Stuart's Save Putney High Street survey

1. How clean or dirty do you find Putney HighStreet to be usually?

2. Do you support Labour's plan to repave the entire High Street with York paving, just like Wandsworth High Street has been?

3. The Council rejected the opportunity to introduce pavement washing-machines to our town centres in 2006.

Stuart supports introducing street washing because sweeping alone just isn't enough to remove the grease and grime that today's 24-hour economy creates.

Do you agree with Stuart that Putney High Street's pavements need regular washing as well as sweeping?

4.There always seem to be bags of rubbish on the pavements at all hours of the day, not least because residents living above the shops have no outdoor storage area for their refuse. Stuart argues that there need to be more regular collections of rubbish bags along the High Street. Are you happy with the regularity of rubbish collection in the High Street?

5. There's less space for pedestrians because of all the clutter the Council has allowed on the pavements: needless signposts when signs could go on lamp-posts, bollards, the car-park sign outside McDonalds, the grotty pedestrian barriers which bikes get locked up against - reducing pavement space even further, phone boxes, traffic light control boxes and much more besides.

Councils like Hammersmith & Fulham and Kensington & Chelsea are either clearing away this sort of clutter entirely or locating it much more carefully to give pedestrians more space and to improve the appearance of the street scene. Stuart would like to do the same in Putney. Do you agree with his plan?

6. Fly-posting on lamp-posts, railings and derelict shops really brings down the quality of the street-scene. The Council could coat all the tactile surfaces (lamp-posts, traffic lights and the like) with a special anti-fly-posting coating. It could also get the utilities to do the same with their control boxes. Is this a good idea?

7. Other borough town centres like Clapham Junction and Tooting have in the past benefited from patrollers who cut street crime by up to a third deter littering and help the public with queries. Introducing patrollers to Putney High Street would add about £5 to Council Tax - but would have a major impact on the area of highest crime in the constituency. Would you support the introduction of patrollers?

8. We think the run-down Putney Station needs drastically improving. The ticket machines should be inside, making space for pedestrians on this busy stretch, and the news and confectionary kiosk would be better facing out for everyone to use. The station also needs a lift for the elderly and disabled. Do you support Stuart's plan to push South West Trains, the station owners, to improve Putney Station?

9. The High Street's traffic is one of its biggest blights, but it's a very difficult problem to fix. Stuart would like to set up a public Inquiry so that everyone with ideas - however radical - about improving the High Street can have their say and we as a community can have a big discussion about this problem. Do you support holding a public inquiry?

10. Have the traffic lights at the junction of Chelverton Road that were introduced to improve traffic flow by allowing buses to turn into the garage quicker, cut congestion or worsened it?

Cut congestion
Worsened congestion
No difference
Don't know

11. In the long term, one of the ways of reducing traffic in Putney would be to relocate the bus garage from Chelverton Road to a slightly further out, but less congested area. As well as cutting congestion, this idea would also release a major site for new shops, affordable homes, parking and local amenities. Do you think it would be worthwhile opening discussions with Transport for London about this?

12. We think that setting standards for shop-fronts, and having a communal visual identity running along the High Street will improve the quality of the area, enhance the shopping experience and help attract traders to Putney. Do you support our shop front improvement scheme, which will provide grants to shop owners who work with us to improve the appearance of the High Street?

13. Do you agree with us that the overall quality, diversity and attractiveness of shops in the High Street has declined over recent years?

14. Part of the reason for this blandness is that Council town centre planning policies have encouraged the wrong type of establishments into the High Street: arcades and 'dime stores', and allowed too many of the same types of shop, like coffee bars, to dominate the area driving smaller retailers out. Do you support Stuart's suggested review of the Council's town centre planning policies?

15. The handful of market stalls up by St Mary's Church and in Felsham Road are very popular, and suggest that there's a market for a market in Putney. Would you like the Council to find space to expand and encourage a larger market, like we used to have in Putney (on part of the site that is now The Exchange)?

16. Do you want to add any further comments or ideas about improving Putney High Street?  If so, please use this space:

17. Who do you intend voting for at the forthcoming general election?

18. Who did you vote for at the last General Election in 2005?

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