Residents in Beddington are up in arms over ‘insensitive’ council plans to convert a former caretaker’s lodge in a cemetery into an HMO – a house in multiple occupation – without consulting local residents.
Haunting house: The Lodge at Bandon Hill Cemetery, which LibDems and Tories want to convert into homes for three immigrant families
Bandon Hill Cemetery, on Plough Lane, Beddington, is jointly administered by Croydon and Sutton councils.
Just inside the main entrance of the cemetery sits The Lodge, a 124-year-old house owned by Sutton Council that until recently acted as the home of the “superintendent”, or caretaker. Property guardians currently occupy the house.
The Lodge is just a few yards from some war graves, and is passed by the vast majority of visitors to the cemetery, whether they are attending a burial or visiting a resting place.
Through the Bandon Hill Cemetery Joint Committee, which comprises councillors from both councils, it has been proposed to convert The Lodge into an HMO and fence it off from the rest of the cemetery.
This proposal, put forward by Sutton Council’s children’s services, would see the house refurbished to accommodate three families, people with no recourse to public funds and whose immigration status remains uncertain or undecided.
The issue was due to go before the committee on June 10, but the meeting was cancelled on the somewhat spurious grounds of election purdah. In previous election years, this committee had continued to meet during purdah periods as its deliberations were not thought to be politically contentious.
Sitting on the committee are Croydon Tories Scott Roche (who worked in former Sutton and Cheam MP Paul Scully’s office) and Mark Johnson, and Sutton LibDems Ed Joyce, Sam Martin and “Calamity” Jayne McCoy. There cemetery is in a ward represented by three independent councillors, but none have been made members of this committee.
Nick Mattey, one of the Beddington councillors, opposes the development. “The intention here is wholly commendable, but the reality is that HMOs are unsuited to a cemetery,” Mattey told Inside Sutton.
“My principal reason is that the cemetery is a place of tranquillity, where people are laid to rest and the bereaved will visit the graves of loved ones. With three families living at The Lodge, just a few yards away from the graves and next to the main entrance, the calm atmosphere of the cemetery could be disrupted.
“In my view there is no realistic planning condition or provision that could prevent normal family noise.”
Mattey also has a concern that the families living in The Lodge would be fenced in, which would not be conducive to normal life, especially for vulnerable families whose lives have already been stressful.
Campaigning: Beddington councillor Nick Mattey has highlighted council plans to convert The Lodge
“Sutton’s total failure to consult with local residents on the matter is just typical of the way Sutton does things,” Mattey said. He also points out that any decision taken by the committee to progress the proposals will mean a planning application is required. This could create some conflicts of interest as two of the committee’s LibDem councillors, McCoy and Joyce, are also members of Sutton’s planning committee, leaving them open to accusations of predetermination.
The cemetery committee is not due to meet again until November.
Mattey is surprised that Sutton Council chose to cancel the June meeting, when the proposals were due to be discussed, and has once again embarrassed Sutton’s LibDem administration over its secretive workings – just as he has done for more than a decade as he opposed the Viridor incinerator at Beddington, helping to expose dodgy dealings around planning issues and the £1billion 25-year contract.
“I simply hold the administration to account,” Mattey said, “but the way they go on, you’d think I was the Kray twins. I’m just a 71 year-old pensioner looking after Beddington’s residents.”
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