Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Civic Pride, Eleanor Stringer

Cllr Eleanor Stringer, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Civic Pride, provided an update on behalf of Leader of the Council.

It has been a tough six weeks with the gas explosion at Galpins Road involving a huge effort to rehouse and support residents. As the Cost of Living crisis gets worse, the Council has been hosting events in libraries and making support available. The Council was also responsible for the local response to the death of Her Majesty the Queen.

Since the elections in May 2022 Merton has a new Leader and Cabinet. The administration has three main priorities:

• Rebuilding pride in Merton
• A sustainable future
• Making Merton the borough of sport

To help rebuild pride in Merton there is lots of really good work taking place despite issues that do still need to be addressed. The council wants to make it easy for residents to volunteer so they have a stake in the borough, to improve our town centres, to support business, and recognises that street cleaning not good enough.

To help create a sustainable future we want to encourage sustainable travel, improve safety to encourage active travel, address the housing shortage and affordability including building 400 homes on Merton Council land.

Merton already has a huge sporting heritage through Wimbledon tennis, AFC Wimbledon,  Mitcham Cricket Club but we also want to drive investment in being active and healthy.

Cllr Stringer said she recently went on a tour with Chris Larkman and seen the work going on in Raynes Park. It is great that so many volunteers coming forward. Flooding still a key issue and Cllr Stringer said she was glad it is being addressed. Policing and community safety are still a big issue and has been raising this with Safer Neighbourhood Teams

A resident asked about Raynes Park Bowls club having to share with West Wimbledon after damage by badgers and vandalising of the pavilion. Cllr Stinger was not aware of this but was happy to look into what was happening.

A resident asked about incentives for retail in town centres. Cllr Stinger said that planning policy allows us to restrict the types of use on some land, but national laws make it harder to protect retail space. She is looking at what levers we have to protect high streets and shopping parades, following up on the work of the Scrutiny Task Group. We have launched the Merton local app to help residents find local businesses. We are also looking at night-time economy and if more places can stay open after 6pm, making town centres a destination.

A resident said that parking charges need to be balanced to the needs for the high street. Cllr Stringer said that we could look at re-design of roads in Raynes Park in consultation with residents.

A resident asked about social enterprise companies. Cllr Stringer said that there were lots of charities and voluntary groups that are Community Interest Companies (CICs). We also work with local businesses to look at their Social Responsibility.

A resident said that with the Cost-of-Living crisis there were lots of households slightly above threshold for support who will need help. Cllr Stringer replied that the Council is thinking about how we will support different families. Some plans going to cabinet on Thursday but have held money back to see what comes from central government. It will be tough for many households.