There is an opportunity coming up where the Nature Reserve Ranger is leading a tour of the farmlands as part of Wandle Fortnight. Go and enjoy, see it for yourself! Wed 23rd Sep 10:00am - 11:30am:https://www.wandlevalleyforum.org.uk/wandle-fortnight.html

Beddington Farmlands, A Legendary Birdwatching Hotspot! That’s the opinion of the London Natural History Society.

They reported ‘258 species of bird have been recorded, 476 species of moth, 9 species of bat, over 300 species of plants and hundreds of invertebrates – with over 350 species of fly recorded, including the discovery of a species that was considered extinct.’

So why is there so much controversy at the moment when this appears, on the surface, to be a major success story?

Well, on the 2nd September an amendment to the originally agreed restoration plan for the Beddington Landfill Site came to the planning committee, specifically to approve the replacement of the originally planned acid and heathland habitat with rich meadowland habitat due to the technical challenges associated with delivering the former.

Converting the farmlands to acid grassland would mean adding chemicals that could be harmful to the Wandle.  That sounds like working against nature, not with it. And this is a nature reserve. However, I’m not the expert but the council's senior Biodiversity Officer agrees.

They say that the issue with the original plan is “there's the chance of releasing heavy metals which will then potentially filter into the chalk stream, the river Wandle. So that's obviously a very bad thing.

“Also, the process will create carbon emissions and any mitigation would require taking away a hectare from other habitats. On top of which the process would probably need to be repeated every 3 to 4 years so therefore it becomes very difficult for officers to manage.”

As well as new meadows, the new proposal will see the erection of a single-storey agricultural building, a single-storey building for the control unit, new access gates, security fencing, and seating.

So what is the issue? Nothing controversial here is there?

Well, it’s been a protracted process. It feels as if promises were made and not delivered. It became apparent that the acid and heathland habitat promised in the original application was not going to happen in 2023. And when the council opted for enforcement, an amendment of over 1000 pages was submitted. This took some time to assess and discussions on how to implement were had.

This resulted in a series of deadlines which will be monitored with each phase capable of enforcement, inserted into the application rather than just a single date for completion. With a clear path of funding from the applicant.

It’s all a bit messy but we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that we already have a nature reserve, the size of Hyde Park, on the site. A landfill site.

There is an opportunity coming up where the Nature Reserve Ranger is leading a tour of the farmlands as part of Wandle Fortnight. Go and enjoy, see it for yourself!

Wed 23rd Sep 10:00am - 11:30am

https://www.wandlevalleyforum.org.uk/wandle-fortnight.html

- Cllr Andrew Jenner

How did you feel over the summer when it seemed to be heatwave after heatwave?

If I’m honest - I struggled with the heat. I love the heat when I’ve got access to air conditioning or a pool/beach. But like so many of us, that's often only when I’m away on holiday, not when I’m at home in the loft room which got stifling hot over the summer (because heat rises!). The heat, and the climate anxiety, felt inescapable.

Earlier in the year, I started to hear about a film called the People’s Emergency Briefing. I knew it was causing a stir - having captured the imagination of so many people across the country about the real lived impacts of climate change in a way previous documentaries failed to do. I also was impressed to hear that the main way it was being distributed was through community screenings - with community groups up and down the country stepping in to provide an amazing public service by putting it on for free and welcoming everyone in to watch it. It sounded like something out of the early days of cinema!

But I couldn’t find a local screening that I could go to - and at the same time, several people I know in Cheam were talking to me about Climate Change and their worries, both before and during the election campaign.

I’ve personally been interested in Climate Change and the Environment since I took an Environmental Engineering module at university. Ironically some of the groundbreaking technologies that I studied are still viable but as a society we haven’t managed to make the changes to adopt them as quickly as we could.

Don’t get me wrong - some of those technologies needed wholesale change such as moving from Gas Boilers to Heat Pumps but others, such as solar panels, seemed a no-brainer!

But I realise that it takes big coverage of climate change to really make everybody sit up and do something about it. I remember watching Al Gore’s film called an Inconvenient Truth 20 years ago - and was pleased then that it did have an impact on policy makers.

Now, twenty years later we have the People’s Emergency Briefing to fulfil that role. It gives us the facts but also is focused on starting conversations and encouraging localised community action.

So, now as a Councillor and local activist, my passions for the environment and building community collided and from it was born the Cheam Climate Action Group with the aim of raising awareness of the climate and nature crises, as well as working collectively to create the conditions for our local community to thrive in the face of them.

So you won't be surprised to hear that its first project is to organise community screenings of the People’s Emergency Briefing film here in Cheam - as has been done up and down the country in a remarkable example of people power.

Sutton Council has won the Planning for Nature Recovery Award at the 2026 Nature 2030 Political Purpose Awards, recognising its work to put biodiversity and nature recovery at the heart of local planning decisions.

The award, sponsored by the London Wildlife Trust, recognises councils that are helping to create greener towns and cities, healthier communities and more space for wildlife through the planning system. Sutton was shortlisted alongside Dorset Council, Mid Suffolk District Council, East Suffolk Council and Forest of Dean District Council.

Judges highlighted Sutton’s evidence-led approach to nature recovery, including the Council’s investment in specialist ecological expertise and its work to make sure biodiversity is properly considered when new developments are proposed.

Sutton’s Local Plan includes protections for Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation, green corridors and biodiversity, alongside plans to create new woodland and chalk grassland. The Council also introduced interim Biodiversity Net Gain guidance in April 2025 and has been using planning conditions and enforcement powers to make sure environmental commitments made by developers are actually delivered.

Cllr Jake Short said:

“This is fantastic recognition for the work being done in Sutton to protect and restore our natural environment.

“As our borough grows, we need to make sure new development works with nature rather than pushing it out. That means protecting the green spaces and habitats we already have, while using the planning system to create new ones wherever we can.

“There is always more to do, but this award shows that Sutton is leading by example. I’m delighted to see the hard work of council officers and everyone involved in protecting our local environment recognised nationally.”

The Political Purpose Awards are run by Nature 2030 and recognise politicians, councils, campaigners and organisations demonstrating environmental leadership across the UK. The 2026 awards included ten categories covering issues from wildlife protection and river pollution to air quality, biodiversity and sustainable local government.

The full nomination for Sutton was as follow:

London Borough of Sutton has developed a strong, evidence-led approach to urban nature recovery through planning policy, ecological expertise and Biodiversity Net Gain implementation.

The Council has a permanent Senior Biodiversity Officer and previously employed a dedicated Biodiversity Net Gain Officer for 18 months to help establish policy. It has a formal service-level agreement with Greenspace Information for Greater London, ensuring ecological data informs local decision-making.

Sutton’s Local Plan includes a clear objective to protect and enhance biodiversity, with Policy 26 protecting Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation, green corridors and biodiversity.

The policy also supports the creation of 1 hectare of new woodland and 2 hectares of new chalk grassland, alongside wider habitat enhancements identified through the Council’s Biodiversity Action Plan and river catchment plans.

Sutton adopted Biodiversity Net Gain Interim Guidance in April 2025, has reviewed its SINCs, and uses planning conditions and enforcement tools to ensure biodiversity

Fancy a Referendum?

I know, I know, I know… but hear me out!

Last spring I met two retired men who just wanted an easy, peaceful life fishing in their local river, the Windrush.

One of them, Ash Smith, was a former detective superintendent. The other, Peter Hammond, a retired professor specialising in machine learning. So between them they had the perfect skill sets for the challenge that lay before them.

And that challenge, sadly was the demise of their local river. It had gone from crystal-clear, flowing ranunculus weed and plenty of fish to a cloudy, aquatic desert.

And the journey they went on unravelled what we now know as the ‘Sewage Scandal’ that has damaged all of the rivers and lakes in this country. Their story was serialised into an excellent,  three part Docudrama on Channel 4 called ‘Dirty Business’. It’s just a pity that it’s true!

In my brief conversation with them they announced their plan to secure a debate in Parliament called ’Hold a referendum to bring the water industry into public ownership’. It’s not too late to sign it but I can confirm that it will take place on 14th September and you will be able to watch it on UK Parliament tv

So here is my chat and interview with them on YouTube. 

Don’t forget to sign their petition! https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/762640 

Bobby Dean explains the Liberal Democrats' proposals to radically change the way our water companies are run.

The drought this summer, hosepipe bans around the country and pleas for us to use less water once again highlight the shocking state of our national water infrastructure.

The water industry regulator, Ofwat, reckoned that about a fifth of all fresh water put into the system gets lost as leaks. Campaign group River Action estimates that Thames Water leaks 570 million litres of treated drinking water every day, as well as being responsible for sewage discharges in our area.

We are lucky in Sutton that our local drinking water supplier, SES Water, has one of the lowest leakage rates in the country, but they still lose about 76 litres per property per day .

As many of you know, I have been an active campaigner for change in the water industry due to the shocking sewage and oil pollution of our local River Wandle, one of London’s precious chalk streams, destroying wildlife and threatening years of ecological recovery. I and the other Liberal Democrats in Parliament are calling for major reform:

• Transform water companies into public benefit companies, focused on people and the environment, not just profit.
• Introduce a Sewage Tax on water company profits to fund clean-up efforts and infrastructure upgrades
• Set legally binding targets to end sewage dumping into bathing waters and sensitive nature sites by 2030
• Protect customers from rising bills: We’ve fought to ensure that creditors, not bill payers, cover the cost when water companies go bankrupt. It’s unacceptable that over a third of your water bill goes toward servicing company debt instead of fixing leaks or cleaning up pollution. 

We are pleased to see the Government has backed our manifesto call to scrap Ofwat and replace it with a tough new regulator. We want to ensure that this new body has the powers to revoke licences, ban executive bonuses, and mandate real-time data on sewage discharges.

Locally, I’ll continue to fight for the Wandle and for clean, safe water across our community. Nationally, I’ll keep pushing for a system that prioritises transparency, accountability, security of supply, and environmental protection.

– Bobby Dean

Spades will be in the ground in early September as work begins to restore a stretch of the River Wandle around Culvers Avenue in Hackbridge.

Historic modifications to the river have reduced water quality in the area and damaged the habitats that local wildlife depends on.

The project, led by South East Rivers Trust, will restore around 350 metres of the Wandle. The riverbed will be reshaped to create shallow riffles and deeper pools, providing habitat for fish.

Trees will be cut back to allow more light to reach the river and its banks. The wood sourced from this will then be used in the river to create structures called berms, that improve the flow of water.

Independent experts have confirmed that the works will not increase the risk of flooding to nearby homes.

Bobby Dean MP has been supportive of the project and attended a local drop in with South East Rivers Trust.