A six week consultation period, during which Sutton Council requested views on their plans to protect and enhance heritage buildings and structures at the southern end of Sutton town centre through the creation of a new Conservation Area, ended in mid-February 2011. The accompanying consultation leaflet, Celebrating Sutton’s Heritage, noted that “Treasuring and enhancing the unique aspects of the area would help create a stronger local identity, support the regeneration and promotion of Sutton town centre, encourage visitors and shoppers, and support retailers and a vibrant town centre”.
A comprehensive draft Heritage Character Appraisal document, outlining the background and historical context, along with spatial and character analysis, was published at the same time. The character analysis included many points that Sutton Living Streets were happy to endorse, including “…the area around the Station should be upgraded to improve the arrival experience to the town centre”, “the pedestrian footways along this stretch are narrow and can become congested”, and “..a reduction in street clutter is desirable…”.
Consequently, Sutton Living Streets produced a short response to the consultation, endorsing the character analysis and supporting the recommendation to designate the southern part of the High Street as a Conservation Area. The response is available from this link: SuttonHighStreetConservationArea_SuttonLivingStreetsResponse_v1_Feb2011.
