In full partnership with the South London Boroughs which includes Sutton, SWELTRAC, SELTRANS and the transport users group, the scheme promotes the advantages of off-peak travel following improvements to safety, travel connections and upgrading of station facilities. The Thameslink Programme (formerly known as Thameslink 2000), is a £3.5 billion major project to expand the Thameslink network from 51 to 172 stations[13] spreading northwards to Bedford, Peterborough, Cambridge and King's Lynn and southwards to Guildford, Eastbourne, Horsham, Hove to Littlehampton, East Grinstead, Ashford and Dartford. The project includes the lengthening of platforms, station remodelling, new railway infrastructure (e.g. viaduct) and additional rolling stock.

The closest international airport to Sutton is London Gatwick Airport, which is located 21 miles (34 km) from the town centre. The airport opened on August 1930 and is a major international operational base for British Airways, easyJet and Virgin Atlantic. It currently handles around 35 million passengers a year making it London's second largest airport and the second busiest airport in the United Kingdom after Heathrow. Croydon Airport which was partly in the Sutton side of the borders opened on 29 March 1920 but, due in part to its short runway and the expanding Gatwick Airport close by the final passenger scheduled flight departed on 30 September 1959. It used to be the operating base for Imperial Airways and was served by British Airways. London Heathrow Airport, London City Airport and London Luton Airport all lie within a two hours' drive of the borough. Luton Airport is connected to Sutton by a direct train.

[edit] Local travel

The hilly topography of Sutton and the lack of underground services in South London is a reason for the extensive suburban and inter-urban railway network. Sutton is in the commuter belt to London as part of suburbia. There are several busy local rail routes running along the borough's towns, connecting it with London Bridge, London Waterloo and London Victoria. These local routes mainly run on the Sutton Loop and Sutton & Mole Valley Lines. As well as the main station of Sutton, there are several suburban stations at Hackbridge, Purley, Carshalton and Cheam and more.

How Sutton might have appeared on the London Underground Map today if the continuation of the Northern Line from Morden to Sutton had been built.
How Sutton might have appeared on the London Underground Map today if the continuation of the Northern Line from Morden to Sutton had been built.

The light rail system Tramlink (Operated by Tramtrack Croydon, a wholly owned subsidy of Transport for London),[14] opened in 2000. Its network consists of three lines, from Elmers End to West Croydon, from Beckenham to West Croydon, and from New Addington to Wimbledon, with all three lines running via the Croydon loop on which it is centred on. A possible extension to Sutton have been proposed since the start of services, with Sutton a destination on the blinds when they were first delivered to Tramtrack.

A sizeable bus infrastructure which is part of the London Buses network operates from a main hub on the Sutton one-way system. Arriva London, part of Arriva, is one of the largest bus operators to serve Sutton along with Metrobus, London General, Transdev London, Quality Line, and National Express London. Unlike other places in the country, London's transport infrastructure is regulated and therefore is not subject to price wars between different companies with TfL setting a standard price for bus services which is currently 90p with an Oyster card and free for all under 16's. Services include buses to Central London, Croydon, Wimbledon, Kingston and a number of other civic centres in the south. London Buses route X26, the longest route in London, provides services to Heathrow Airport and Croydon via Richmond.

Although hilly, Sutton is compact and has few major trunk roads running through it. It is on one of the National Cycle Network route running around South London.[15] The North Downs, an area of outstanding natural beauty popular with both on and off-road cyclists, is so close to Sutton that part of the park lies within the borough boundary, and there are routes into the park almost from the civic centre.

Construction of the first phase of the East London Line Extension to West Croydon is now under way north of the Thames. There were plans to extend the service to Sutton but it was decided that trains would become too busy by the time it reached Croydon, that it was abandoned. Although there are still hopes that Sutton will be connected to the London Overground scheme through Orbirail and TfL's intrest in bidding for the South London Lines operated by Southern until 2009 when a new South Central franchise will be awarded.[16] Parliamentary approval to construct a railway line from Wimbledon to Sutton through what were then undeveloped rural areas had been obtained by the Wimbledon and Sutton Railway (W&SR) in 1910. The main supporters of the scheme were the London Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR), the London and South Western Railway (L&SWR) and the Metropolitan District Railway (MDR, now London Underground's District Line). All held shares in the company and had rights to run trains over the line when built. World War I prevented any work taking place and by the early 1920s continuing financial support from the MDR meant that it had effectively taken control of the company. Through its ownership of the MDR, the London Electric Railway (LER, precursor of London Underground) was able to obtain approval to use part of the route for an extension of the City and South London Railway (C&SLR, now the Northern Line) from Clapham Common through Morden to Sutton. The route would have seen Underground Northern Line trains running on surface tracks from Morden past the nearby Underground depot and on to the Network Rail alignment close to Morden South. The Southern Railway (SR, successor of the L&SWR and the LB&SCR after the 1923 Grouping of railways) objected to this encroachment into its area of operation and the loss of its passenger traffic to a more direct route. The two companies reached an agreement that enabled the C&SLR to extend as far as Morden in exchange for the LER giving up its rights over the W&SR route. The SR subsequently built the line, one of the last to be built in the London area. It opened on 5 January 1930.

[edit] Sports facilities and clubs

Football club Sutton United F.C. are based in Sutton, who play in the Nationwide Conference South.

Carshalton has two football clubs: Carshalton Athletic F.C. (home ground at The War Memorial Sports Ground, Colston Avenue) and Carshalton FC (at Beddington Park). At the Westcroft Leisure Centre, in Carshalton there are health and fitness facilities including two swimming pools, sports hall, squash court and fitness centre.[17] Westcroft is also home to Sutton Pumas basketball club. There are also two public basketball courts in the Rosehill section of Sutton

[edit] References

  1. ^ Data Management and Analysis Group, Greater London Authority, Demography Update October 2007, (2007)
  2. ^ London Borough of Sutton information. London Online (1996). Retrieved on 2008-06-07.
  3. ^ Bin rage: A biting new satire..
  4. ^ Rubbish Satire Pokes Fun At Sutton Council..
  5. ^ WorldClimate
  6. ^ (Temperature data) 
  7. ^ Mean Temperature Annual Average. Met Office (2001). Retrieved on 2007-08-22.
  8. ^ Met Office: averages 1971–2000. Met Office website. Met Office (2007). Retrieved on 2007-08-22.
  9. ^ (Rainfall data) 
  10. ^ (Pressure data) 
    Temperature and rainfall: 1961–1990 averages. Pressure averages: 1971–1988 averages.
    Derived from the Global Historical Climatology Network (version 1).
  11. ^ Weatherbase: Historical Weather for London, England, United Kingdom (English). Retrieved on Nov 2, 2007.
  12. ^ UK rail network map. National Rail website. National Rail (2006). Retrieved on 2008-05-25.
  13. ^ (2006-10-18). "Good news for South London as £3.5BN Thameslink project clears major hurdle". Press release. Retrieved on 2007-04-12.
  14. ^ TfL announces plans to take over Tramlink services (2008-03-17). Retrieved on 2008-05-24.
  15. ^ Areas to cycle in Sutton (2008). Retrieved on 2008-05-24.
  16. ^ Next Stop South London - The Londonder, 08/03/08
  17. ^ L.B. Sutton - Westcroft Leisure Centre..

[edit] External links

Official

News and travel

Culture

Maps


v • d • e
London Borough of Sutton
Districts
Attractions
Constituencies
Parks and open spaces in Sutton
v • d • e
Flag of the City of London City of London · Greater London · London
Upper tier
Lower tier
Historical
Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) 1855–1889 · London County Council (LCC) 1889–1965 · Greater London Council (GLC) 1965–1986
* not a London Borough

Coordinates: 51°20′N, 0°10′W