The Local Elections are hastily approaching on 5th May. After 44 long years of Tory rule, Wandsworth needs a breath of fresh air and a Labour council. 

Over the next four weeks, I will be out on the campaign trail - knocking on doors, delivering leaflets and working to help our fantastic Labour candidates. 

I would like to thank all the local residents for their support and warm welcome on the doorstep.

Together we can turn Labour red this May!

This week the Council finally listened to us! 

Our beloved Tooting Bec Athletics Track will be saved and get the investment it so desperately needs and deserves.  

To lose such a valuable asset in our community would be a devastating blow to so many of our young people. Having this track will be useful for encouraging young people to be physically active and lead a healthy lifestyle. 

Thank you to everyone who joined the efforts to save our track!

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There was significant concern locally about Wandsworth Council’s decision to extend Controlled Parking Zone restrictions in areas of Earlsfield and Tooting from 9:30am to 9:30pm each day.

Over 1400 local residents completed my consultation on the change. I am pleased that, following our pressure, Wandsworth Council have U-turned on their plans to extend CPZ restrictions. Instead, Event Day only restrictions are planned from 1 October - a far more sensible solution, and something which other councils with stadiums do.

I received more than double the number of responses to Wandsworth Council’s rushed, ill-thought out consultation. In fact, over 93% of respondents were not happy with the council’s plans.

This should never have happened. But I am pleased the Council finally listened and have U-turned on their attempt to rush through restrictions that would simply act as another cash-grab on hardworking local residents.

The future of Tooting Bec Athletics Track is still yet to be secured, with vital repairs still needing to be undertaken.

Tooting Bec Athletics Track is a much-loved and well-utilised facility, both by local residents and the wider London community. The track is a home to schools, clubs such as Herne Hill Harriers, as well as aspiring athletes. To lose such a valuable asset would be a devastating blow to so many of our young people in our local area.

Top British athletes are made at Tooting Bec Athletics Track - Jade Johnson, who represented Great Britain at two Olympics, trained at the track since childhood, as has Katie Snowden, who will represent Great Britain in Tokyo next month.

By allowing the track to fall into disrepair, Wandsworth Tories are destroying the legacy of London 2012, and seriously damaging the chances of our next generation of Olympic hopefuls in the process.

The deadline for the petition to save Tooting Bec Athletics Track has been extended until 1 August – click here to sign and show Wandsworth Tories how much our community cares about the future of our young people.

The issue of litter in our local area is not a new problem. Indeed, back in 2019 I provided Wandsworth Council with a number of solutions to this issue, which were not acknowledged or enacted upon.

​I have recently been inundated with complaints from residents who have received Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs). As you may know, FPNs cannot be appealed, and I am concerned about the lack of oversight and accountability this procedure affords.

It is clear from the litter on our streets that fining residents for putting out their household waste is not defeating the issue of fly-tipping. Fly-tipping fines need to be issued to the right people, for the right reasons – to deter genuine incidences of fly-tipping.

Instead of being a deterrent, I am concerned that these fly-tipping fines are being misused as a Council cash-grab – making money from hardworking residents under the guise of keeping our streets clean.

I have written to Paul Martin, Chief Executive at Wandsworth Council, and Paul Chadwick, Director of Environment and Community Services, to ask what action they will take to address these concerns.

Keep an eye out for updates here.

​Wandsworth Council is currently consulting local residents on its ‘Local Plan’ document on developments for the borough across the next 15 years. This plan identifies Tooting as a potential area for regeneration, where proposals include new sustainable transport, improvements to public realm, and contributions to the health and wellbeing of residents.

​3. 56 Tooting High Street on the west corner of the Garratt Lane and Tooting High Street junction: The Council are considering using this site for a development of sustainable architecture and urban design, as well as considering the planting of street trees on Garratt Lane.

Further information on these proposals can be found here.

Whilst I hold no authority over Wandsworth Council, it is important to me that residents, businesses and organisations have their say on these proposals. If you would like to submit comments on the ‘Pre-Publication’ Draft Local Plan, you must do so before 11.59pm on Monday 1 March 2021 using the following link: https://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/planning-and-building-control/planning-policy/local-plan/draft-local-plan-pre-publication/ 

A number of local residents have raised their concerns about people rough sleeping during this exceptionally cold spell, and of course amidst the pandemic.

Like many, I believe the Government’s delay in housing rough sleepers during this third lockdown was completely irresponsible and lacked basic human compassion. In London alone, the Office for National Statistics estimates that 1 in 30 people have coronavirus, and we know that sleeping rough - without adequate shelter or access to basic hygiene facilities -  leaves people more exposed to the virus.

Today, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick MP announced that councils will collectively receive an additional £10 million in funding to house those currently sleeping rough, as well as an extension to the ban on bailiff evictions. Whilst I welcome this much-needed funding, this money will not help get everyone off the streets, and the ban on bailiffs fails to sufficiently protect renters.

Many residents have contacted me with concerns for those who are sleeping rough outside Tooting Broadway tube station, Buzz Bingo and Sainsbury's. I want to reassure residents that I have recently written to the Head of Wandsworth Neighbourhood Policing Team to ensure these people are supported in the best way possible.

Beyond the coronavirus emergency, there can be no return to business as usual. It is paramount that Ministers end rough sleeping for good. In a country as well-off as ours, we need to ensure that everyone has the right to a safe place to live.

Today Wandsworth Council has announced that it is suspending the Low Traffic Neighbourhoods that it implemented across our community.  Wandsworth Council failed from the start to communicate the implementation of LTNs to local residents, and instead of listening and reviewing they have now decided to pull them out because do not want the fuss.

As I have said before, I was not consulted and nor were local residents on these changes. They were brought in overnight and pitted neighbour against neighbour, causing fierce rows and division. The Council should be ashamed.

When the going got tough, they tried to pass the buck, and now Wandsworth Council is wasting tens of thousands of pounds by scrapping the LTNs entirely. The Conservative Cabinet Member for Transport's position is untenable.

Attention will now turn to the TfL Streetspace scheme on Upper Tooting Road, Balham High Road and Tooting High Street. I know that this is a scheme that has its issues and needs reviewing. However, I am confident that TfL want to make it work for our local environment. 

Contrast TfL's response with that of Wandsworth Council. TfL is taking feedback on board, they are hosting a virtual public meeting next week to gather feedback from local people and I am meeting with a TfL representative next week to discuss the scheme. I will be taking him to meet some of the affected businesses and discussing the issues emergency services have had. TfL evidently want the scheme to work and they deserve credit for trying.

I have been clear from the start that I am supportive of schemes which encourage cycling and make our streets safer. We do that by engaging in polite and respectful discussion to bring about changes collectively.

I have received lots of correspondence from local residents regarding the changes that have been made to our roads as part of the Low Traffic Neighbourhood and the Streetspace schemes on the A24  (Tooting High Street/Upper Tooting Road/Balham High Road). As part of the Low Traffic Neighbourhood schemes, many streets have had filters put in to close the road to all vehicles except cycles and some now have turning restrictions. As part of the Streetspace scheme, a number of changes have been made to Tooting High Street/Upper Tooting Road/Balham High Road including the installation of wands to segregate cycle lanes, a number of turning restrictions as well as changes to bus stops.

These changes have come about as a result of statutory guidance that the Government issued in May, stating that local authorities were expected to make significant changes to their road layouts to give more space to cyclists and pedestrians “as swiftly as possible”. (If you would like to read more about this statutory guidance you can read it in full here.)

As a result, TfL made £55m of funding available to the 33 councils in London as part of its “Streetspace for London” programme to urgently create new segregated cycle lanes, extend pavements and close roads to traffic. Wandsworth Council was given £1,923,500 by TfL and used this money to implement the LTNs. TfL has, in consultation with Wandsworth Council but acting separately, implemented changes to the A24.

I am supportive of initiatives which reduce car usage, make our streets safer, encourage cycling and create a better local environment. But we must make it work for everyone in Tooting and Balham.

I know that lots of local residents have concerns and comments about how the changes have affected our community. The only way to have your voice heard is to feed into the consultations that Wandsworth Council is running and to let TfL know what you think by emailing them.

To respond to Wandsworth Council's consultation, click here.
To provide feedback to TfL please email: [email protected]  

It is important to note that I was not consulted prior to the implementation of these changes to our roads and I have no control over the decisions that have been made. As the local MP, I can lobby the Government and the relevant Ministers, but I cannot make decisions for the Conservative Council. I am listening and engaging with local residents on this but I cannot make alterations to these changes.
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If you have already provided your feedback to Wandsworth Council's consultation and/or emailed TfL, and you want to raise your concerns with other officials, you may also wish to contact Wandsworth Council's Transport spokesperson Councillor John Locker via email at [email protected], or the Government's Minister of State with responsibility for cycling and walking Chris Heaton-Harris MP via email at [email protected]