I would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who voted for me in the General Election. I have always regarded being trusted to represent my community as the greatest honour and I will continue to do everything I can to repay the faith put in me.
I also want to thank everybody who voted locally, with turnout up to a massive 77.2%, showing that local people are very engaged in the democratic process.
I am now getting to work on my campaign pledges from the General Election – making sure Crossrail 2 works for us, securing investment in our local health services, improving our Town Centres and ensuring the economy and jobs are put first in the Brexit negotiations.
Finally, below are just some of the things I have been doing locally and in Parliament since my last email.
- Asked the Secretary of State for Transport to make a statement on Crossrail 2 in the House of Commons.
- Argued that the interest rate on student loans is too high in a speech in the House of Commons.
- Hosted Dr Markus Soder, the Bavarian Finance Minister in the House of Commons to discuss Brexit and financial services.
- Spoke on Radio 4’s ‘World at One’ about Brexit and the General Election. My interview starts 14mins 26 seconds in.
- Had a question and answer session with Kings College School students in Parliament.
- Attended Wimbledon Salvation Army’s “Love All Tea” to hear about the great work they do locally.
- Opened the Joseph Hood Primary School Summer Fair and the Wimbledon Village Fair.
- Sought assurances from Merton Council about fire safety locally, after the horrific Grenfell Tower fire.
- Met with the local Pharmacy group to discuss funding.
- Attended the Raynes Park Community Forum.
- Visited Kew House to celebrate National Care Home day.
- Visited Rutlish School to meet the Headteacher and congratulate the school on being rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted.
Sadiq Khan wants to close Wimbledon Police Station
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has just launched a consultation on closing half of all police front counters in London.
As part of this, he wants to close Wimbledon Police Station and sell the land. Response policing will then probably be based from Mitcham.
This is a ridiculous proposal. Our Police Station is very well located near the Town Centre, which has a huge night-time economy and a large transport hub which needs policing. Wimbledon also hosts the tennis Championships, bringing a huge number of visitors from all over the world who need to be kept safe.
Also it is important to note that Wimbledon Police Station got 2.6 crimes a day on average reported at their front desk, whereas Mitcham only got 0.7, according to the Mayor’s statistics
I have set up a petition to campaign to save Wimbledon Police Station, which you can sign here: www.savewimbledonpolicestation.co.uk
You can also take part in the Mayor's official consultation by filling out the questionnaire attached below and emailing it to [email protected]. You can also find the full report from the Mayor below.
Crossrail 2
In March, at the request of the Government, TfL submitted an updated business case and funding plan for Crossrail 2 to the Department for Transport.
We have still not heard from the Department for Transport, and so I submitted three written questions to try to find out their views on Crossrail 2, when we can expect the next route option to be published and when the next consultation will be.
I have now had a response to my three questions:
Paul Maynard MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport: “As with all transport scheme proposals a thorough analysis is being carried out by my department to ensure it is a robust scheme. This includes examining whether the National Infrastructure Commission’s detailed recommendations on the scheme have been taken into account. The next steps and timescales, including when the next stage of public consultation will take place, will therefore be decided as part of this analysis.”
This response clearly does not tell us much. I have now written to the Secretary of State for Transport to ask for a meeting with him, and in the House of Commons I have asked that he makes a statement on Crossrail 2.
As ever, I will continue to keep you updated. I have also updated my website with a full article about Crossrail 2 locally and my views, which you may find interesting and can be found here.
Waterloo Station Major Upgrade Work – 5th – 28th August 2017
Network Rail and South West Trains are currently working together to invest more than £800 million into the South Western railway network. As part of this, major upgrade work will be carried out at London Waterloo station (Britain’s busiest railway station) from 5th to 28th August 2017 to provide a 30% increase in passenger capacity. A FAQs on the work is available online.
Fewer South West Trains services will run on the network from 5th to 28th August due to the work and significantly fewer trains will call at Wimbledon, Raynes Park and Motspur Park stations. Overall, services and stations will also be much busier than usual. Passengers are strongly advised to plan their travel in advance. Draft morning timetables and service frequencies are already available online. Final timetables will be available from mid-May onwards. For more information please visit the South West Trains website.
Ride London – 30th July
The Ride London event will be returning to Wimbledon this year, on the same route as last year. This will mean road closures for most of the day on Coombe Lane, Lambton Road, Worple Road, Wimbledon Hill Road and Parkside.
There will be two all day vehicle crossing points:
- Approach Road to Lambton Road (northbound) and Pepys Road to Approach Road (southbound)
- Ridgway to Belvedere Grove (both directions).
Then there are three crossing points available until 8.45am and after 6.30pm
- Copse Hill to the A3
- West Barnes Lane to Durham Road
- Lower Downs Road to the Downs
Pedestrian crossing points will be located at the existing signalled crossings, and will be supervised by marshals.
I have attached a flyer with much more information about the arrangements for the day. I hope to see as little disruption as possible for those living in the surrounding streets.
St Helier Hospital Plans for the Future
The Chief Executive and his team at Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust are putting together a plan to secure between £300 and £400 million of investment for health services in the area.
They are starting a conversation with local people and seeking views about how local health care will be delivered at Epsom, Sutton and St Helier Hospitals. It is crucial to note that as the Secretary of State for Health said during the General Election campaign St Helier Hospital is safe and will remain open.
Under their plans, £80 million of the new investment would be spent on the maintenance of both St Helier and Epsom Hospitals. Most of St Helier Hospital was built before antibiotics were invented and 43% of the clinical space is defined as ‘functionally unsuitable’, so I am pleased that a £12 million project to strengthen the buildings and repair the roof will begin soon, building a better St Helier.
The Chief Executive’s conversation with local people will include his plans for a new specialist facility for acutely sick patients, where A&E, inpatient beds for children, births and complex emergency surgery is delivered on one site.
The Trust are confident that their plans will mean that 85% of patients will see no change to where they receive their care, and indeed they will see improved facilities. Furthermore, no services will leave the Trust’s catchment area.
I welcome the Chief Executive’s decision to listen to local people about his plans to seek more investment, and I am glad it is absolutely clear that St Helier Hospital is safe. I encourage everyone to read more about their plans on their website here, and to feed into the engagement process.
Mucky Merton
Since the election, I have had many people write in complaining about the amount of litter on our streets.
The Labour-run Council are failing residents and business when it comes to litter and rubbish collections. They are failing to keep our streets clean, and have scrapped a weekly sweep of all residential roads despite opposition from Conservative Councillors. They are also planning to scrap your weekly bin collection, despite promising not to.
Along with your local Conservative Councillors I will continue to oppose these measures which will do nothing to solve the litter issues on our streets, and I am happy to report any litter problems directly to the Council on behalf of residents.
Cannon Hill Ward - Request for Neighbourhood Watch volunteers
Cannon Hill Ward Safer Neighbourhood Team are looking for co-ordinators to maintain a Neighbourhood Watch scheme on the following roads:
- 1-19 and 2-48 Shaldon Drive
- 39-62 and 63-98 The Green
- Merton Mansions
- The Oaks, EASTWAY
- 2-112 and 83-93 Thurleston Avenue
- 76-96 Cannon hill Lane
- 1-33 Mawson Close
- 76-122 Ashridge Way
- Cherry Close
- 62-76 Martin Way
- Northernhay Walk
If you can help at all please contact the team on Tel: 020 8721 2455