Help shape Sutton's new Environment Strategy

Overview

How does the environment affect your everyday life and what would make it better?

Sutton Council is writing a new Environment Strategy. It will guide the Council's action on climate change and the environment over the coming years, and how it works with residents, community groups, businesses and partners. It covers 6 topics:

• Warmer homes and cheaper bills

• Cleaner air for better health

• Easier, safer ways to get around

• Green spaces and nature

• Less waste, more reuse and recycling

• Coping with extreme weather

We want to hear from people who live, work, study or run a business in Sutton. You don't need to know anything about the environment. We'd like to hear about your everyday life on these topics: what affects you, what's already working well, what matters most, and what would help.

The survey takes about 10-15 minutes and works on a phone, tablet or computer. It's for people aged 16 and over; we're hearing from younger people separately. If you're answering for a business, charity, community group or other organisation, you'll get a shorter set of questions in this same survey. When you finish, you can enter our prize draw to win an air fryer or one of four £50 vouchers for local businesses.

This survey is about these 6 topics. Other issues, such as individual planning applications, licensing or community safety, are covered by other Council plans and services, and we'll report them to the Council separately.

CAG Consultants, an independent engagement and sustainability consultancy, is running this survey for Sutton Council.

Quick Start - click here to go straight to the survey questions.

The environment is a key priority for Sutton Council

Becoming "an even greener borough" is one of the key priorities in the Council's Corporate Plan, agreed in October 2026. Under this priority, the Council has made a wide range of commitments, including the development of a new Environment Strategy which will help to pull them all together.  We are keen to understand what matters most to Sutton residents and communities when it comes to the environment and how best to achieve the commitments set out in our plan, including more tree planting, building a community green movement, reducing pollution and improving public transport, walking and cycling. Link to the Corporate Plan is here (opens in new window).

The new strategy will also build on council plans that are already agreed or underway, such as the Air Quality Action Plan and the proposed new Local Plan on the borough’s planning policies, rather than repeat them.

Why your views matter

Your views will help us understand the real needs and priorities of Sutton's communities and help shape our new strategy. The Council can't do everything on its own or all at once. Many changes will need others to play their part, including residents, businesses, health services, schools, charities, community and faith groups, the police and developers. Some changes will depend on national government. We'll be clear about what the Council can and can't do, and we'll report back on what you told us and how it was used.

For example, Transport for London runs the buses and the busiest main roads, energy prices are set nationally, and the Environment Agency and Thames Water have responsibilities on issues like flooding and pollution in our rivers. The new strategy will set out what the Council will do itself, how it will help others to act, and where it will press for change.

Why now?

We're asking for your views now, before the strategy is written, so that what you tell us can help the Council work out what to focus on first, and how.

Other ways to take part

• Community workshops: friendly, small-group sessions on Saturday 14 November, 2 to 4pm, at Hill House Community Centre, St Helier, and Tuesday 17 November, 7 to 9pm, at Sutton Quaker Meeting House, 10 Cedar Road.  Click on the links (opens in new window) to book a free place via Eventbrite.

• Drop-in stalls around Sutton: The Wallington Health and Wellbeing Event (Friday 6 November), the Christmas lights switch-on on Sutton High Street (Friday 27 November) and the Cheam Village Christmas Fayre (Friday 11 December). More about the engagement: linked here (opens in new window)

• Businesses: a dedicated online session for businesses on Thursday 12 November, 1 to 2pm, on Zoom. Register here (opens in new window).

Prize draw

When you finish the survey, you can enter a prize draw to win an air fryer or one of four £50 vouchers to spend at Sutton Community Farm or Wallington Cycles. You enter by filling in a separate form, so your name and email address aren't linked to your survey answers. Each person can only enter the draw once, and it is open to people aged 16 and over who live, work or study in Sutton.

Prize Draw Terms and Conditions (opens in new window)

Your information

The survey doesn't ask for your name. We use your postcode to see which areas we've heard from and how views differ between areas of the borough. We never publish postcodes and we report results in a way that doesn't identify anyone. How we use your information is explained here: Consultation and Engagement privacy notice (opens in new window).

What happens next

• When the survey closes, we'll report what everyone told us to the Council. In early 2027 the Council will publish a summary of what people said.

• The Council will then write the new strategy. When it is agreed (due in 2027), the Council will show how your views were used, including on things it can't do itself or who else in the Council or other organisations it has passed them to.

• Sign up for updates at the end of the survey and the Council will keep you posted.

Need help to take part, for example a paper copy of the survey or help in another language? Contact sustainability@sutton.gov.uk and we'll talk to you about what we can do.