The Dundonald Lib Dem Team is always available to help people improve their local area. You can see some information on the ways we helped local residents to help themselves in 2012  here.

We have:

• In January, reported a graffiti tag on side of the house on Fairlawn Road at the junction with Dundonald Road (now cleaned off) as well as a street light that was on all day (now fixed). We also chased the Council about the graffiti on the fences on Dundonald Road and outside Kingfisher court near the Dundonald Road tram stop (the grafitti on the fence outside Kingfisher Court has now gone). We told the Council about dumped Christmas trees on the grass verge on Avebury Road near the junction with Wilton Crescent – they promised to collect them for recycling (now cleared).

• We’ve been in touch with Network Rail about the state of the bridge from Merton Hall Road to Elm Grove and the lighting on it (in terms of the lights on the bridge, we’re chasing Merton Council, who promised to fix them – sadly we chased them all year and this hasn’t happened yet).

• We sought to understand and clarify what the Council was doing with rubbish and recycling collections, at the end of January, after chaos was caused by a Council press release. We also challenged the affect that the decision would have on town centre residents (in April we received the answers to some of our questions, saying the feedback meant they would “review the proposed time-bands for residents” – but the final answers didn’t really come until June).

• February saw us complain to the Council about the state of Prince George’s Avenue, which doesn’t look like it’s been swept in months (now cleaned; we’ll be monitoring whether this happens regularly). We also raised the state of the street trees on the road and uneven pavements. We reported flytipping on Bushey Road near the junction with Aston Road, and an abandoned Christmas tree on Bronson Road (all cleared).

• The news reached us in mid-February, that the railway bridge at Wimbledon Chase would be repainted in 2013/14. We campaigned between 2009-11 to get Network Rail to paint out the worst of the grafitti on the bridge.

• Residents were concerned in late-February about the future of the post office in Amity Grove.

• March saw us reporting potholes at the Kingston Road-end of Gore Road, and a Christmas tree abandoned on Dundonald Road(!) (now removed). We also complained about the litter around the Elm Grove-end of the footbridge from Merton Hall Road and also rubbish dumped in front of the advertising hoardings on Kingston Road at the junction with Lower Downs road (all cleared).

• In April, we received complaints from residents about the litter being dumped on the former Emma Hamilton pub site (cleared and site secured), and reported damaged road signs on Merton Hall Road (fixed) and Toynbee Road. There was also dumped rubbish on the Bushey Road grass verge, near Vernon Avenue (cleared) and overflowing litter bins along the Chase. The recycling bins at Dundonald Road tram stop haven’t been emptied in weeks (now sorted, although we’re monitoring).

• We reported abandoned waste bags on Gladstone Road at the junction with Pelham Road in May (cleared). We also raised the pothole on Aston Road near the doorway to 19A Approach Road, as well as abandoned trolleys on Toynbee Road at the junction with Burstow Road (now cleared) and the state of the alley running along the train line behind houses on Toynbee. There was grafitti on the alley between Graham Road and Hartfield Crescent (now painted out) and the colour of the Wimbledon Chase Railway bridge was confirmed!

• In June we noticed a flytip on Avebury Road (sorted) and discussed with the Council some faulty street lights under the railway bridge on Toynbee Road (now fixed). We also finally got some answers on the ‘time-banding’ of rubbish and recycling collections in town centre areas – although not entirely to the questions we’ve asked. We also asked whether the restrictions on drinking in public really met the necessary legal requirements.

• We chased up a resident’s query about footpath cross-overs in July.  We also challenged the Council at its meeting about problems caused by foxes on Pelham and Gladstone Roads. Scaffolding has now gone up around part of Wimbledon Chase Railway bridge – we’re hoping that the repainting is starting. Focus Team member Giles Bailey submitted comments about the Next Home planning application. Network Rail started to repaint the railway bridge at Wimbledon Chase.

• Early August saw us report a dangerously leaning parking restrictions sign and flytipping on Hartfield Road (cleared but a regular problem). We raised damaged railings outside the Building Blocks Nursery on Dundonald Road that had sharp edges protruding (now fixed) and a leaning street lamp on Dundonald Road. Later in the month, there was more dumped rubbish on Avebury Road and Chase Side Avenue and a deep pothole on Hartfield Crescent (both sorted).

• Late September saw the completition of the Wimbledon Chase bridge re-paint and proposals for flats on the car wash on Bushey Road.

• October has seen us report flytipping on Chase Side Avenue and Kingston and Sydney Roads (now cleared) . Still chasing on improving lights on the footbridge over the railway at Merton Hall Road.

• In November, we finally got Merton Council to fix a damaged parking sign on Hartfield Road that was loose in the pavement, and a danger to pedestrians and cars (now fixed).

• At the beginning of December we reported an overflowing litter bin near the Bushey Rd end of Prince George’s Avenue. A Dundonald Lib Dem Focus Team litter pick mid-month saw us collect two bin-liners of rubbish and litter on Merton Hall Road and the footbridge over the railway. We also reported a damaged street light on Cliveden Road (now fixed). There was a significant amount of flytipping: on Chase Side Avenue (cleared) and in front of the advertising hoardings on Kingston Road at the junction with Lower Downs Road, and on Bushey Road near the junction with Dupont Road. Just before the end of the year, graffiti on the Sydney Road street sign (cleared) and the damaged street sign on Dupont Road (removed, so no longer hazardous, but we’re asking about a replacement) were also raised with Merton Council. A damaged kerb stone on Approach Road, which could have been a trip hazard, was reported (fixed).