The meeting was held in Raynes Park Library and chaired by Councillor Robert Page with Chris Edge from the Raynes Park Association (RPA). Around 50 residents and four councillors attended. The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

PC Jessica Manning

PC Manning from Raynes Park Safer Neighbourhood Team gave an update on local policing issues.

The Met has changed the IT system for recording crimes, casework and analysing data to a system called Connect. This should help with planning and analysis but is currently having teething issues which takes up officer time. As a result up to date crime stats not available currently.

Youth anti-social behaviour and retail crime.

The team has been working with local shops including Waitrose, Co-op, and Sainsbury’s to support them dealing with shoplifting and anti-social behaviour. A number of individuals have been identified and will be given warnings. There will be a Safer Business Day on 27 March across Merton when there will be crime prevention advice and high visibility enforcement. There is an ongoing investigation following a warrant issued at the end of 2023 as a result of the discovery of a large amount of stolen goods. As a result of this work we have seen a 60% reduction in shoplifting in Raynes Park.

Burglary

Usually there is winter spike in burglary, but this has not happened in Raynes Park with three residential burglaries in the last three months. A warrant was conducted today on a group of burglars, resulting in five arrests and property recovered. There has been an increase in bicycle thefts across the Apostles, but it has been quite sporadic with no clear pattern to follow. The team will be holding a bike marking event at Waitrose, having held successful events recently.

Rough sleepers

The team took part in a walkaround with London Borough of Merton’s Rough Sleepers team last week to identify and provide support to rough sleepers. One individual has been given a community protection notice which they have since breached. Another individual has moved out of the area.       

Carters Estate

There was two weeks of targeted action by the team in conjunction with London Borough of Merton and Clarion that include crime prevention stall, weapons search and a newsletter.

Events coming up

Cuppa with a Copper at Babylon date to be confirmed.

Speedwatch on Bushey Road being planned with Safer Transport team.

The team holds quarterly Ward Panel meetings to provide updates and decide future priorities. Anyone is welcome to join, and you can get in touch with the team to find out more.

A Waitrose staff member said the work the team has done has made a hugely positive difference. There was an incident tonight with a two adults being very aggressive. 

A resident asked about Lime bikes being stolen and their lock being forced. Officers will stop those using bikes with broken locks when they see them. The resident also asked about enforcing cycling on the pavement, and officers regularly stop those cycling through the underpass.

Cllr Charles asked about vehicles parked in the cycle lane on Kingston Road making dangerous for cyclists. Cllr Page said vehicles can be reported to London Borough of Merton. Cllr Willis said there is going to be a review  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

Tony Edwards gave an update on behalf of the Friends of Raynes Park station. The embankment to the left of the station has been cleared of rubbish and planted with bulbs. Volunteers have a license to access the site and a local company has been doing volunteering days. Much of the materials have been donated or provided at a discount. More work is planned on the station including moving soil up to the platforms for more planters and seed planting. More bulb planting is planned for September.

Chris Larkman gave an update on other station issues. There is a huge amount of rubbish on other side of the embankment, some of which has been cleared by Network Rail. Parking issues at the Kiss and Ride have improved now that restrictions are being enforced but there is an ongoing problem with litter and fly-tipping. New bookshelves have been installed on platform 3 and 4. Spare books are welcome, lightweight fiction and children’s books are most popular. The front of station has also been cleared and cleaned so some significant improvement. The land transfer north of the skew arch should be completed soon, after being delayed due to electric cabling being discovered on site. 

Thames Water proposals for installation of flood water tanks in Lambton Road with plans to return to two-way traffic in the town centre.

Mark Leggate, Merton Active Travel, independent group gave a presentation for a community led approach to changing Raynes Park town centre. Planned work by Thames Water to resolve flooding could create an opportunity to improve the town centre through improving road safety, connectivity for active travel and a focal point like a marketplace. This is not a proposal from London Borough of Merton and there is a lot of work to do to establish the feasibility of the plans. 

2021 Your Merton consultation comments on Raynes Park shows concerns from local residents about the town centre include traffic, safety and there not being any communal space. Research has shown that improving the pedestrian environment provides benefits for retailers and creates an environment for people to get together.

The design goals include attractiveness, identity, locality, safety, connectivity, sustainability, and accessibility. The proposal sets out the removal of the one-way system, reinstatement of two-way traffic flow, and closure of the lower portion of Lambton Road (where Thames Water’s proposed works are) to motor vehicles. This would enable the space on Lambton Road to be used to create a new “heart” for the town centre, and could be used for a variety of purposes, such as outdoor space, shops / cafes, marketplace, rain gardens, etc. It would also be possible to free up space south of the skew arch by reducing the dual carriageway. The design will need professional input covering issues like bus movements, traffic management, phasing of traffic lights, and turning space for HGVs. The plans will need council support to do the modelling and design work. Mark said he would like to get feedback from community on the ideas for improving the town centre.

A resident asked how will traffic go from Waitrose to Lambton Road and Mark said that it will need to turn left at the Shell garage. This could result in more traffic on Pepys Road.

A resident asked if the two pedestrian areas could be linked by moving the north zone to Coombe Lane and Mark said that the group had looked at the different options but found that the corner at Lambton Road by Costa could be too tight for 2-way buses to turn.

A resident said that the design would remove the bus terminal on Lambton and will create more traffic on Lambton and Pepys Roads. Mark said it was unlikely to result in more traffic on Lambton Road as that route would not take any vehicles to any direction they would need to go.

A resident asked what the likely influence of Thames Water’s plans would be. Cllr Willis said that to do what Thames Water want to do they will need to dig up Lambton Road anyway so it would be a case of then putting back something different. London Borough of Merton has already set aside £250,000 for feasibility work, and there are additional funds from the Environment Agency and Thames Water. Thames Water’s plans are still at the feasibility stage.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Cllr Page reminded residents that the elections on 2 May would be the first in Merton to require photo ID to vote in person. Residents were reminded to bring ID or apply for a Voter Authority certificate. The deadline for registering to vote is 16 April.

Cllr Willis said that residents could comment on changes recommended by the Planning Inspector to the draft new Local Plan consultation by Friday 22 March. 

Cllr Willis said that pollarding would be taking plans in the Apostles and the Council website has schedule. This includes tress on Aston Road. Car parking can cause a problem so if notices are posted on your street, please move any vehicles accordingly.

There will be an Interfaith Walk on 13 April, beginning at 11am from Wimbledon station and covering 5km to visit local faith site. This is to raise funds for Faith in Action. Any queries can be sent to Richard Smart.

A resident said that they felt London Borough of Merton Planning Application Committee should be based-on neighbourhood structure, like Kingston, so that decisions are not made by councillors not in the area. Cllr Willis said the New Local Plan allows for Neighbourhood Forums to agree neighbourhood plans to be put to a referendum.

A resident said that the Tesco development seems to be at a large scale and another resident said there were 480 units in the current development with the potential for more in the future.

A resident asked about the former Wetherspoons site and Cllr Willis said that a fitness gym is taking on the site and graffiti has been removed.

A resident recommended that others may enjoy participating in the Merton Garden Streets scheme.

There will be a Cannon Hill Common litter pick on Sunday 24 March. Participants should meet at 2pm on Cannon Hill Lane by Cannon Hill Common lake.

The date of the next meeting is yet to be confirmed.