The South of the Borough Neighbourhood Committee met on 12 June 2025 to discuss neighbourhood working arrangements, community grant applications, and a proposed weight restriction. The committee was also scheduled to elect a chair and vice chair for the 2025/26 municipal year, as well as a chair for the Planning Sub Committee. Members were also expected to answer questions from the public.

Rhodrons Avenue Area 3.5 Tonne Weight Restrictions

The committee was scheduled to consider the results of a public consultation regarding a proposal to implement a 3.5 tonne weight restriction in the Rhodrons Avenue area. The proposed restriction would apply to Rhodrons Avenue, Moorfield Road, Sherborne Road and Meadow Way, operating from Monday to Saturday, 7pm - 7am, except for access.

According to the report pack, the council sent consultation letters to 228 addresses in the area, receiving 50 responses. Of those responses, 36 (72%) supported the weight restrictions, 10 (20%) were against, and 4 (8%) were unsure.

The report pack included a summary of objections received during the consultation, including concerns from residents about their ability to receive deliveries outside the proposed hours and questions about where self-employed individuals who rely on vans of this size for their work would be permitted to park. In response to these concerns, council officers stated that:

The primary objective is to eliminate the use of these roads as a through-route for vehicles exceeding 3.5 tonnes, thereby improving the safety and amenity of the area for residents, pedestrians, and cyclists. This measure is not intended to prevent necessary access for vehicles making legitimate deliveries to properties within the restricted zone.

The report recommended that the committee resolve to implement the 3.5 tonne weight restriction, subject to the necessary statutory consultation. The estimated cost of the project was £5,000, to be funded from the Local Implementation Plan grant from Transport for London.

Neighbourhood Community Grants

The committee was scheduled to consider two applications for Neighbourhood Community Grants. The report pack stated that the committee had £20,000 of Neighbourhood Community Grant Funding to allocate for the year.

The first application was from the Adriene's Thread Group, a community interest company (CIC), for £3,000 to support the further development of the Sow to Sew project. According to the report pack, the aim of the CIC is:

to provide benefits to adults and children with limited access to culture, heritage, arts and crafts, particularly those displaced by conflict and with learning and communication difficulties.

The Sow to Sew project would provide opportunities for communities to come together and share knowledge, skills and experiences, celebrate cultures and communities and promote community cohesion, mental and physical health and wellbeing. The workshops would encompass all stages of fabric production, from seed to cloth. The project's overall aim is to be an interactive learning environment that provides support through multi-sensory and social skill activities, such as gardening, needlework and textile exploration. The report pack stated that the £1,000 gap between the cost of running the programme and the Neighbourhood Community Grant funding would be met by a donation from the Rotary Club and other internal CIC funding.

The second application was from the Sunray Community Centre CIC for £2,715 to support the running of a youth club at the centre on a Thursday evening. The funding would permit the current collaborative arrangement with Achieving for Children (AfC) to deliver a programme at the community centre for the remainder of this term and two further academic terms, and would also support ad hoc holiday youth provision where possible. The report pack stated that the Sunray Youth Club started in January 2025 and already attracts a regular cohort of 26 - 30 young people each week.

Neighbourhood Working Arrangements

The committee was scheduled to revisit its working arrangements for the remainder of the municipal term, up to May 2026. The report pack recommended that the committee resolve to de-establish the Planning Sub-Committee for the 2025-26 municipal year, and reduce the number of formal meetings of the committee to six, while exploring other ways of engaging with the community.

The report pack stated that the Planning Sub-Committee had only been required to meet twice since June 2022, and that the chair was of the view that it would be more productive to reduce the number of formal meetings and explore further ways of engaging with the community, akin to the previous model of Neighbourhood Forums which existed between 2015 and 2019.