The Sutton Council meeting scheduled for 3 November 2025 included discussion of Houses in Multiple Occupation, a motion to support diversity, and the annual report of the Audit and Governance Committee. Councillors were also expected to answer questions.

HMO Planning and Notification

A motion was put forward concerning notification and planning expectations for Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs). Councillor Tony Shields proposed the motion, which was seconded by Councillor Param Nandha. The council was asked to note the growing concern among residents regarding the increase in HMOs and their impact on parking, refuse management, noise and local amenity. The motion noted that the number of HMOs in the London Borough of Sutton increased by 34% between 2011 and 2021, and that if current trends continue, the number may almost double over the next ten years.

The motion stated that HMO licensing and planning permission operate under separate legislative regimes, but in practice there is significant overlap between the two. It was noted that local authorities have powers under the Housing Act 2004¹ to refuse or revoke HMO licences where the licence holder or property fails to meet the required standards, or where the use of the property breaches planning control and enforcement action has been taken. The motion also welcomed the introduction of an Article 4 Direction² in Sutton to withdraw permitted development rights for the conversion of family homes into smaller HMOs. The council was asked to regret that written notifications to residents of local changes, including conversions to HMOs and associated planning or licensing applications, are no longer routinely issued. The council was asked to resolve:

That where an HMO planning or licence application is received, the Council will ensure that written notification is sent to all properties within a 100-metre radius of the application address, informing residents of the application and providing details on how to submit comments or raise concerns.

The council was also asked to resolve that the council's HMO Licensing Policy be updated to clearly state that applicants are expected to seek and obtain planning consent where required, before or alongside applying for a licence, and to ensure that where a property is subject to planning enforcement action or a final enforcement notice has been served, this information is fully considered by the Licensing Team when assessing the suitability of any HMO licence application or renewal.

An amendment to the motion, proposed by Councillor Jake Short and seconded by Councillor Richard Clifton, also referenced resident concerns about the increase in HMOs. The amendment noted that licensing changes in 2018 made comparisons with prior dates misleading as the scope of what constitutes a HMO changed significantly. The amendment welcomed the introduction of an Article 4 Direction in Sutton by the Liberal Democrat administration, after the previous Conservative led government de-regulated this area of planning law, and that the Liberal Democrat administration recently consulted on additional licensing measures for HMOs building on the progress made with the Article 4 Directive to ensure that HMOs are of a decent standard.

The amendment stated that as a consequence of Conservative austerity, written notifications to residents of local changes are no longer routinely issued, but that this change was accompanied by the development of an online notification system that has led to an increase in participation in the planning process from Sutton residents, allowing residents to be notified of any application they might be interested in anywhere in the borough, not just in their immediate area. It was further noted that ward councillors have a crucial role to play for residents who are not able to access the online notification system.

The council was asked to resolve that where an HMO license application is received, the Council will ensure that written notification is sent to all properties within a 100-metre radius of the application address, informing residents of the application and providing details on how to submit comments or raise concerns, as soon as the Conservative austerity that forced this change is reversed, and in the absence of this, to continue to encourage ward councillors to see as an important part of their role, the active monitoring of planning applications in their wards including those relating to HMOs in order to inform residents and provide details on how they can submit comments and raise concerns.

Respecting Sutton's Diversity

A motion was put forward to offer reassurance to all communities in Sutton and to reiterate support for a respectful and inclusive society. Councillor Barry Lewis proposed the motion, which was seconded by Councillor Sam Martin. The council was asked to note that Sutton celebrates the fact that it is a diverse, inclusive, respectful and welcoming community where people of all cultures and national backgrounds get along and thrive, and has had a deserved reputation as a community that has welcomed people fleeing persecution, in particular in recent years those from Afghanistan, Ukraine and Hong Kong, and has recognised and celebrated the important contributions people from a range of different cultural and national backgrounds have made to our society and to our workforce, particularly in the care sector and in local hospitals.

The council was asked to further note that there has been an increase in extreme narratives and support for those narratives over the last 15 years, as seen through increases in Islamophobia and antisemitism, and more recently, the focus on migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, and with concern the way statements and policies associated with some political leaders have created uncertainty and fear, particularly the suggestion that those with indefinite leave to remain in our country and who have lived and worked here for many years may find their status changed, contributing to concerns that they may be threatened with deportation, breaking up long established family units and losing experienced people from their jobs, and with concern the recent terrorist attack on the synagogue in Manchester and the appalling arson attack on the mosque in Peacehaven and the impact that these have had on many of our communities in Sutton.

The council was asked to resolve to continue to work alongside the police and the charity, community and faith sector to build community cohesion, and to write to the Home Secretary to urge them to provide support and resources to local authorities to help build community cohesion and oppose racism, hate, hostility and anti-migrant sentiment.

Annual Report of the Audit and Governance Committee

The annual report of the Audit and Governance Committee for 2024/25 was scheduled to be noted. The Audit and Governance Committee plays a vital role in providing review and scrutiny of the council's control and governance arrangements, which contributes towards the Ambitious for Sutton³ objective of an efficient and well run Council . The annual report presents an overview of the work of the committee over the past year and demonstrates to stakeholders how the committee has fulfilled its terms of reference. This provides information to Sutton residents about how Councillors maintain assurance about the adequacy of internal control and governance arrangements, and how they ensure public funds are used appropriately and effectively to deliver Ambitious for Sutton objectives.

The annual report outlines the reports submitted to the committee during the year 2024/25. This included external audit reports, internal audit updates, fraud updates, HR reports and regular updates on the council's treasury management activities. The annual report also sets out proposed reports for 2024/25 as a work plan for the Committee.

Questions from Councillors

Councillors submitted questions to be answered at the meeting. Councillor Nick Mattey asked Councillor Christopher Woolmer, Chair of the Environment and Sustainable Transport Committee, about planning decisions or actions taken over the last 30 years which have either helped to mitigate carbon dioxide emissions, or conversely, have made emissions substantially worse.

Councillor Luke Taylor asked Councillor Sunita Gordon, Lead Member for Resources, for an update on the Government's Fair Funding Review.

Councillor Dave Tchil asked Councillor Jake Short, Chair of the Housing, Economy and Business Committee, about the envisaged number of exceedances anticipated over a 12 month period in the original planning application for the Incinerator.

Councillor Tony Shields asked Councillor Barry Lewis, Leader of Sutton Council, what confidence residents can have that this administration is providing competent and effective oversight, in light of failures to ensure that Council contractors implement the London Living Wage, or to guarantee proper reporting to the Environment Agency of repeated noxious emission breaches over the last two years.

Councillor Tim Foster asked Councillor Jake Short, Chair of the Housing, Economy and Business Committee, how the council considers it to be an effective or sensible use of the Carbon Offset Fund, and why it believes this approach represents good value for money, given that the council expects to collect approximately £720,000 from developers who fail to meet building energy efficiency standards, and intends to use this money to fund projects that would save around 300 tonnes of CO2 per year, equating to roughly £2,500 per tonne of carbon saved.

Councillor Muhammad Sadiq asked Councillor Jake Short, Chair of the Housing, Economy and Business Committee, what was the result of the Council's recent Regulator of Social Housing inspection?

Councillor James McDermott-Hill asked Councillor Christopher Woolmer, Chair of the Environment and Sustainable Transport Committee, why the Liberal Democrat administration are spending large sums of public money on new tree planting when it lacks both the capacity and funding to properly maintain the trees we already have.

Councillor Jillian Green asked Councillor Christopher Woolmer, Chair of the Environment and Sustainable Transport Committee, whether the council considers it appropriate to promote a facility with such a poor environmental compliance record, and how this aligns with its stated climate objectives, given that Viridor has breached its environmental permit 916 times, yet the Council continues to give the incinerator, free publicity through its education programme.

Councillor Trish Fivey asked Councillor Jake Short, Chair of the Housing, Economy and Business Committee, how the vacancy rate of businesses and shops in Sutton High Street compares with the rest of London.

Councillor Vanessa Udall asked Councillor Christopher Woolmer, Chair of the Environment and Sustainable Transport Committee, what steps the Council has taken to ensure that organisers of events in our parks are safeguarding green and open spaces.

Councillor Cryss Mennaceur asked Councillor Marian James, Chair of the People Committee, what the council's policy is on ensuring children eligible for free school meals with Education Other Than at School (EOTAS) packages are in receipt of them.

Councillor Wendy Clark asked Councillor Jake Short, Chair of the Housing, Economy and Business Committee, whether it is not time for more scrutiny of the Business Improvement District (BID), in light of the lack of decorations for any major event in Sutton town centre.

Councillor Joe Quick asked Councillor Jake Short, Chair of the Housing, Economy and Business Committee, whether the Council will agree to stand with the Worcester Park ward councillors in doing everything possible to oppose the proposed entrance and exit for the new development on Green Lane.

Councillor Mike Dwyer asked Councillor Sam Martin, Deputy Leader of Sutton Council, what concrete steps Sutton Council has implemented to identify, prevent, and address Anti Semitism across the Borough, beyond marking Holocaust Memorial Day.

Councillor Nick Mattey asked Councillor Christopher Woolmer, Chair of the Environment and Sustainable Transport Committee, what measures the Council is taking to calculate and account for the additional greenhouse gas emissions arising from the incinerator producing excessive amounts of nitrous oxide for the last 14 months, and how these are factored into the Borough's climate strategy.

Councillor Wendy Clark asked Councillor Christopher Woolmer, Chair of the Environment and Sustainable Transport Committee, what the Lead Member's view is now that there is clear evidence the issue is not limited to steam, as has previously been claimed, following the verified 900 breaches of emissions from Viridor.

Councillor Tim Foster asked Councillor Christopher Woolmer, Chair of the Environment and Sustainable Transport Committee, when the Council will introduce a proper network of electric vehicle charging points that offer fair pricing, and enable residents without driveways to charge their vehicles conveniently and affordably.

Councillor James McDermott-Hill asked Councillor Christopher Woolmer, Chair of the Environment and Sustainable Transport Committee, whether they have any ability to amend the Council's current dropped kerb policy to mandate a duty for officers to inform the immediate neighbours of a property that has applied for a dropped kerb.

Councillor Mike Dwyer asked Councillor Marian James, Chair of the People Committee, why the Council spent over £100,000 installing a Changing Places Toilet (CPT) at Beddington Park Pavilion when it was not fit for purpose, as evidenced by the fact that the CPT was closed shortly after its completion and remains closed for an indefinite period because the building needs a new roof.

Councillor Jillian Green asked Councillor Christopher Woolmer, Chair of the Environment and Sustainable Transport Committee, for the latest forecast of greenhouse gas emissions (e.g. methane, CO2, and other relevant gases) expected from Beddington landfill (also known as Beddington Farmlands) over the coming decades, given that it contains on the order of 5,000,000 m3 of waste.

Councillor Nick Mattey asked Councillor Christopher Woolmer, Chair of the Environment and Sustainable Transport Committee, when Beddington landfill / Beddington Farmlands is expected to be brought up to the promised standard, and what standard is being aimed for (e.g. capping, gas collection, landscaping, biodiversity and monitoring), given that when planning permission was granted for the landfill, there was an expectation or commitment that the site would be remediated or brought up to a certain standard once operations ceased.

Councillor Jillian Green asked Councillor Christopher Woolmer, Chair of the Environment and Sustainable Transport Committee, for an update on how many trees have been planted, how much green infrastructure has been delivered in the Borough over the last five years, and how these measures are contributing to climate mitigation and adaptation targets, given that urban tree cover, wetlands, and green infrastructure play a crucial role in absorbing carbon, reducing heat, and improving flood resilience.

Councillor Nick Mattey asked Councillor Christopher Woolmer, Chair of the Environment and Sustainable Transport Committee, what specific measures the Council is taking to improve recycling performance and move waste management up the waste hierarchy, in line with national and London wide climate targets, given that despite national targets to increase recycling rates and reduce residual waste, Sutton's performance has stagnated and a significant proportion of waste continues to be incinerated.

Councillor Nick Mattey asked Councillor Christopher Woolmer, Chair of the Environment and Sustainable Transport Committee, how locking customers into extended SDEN contracts thereby entrenching reliance on the incinerator is compatible with its declared climate emergency and net zero ambitions, given that the Council's SDEN heat network is heavily reliant on heat from the Beddington incinerator, and that Council officers have indicated that they wish to extend the incinerator's life beyond 2044 to maintain this heat supply, and that the Council is seeking to expand the heat network and tie new customers into long-term contracts, which would make it practically impossible to close or remove the incinerator at the end of its current 25-year contract.