Open letter from Giles Bailey.


The Department for Transport and Transport for London are continuing to develop their Crossrail 2 proposal for a new rail service connecting Southwest with Northeast London. The main part of the scheme would run in a tunnel from Wimbledon to Tottenham Hale. This is an enormous project that wouldn’t likely be completed until 2030 and cost many billions of pounds. The scheme was discussed at the recent Raynes Park Community Forum on 1 Oct 2015.

A letter from former Merton Liberal Democrat councillor Iain Dysart.

Residents and local campaigners have been shocked to discover that South West Trains is not pushing to make local train stations more accessible.

An open letter from Wimbledon's Parliamentary campaigner, Shas Sheehan.

In February, local Lib Dems sought to protect funding for the care packages of those with the highest support needs in the borough.

West Barnes Lib Dem councillor, Mary-Jane Jeanes, gives an update on what's going on at Raynesfield, the flats on Grand Drive, which have recently been in the media, as London Mayor Boris Johnson was forced to back down on evicting the residents.

Here’s our 5-point action plan to "Reclaim Our Roads".

There are a few simple actions that Shas Sheehan and local Lib Dems are calling for that would make a big difference.

1. Get serious about street cleaning
Merton Council should reintroduce street cleaning straight after refuse and recycling collections, and monitor the quality of the work.

2. Publicise the schedule of inspection and maintenance of gullies and drains
Information is key. Allowing residents to know when their road is up for inspection allows them to hold the council to account when their actions are unacceptable.

3. A joint working group set up to include Merton Council, Thames Water and the Environment Agency
This agency would look holistically at the cause and effect of poor drainage and vibrating roads, allowing for problems to be resolved before they become a thorny issue for residents.
At the moment residents are sent from pillar to post trying to find out which agency is responsible for problems in their road. This step would greatly decrease the amount of bureaucracy involved in finding out who is responsible.

4. Implement 20mph default speed limit on most roads, without roads humps
This would make roads safer, reduce air and noise pollution and mitigate vibration.

5. Enforce heavy lorry weight restrictions
This would further reduce vibrations and prevent damage to buildings in the immediate vicinity

Mary-Jane Jeanes, the Liberal Democrat councillor for West Barnes, has strongly backed calls to stop the eviction of tenants from Raynesfield in Raynes Park.

Threats to Merton Adult Education (MAE) have drawn strong opposition from local Liberal Democrats.