2019 Annual Report

SSNA Annual Report 2019

SSNA is dependent on the financial and physical support of its members but is also community based with a regard for the wider community beyond its membership base.

The association did struggle for a number of years to retain its place and relevance in a time of rapid change. I am pleased to say that while we sometimes fall short of attaining the goals we set ourselves we have managed in recent years to stabilise the finances of the association; helped to undertake work in the Devonshire Avenue Nature Area; helped to financially underpin Sutton South Hello in its start-up period; secured some private sector funding for Sutton Lodge; whilst attending to the concerns of members, many of which revolve around planning development proposals.

We continue to be involved in work on the NDP covering about half our area plus Belmont and South Cheam - once established it will allow us to input opinions into the planning process not as NIMBYs but by putting the case for minimising any adverse effects on the wider area. This work has continued throughout 2019 and will be ongoing through 2020/2021.

Committee of nine meeting about four times a year
Membership (subs) and database - Ann Morton & Anne Wakeham
Mark Randall is now deputy chair focusing on the area south of Crossways & The Downsway
Finances will be managed by Hannah from 2021
Easyfundraising continues to produce a welcome income but needs more support – 3 people raise over £100 per year
Three main areas of focus - Newsletter / Planning, policing & other community matters / Community cohesion
Newsletters - Thelma, Ann, Anne and Sandra, plus the essential part played by Hannah in printing it
Involved with SSH / 2 x Ward Panels / LAC
NDP
The ongoing challenge is to remain relevant
Further develop the website as appropriate
Encourage members to switch to the payment of subs via PayPal
Increase the delivery of newsletters in pdf format by email

The committee had nine members, all of whom remained throughout the year. We aim to spread the work between us as evenly as possible and to take account of a breadth of views.

Maintenance of the database and membership continues to be organised by Ann Morton, assisted by Anne Wakeham. The finances of the association are now fairly stable. We continue to maintain careful control of expenditure and have continued to achieve approximately ten years of operating cover at current levels of expenditure. Our costs have now been pared to the minimum and we anticipate either breaking even or producing a small surplus each year. We always need more road reps and Ann Morton has continued to pro-actively approach members to take on this role as the need arises.

We continue to strive towards maintaining the work of the association in those areas that continue to be highlighted by the membership: in particular, production of the newsletters; the utility of the association in matters of planning, policing and other community issues; working to help community cohesion.

The website was set up in 2018 by Steve Morton who continues to maintain and update it on a regular basis.

The newsletter has continued to evolve and develop with the focus on articles of interest to many of our members as well as providing details of events and activities taking place in the locality and the wider area of Sutton. We continue to encourage those members who have email addresses to feel able to give the association their details, as this will not only enable us to pass on event information but also develop the means to highlight issues that arise locally and receive feedback. In receipt of such feedback it would be much easier to gauge feelings and respond appropriately.

We have continued to be involved with Sutton South Hello as this project particularly chimes with one of the stated aims of the association which is to promote neighbourliness and community cohesion.

We continue to monitor planning applications within the area and highlight these in the newsletters. We are represented on the local Ward Panels for both Sutton South and Belmont & Cheam which meet regularly to discuss the concerns facing the local community around crime and anti-social behaviour, and help to influence the priorities the local police team will tackle. We also have a seat on the Local Area Committee of the council which comprises ward councillors and community representatives. The councillors have the power to allocate funds related to local issues, take decisions on local public realm matters and we have the ability to influence decisions that the committee takes.

The Sutton Farm Estate ASLC (Area of Special Local Character) document was completed, submitted to the council and adopted. The majority of the work was undertaken by Mark Randall supported by Ann Morton.

The opening of the Harris Academy Secondary School has produced some challenges in the area near the school. Mark Randall has taken a pro-active approach to dealing with issues and engaging with the school leadership.

Parking consultations started across the area and are at various stages of progress varying from planned implementation of parking schemes to early consultation on what residents would like.

We have continued to be engaged with the adjacent Belmont and South Cheam and Carshalton resident’s associations in the development of a Neighbourhood Plan (introduced in the 2011 Localism Act). For our part this covers a portion of the SSNA area from our southern boundary (Chiltern Road) to the Downsway, Gallop and Crossways corridor. This work will continue throughout 2018 and well in to 2019.

We continue to believe that the need for an association, such as ours, is as great now as it was in the days when it was first founded forty years ago. Issues of community cohesion are frequently mentioned when members discuss the changes that have occurred in this area over the years. We continue to try to connect with an increasingly transient local population. Many members recognise the value of membership and the challenge for us is to continue to maintain our utility to them.