Stonecot Hill’s shopkeepers have resorted to a spot of GIY — Grit It Yourself — after Sutton Council left local residents in the lurch and the area’s pavements more suitable for Torvill and Dean than safe to walk.
Three days after Sunday’s heavy snowfall, most of the area’s pavements remain ungritted by the Council. The junction between Stonecot Hill and Ash Road and the access to the bus stop has seen dozens of falls, with one lady receiving a cut head and many others thankfully escaping serious injury.
One shopkeeper resorted to spending £70 on his own grit after repeated requests to the Council for a supply went unanswered. Some have taken to chipping away the ice with shovels while others simply shut up shop for the day as too few customers had made staying open unviable.
Buses: Routes 93, 413 and 80 are operating normally through Stonecot Hill.
Roads: The surface on the main A24 Stonecot Hill road is clear and lighty traffic is moving freely. Many side roads have still not been gritted and are very icy, so drive with extreme care.
Pavements: Despite some gritting yesterday, most of the pavements on Stonecot Hill are extremely icy so walk with caution and expect your journey to take longer than usual. Side roads are also very icy.
Minicabs:Sky Cars on Stonecot Hill are open and have cars available for those that don’t have their own transport (or don’t want to use it!)
Sutton Schools: Most schools in Sutton are open today. Please check this list or your school’s website for details.
Merton Schools: Most Merton schools will be open today. Please check this list or your school’s website for details.
Waste collection: Today is the normal waste collection on Stonecot Hill for residents in the Sutton Council area. Sutton Council will resume waste collections today having suspended them since Monday to transfer staff to gritting and other snow-related duties, but will start with Monday’s collection rounds and catch up during the week to Saturday. So, you can put your bins out today but don’t expect them to be emptied necessarily. The council have asked residents to dig out their bins as those that are snowed in and cannot be moved will not be emptied. More details on Sutton Council’s homepage.
Merton Council collected waste on their side of Stonecot Hill yesterday.
The Emmanuel Parent and Toddler Club will be closed today but hopes to be back next week.
Check this page for updates throughout the day. I’ll update the time in the page title when there’s new information.
Updated 1330: Buses 93 and 413 are now running normally from North Cheam through Stonecot Hill.
Due to a lack of gritting at Priory Road, Churchill Road and at the Queen Vic in North Cheam, the 93 bus route is currently terminating at The Woodstock junction (the crossroads with Stonecot Hill, Tudor Drive and Sutton Common Road). (See this map.)
This morning’s rush hour has seen passengers walking along Stonecot Hill to the bus stops on the north side of the Woodstock junction, outside Ninety2Dental (northbound) and St Peter News (southbound) on Epsom Road.
Currently this information is not available on the TfL website or through TfL’s telephone services but has been confirmed with Sutton bus garage.
Heavy snow has brought most of Stonecot Hill to a standstill today with buses cancelled, schools shut and many businesses closed for the day.
But every cloud has a silver lining. For many it’s an unofficial bank holiday and a chance to go out and play in the snow or just stay at home in the warm. Those desperate or foolish enough to venture out in their cars won’t find themselves bothered by traffic wardens.
Many key businesses and services in the area remain open, including both doctors’ surgeries, Imperial Pharmacy and Barclays Bank (though get in quick before the cash machine runs low). The Co-op is closed but most of the newsagents and convenience stores are open and have stocks of essentials like bread and milk, though many of the newspapers were not delivered to them today.
There has been some gritting and snowploughing on the main road but many of the residential side roads remain dangerous and should be used with caution. There has yet to be any gritting or salting of the pavements.
With most public transport out of action the best advice is to avoid unnecessary journeys but if you really need to travel and can’t reach your destination on foot, local minicab firm Sky Cars are open and doing their best to keep up with demand.
For more information about schools and other public services please keep checking the Sutton Council website.
Residents in Hill Top have terrible trouble with fly tippers, but as their access road is private property the council aren’t that keen to help. Two recent suspicious fires in the area don’t seem to have made much difference.
Sometimes it’s better to show rather than to tell.
