The Merton Council Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel met on 1 July 2025 to discuss a range of topics, including electric vehicle charging, sports facilities, and community issues. The panel was also scheduled to review performance reports and monitor action items.

Here's a summary of the topics that were listed for discussion:

Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Strategy

The panel was scheduled to review the draft Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure (EVCI) Strategy 2025-30, which aims to support the increasing number of electric vehicles in the borough. The strategy focuses on the council's role in providing public charging facilities, particularly for residents without off-street parking.

The draft strategy sets out four strategic principles:

• Comprehensive charging network
• Sustainable transport objectives
• Affordable charging costs
• Accessible infrastructure for all users

The report pack included a summary of the recommendations made by the Electric Vehicle Scrutiny Task Group, and officer responses to those recommendations. These included:

• The council's position on cross-pavement charging solutions, such as cable channels. The report stated that the Council has taken the cautious approach to not permit cross pavement charging solutions at the current time and has set this as a policy in the strategy in order to provide clarity to residents.
• Lobbying the government for fairer VAT charging between home and on-street charging.
• Ensuring a range of charging types and speeds are spread evenly throughout the borough.
• Ensuring all dedicated EV bays have appropriate and clear signs.
• The installation of EV charging points in council car parks, premises, community centres, libraries and schools.
• Reviewing the policy on street decluttering to include electric vehicle chargers and cables on public footpaths.
• Focusing energy on rapid charge points, on a par with other neighbouring boroughs, by 2026.
• Undertaking a review of parking and permit charges for electric vehicles in 2026.
• Encouraging all Housing Associations to maximise their provision of electric vehicle charging for residents.
• Ensuring dedicated EV charging units are sympathetic to the environment (e.g. black or green colour rather than white) to better blend into the environment/streetscape.

The report also included a draft of the Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Strategy and Action Plan 2025-2030, which included a glossary of terms, a foreword from Councillor Stuart Neaverson, Cabinet Member for Transport and Cleaner Streets, and an executive summary.

Sports Facilities Assessment and Playing Pitch Strategy

The panel was scheduled to note progress on the Sports Facilities Assessment and Playing Pitch Strategy since the previous presentation in November 2024. The strategy aims to provide a framework for the development of sports facilities in Merton, with a focus on improving existing facilities and developing new ones for emerging sports.

The report pack noted that since launching the Borough of Sport initiative, the council has levered in over £2.4 million of external funding that has been invested in improving playing facilities across the borough.

The strategy includes assessments of needs for various sports, including:

• Cricket: The assessment of facility needs shows that there are insufficient grass pitches in the area to cater for the demand of clubs, with some playing outside of the borough and 70% of grass pitches in the area being played over their maximum capacity.
• Football: The assessment of need for football highlights that supply of grass pitches in all categories other than mini soccer needs to increase and there is also a shortfall (4.5) of 11v11 3G artificial grass pitches (AGPs) required to meet current demand.
• Hockey: To meet current demand, the assessment of needs for hockey recommends the protection of current hockey facilities, resurfacing of poor-quality pitch provision and the installation of sports lighting at Harris Academy Morden.
• Rugby: The assessment of need for rugby shows the majority of rugby pitches in Merton are currently over capacity with the amount of demand for training and matches, with six of the eight sites being overused.

The report also noted key priorities for swimming pools and sports halls, highlighting the need to protect current supply, secure community use on education sites where possible, and modernise current sites to improve their energy efficiency.

Committee Recommendation to Clarion

The panel was scheduled to discuss a recommendation put forward by the Sustainable Communities Scrutiny Panel at a previous meeting with Councillor Andrew Judge, Cabinet Member for Housing and Sustainable Development. The report pack refers to a meeting on 26 March 2025 where Brian Ham from Clarion Housing Association gave an update on the regeneration programme for the High Path, Eastfields and Ravensbury estates.

During that meeting, Councillor Dan Johnston proposed a recommendation that Clarion provide finished flooring throughout their regenerated properties. However, the recommendation was not carried. Councillor Johnston also proposed that Clarion introduce a formal ambassador scheme for estates which don't have resident associations, which was passed unanimously by the Panel.

Performance Monitoring

The panel was scheduled to review performance data from April 2025 related to various council services. Key performance indicators (KPIs) that were scheduled to be discussed included:

• Libraries: Number of people accessing the library.
• Waste Services: Percentage of household waste recycled and composted; number of refuse collections missed.
• Street Cleansing: Percentage of fly-tips removed within 24 hours; percentage of sites surveyed meeting required standards for litter.
• Borough of Sport: Number of residents accessing free swimming; leisure centre user numbers.
• Development Control: Percentage of major and minor applications processed within agreed timescales.
• Housing: Number of households in temporary accommodation; number of homelessness preventions.
• Safer Merton: Percentage of anti-social behaviour (ASB) cases acknowledged within service timescales.
• Greenspaces: Average Performance Quality Score (Litter and Cleansing Standards); number of trees on public land.
• Traffic and Highways: Carriageway condition.
• Climate: Number of publicly available electric vehicle charging points.

Action Log

The panel was scheduled to review the action log to monitor the progress of recommendations made at previous meetings. Items on the action log included:

• That the Cabinet Member for Local Environment, Green Spaces and Climate Change returns to the Sustainable Communities Panel once the Environment Bill and legislation has been published.
• The Panel recommends that the Council create an overarching Green Spaces strategy in line with the Council's climate commitment and with a focus on community wellbeing
• The Panel recommends to Cabinet that the Council should consider developing a 'One Stop Shop' web-based reporting system to make it easier for our residents to report any issues relating to parks, waste and public spaces in one place and bring an update on this to the SC Panel
• Officers consider more proactive engagement of Councillors when designing engagement days or communications strategies.
• Energy efficiency and EPCs in the Private Rented Sector. Housing Enforcement Team officer to identify properties that do not meet the minimum requirement for energy efficiency and fine accordingly. Annual feedback to be provided to the Sustainable Communities Panel on the work of the team, with details on the minimum target/s, how housing enforcement conduct their research on EPC ratings, number of fines served.
• Call on Clarion to introduce a formal ambassador scheme for estates which don't have resident associations.
• In January 2025 the panel agreed to recommended Option C 'Action Plan with Funded Measures'

Work Programme

The panel was scheduled to review and agree on the work programme for the upcoming year, 2025/26.