Town Centre Homes

This week I was contacted by a resident who is being evicted from their private-rented property. It is really difficult. The number of people being evicted from private-rented homes continues to increase. The Council is required to offer assistance and guidance, but cannot create housing that does not exist. There is a shortage of housing across the UK and rightly there is pressure from the Government and the Mayor to build more housing and this is why new homes are being built in and near Sutton Town Centre.  By building in the Town Centre, which is close to strong transport links, we can make sure the rest of the borough - from Cheam to Carshalton and Wallington to Worcester Park - keeps its suburban feel.

Did you know Sutton has the highest percentage of garden land of any London borough?  A third of our borough is back gardens and so by building homes in the town centre, we protect our family size homes and gardens across all of the rest of the borough. 

When developers bid to build in Sutton they have to work with council planners on the impact of their proposals on the local community. That means that the NHS and other services like schools, water and transport companies are fully involved to ensure there are enough doctors, dentists and school places.  

The developer pays a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) which is spent on new infrastructure. This can include highways, health services or leisure space.  The Council can also negotiate planning obligations with the developers. So, for example the new B&Q development includes a  £230,000 financial contribution towards public art and improvements to the town centre and Manor Park. It was also agreed that a commercial unit of 100sqm be provided for medical and health services and they have made a contribution to Transport for London of £500,000  towards bus priority enhancement and pedestrian crossing improvements.

It is important that we build new housing so that our residents have good-quality and affordable homes to live in and we must also make sure Sutton remains a great place to live, work and raise a family.

Cllr Barry Lewis  
Leader of Sutton Council