Safer, greener and cleaner. Council approves series of local improvements

Sutton Council is pushing forward with its ambitious plans to deliver good quality local services for residents and businesses with major improvements that will make the borough a safer, greener and cleaner place to live and work. 

At last night’s Environment and Sustainable Transport Committee, councillors gave the green light to improved roads and pavements, new waste, recycling and street cleaning services from 2025, as well as upgrading most of the borough’s tennis courts. 

A significant amount of capital investment has been made available to maintain the borough’s highways. Twenty roads will have new street lamp columns fitted with energy-saving LED lights and three new ‘school streets’ will also be introduced in September 2023 to make walking and cycling safer, and improve air quality for children and parents. 

Last night’s meeting also saw councillors agreeing to seek new contractors for the borough’s recycling, waste and street cleaning services from 2025 when the current contract ends. 

Sutton’s councillors agreed in October 2022 that the Council would not extend the current contract beyond 2025. The new contract will seek improvements to current services, including easier recycling for textiles, soft plastics and small electricals. This is in addition to the improved leaf sweeping services that will be implemented this year.  

And finally, Sutton’s tennis courts are set to be transformed as the committee approved plans for a major £0.5m refurbishment of 24 courts in collaboration with the Lawn Tennis Association. All the work will be completed by March 2024.  

A new booking system will help to ensure people can play when they want and to make sure the new courts remain in a good condition, a small user charge will be introduced. Time will also be made available for priority groups such as schools, children and players with disabilities who will be able to book for free. Free coaching sessions will also be available at some of the courts. 

The improvements are all part of the Council’s Ambitious for Sutton plan for the next four years to make Sutton an even stronger, fairer and more sustainable borough. 

Councillor Barry Lewis, Chair of the Environment and Sustainable Transport Committee said: 

“Our beautiful open spaces and safe streets are some of the best reasons for living and working in our borough and why more and more people are choosing to call Sutton home. 

“Our streets, parks and waste collection services are the most visible and best-used services the Council is responsible for. That’s why we are choosing to invest in these services and take the opportunity to review how they are delivered.  

“As the clocks move forward this weekend and summer time starts officially, I’m delighted that we will be making a significant investment to transform tennis courts in Sutton’s parks. Bringing them back to a good standard and providing a funding stream to ensure they remain in top condition could help Sutton residents be the future Wimbledon champions!”