Home   News   Article A North Hampshire prep school has applied for planning permission to close its existing exit along the A339 and open a new two-way access point further south along the busy A road. Cheam School in Headley is also seeking permission to build a new 95-space car park to the west of the access point and new pedestrian routes and footpaths within its grounds. Cheam, noted for educating King Charles in his youth, has said that the benefits of the proposal would be “improved access from the A339, highway safety improvements both on and off-site, and improved pedestrian and vehicular circulation”. The planning application states: “The application proposal aims to deliver a much-needed infrastructure improvement to the school in the form of a more simplified and rationalised site access arrangement with the A339, comprising the closure of the existing sub-standard southern exit and construction of a new two-way vehicular means of access further to the south and serving a new replacement car park. “This would result in a more coherent, structured and orderly parking and pedestrian movement/circulation strategy, removing existing areas of conflict between pedestrians and vehicles and conferring greater safety, directly addressing an identified inefficiency in the day-to-day running of the school. “While the existing capacity of the school would remain unchanged, the proposal would help alleviate some of the existing pressure points and underpin the continued livelihood of the school as a highly regarded and much-valued education institution in the area.” A key objective of the proposal is to make the school site a car free environment so it would be safer and more pleasurable for pupils and staff. Cheam hopes to achieve this by consolidating the access points at a single position and all the parking spaces into one large new car park and drop off/pick up area to the south of the main school area. According to a transport statement contained within the proposal, Hampshire County Council has confirmed that the new A339 access is acceptable in principle, subject to further highway assessments. This transport statement also reveals that although the new access has been designed in line with the current speed limit along the stretch of the A339 by Cheam, the school is willing to provide a financial contribution to fund a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) to extend the existing 40mph limit to the south of the school towards Strattons Farm and Kingsclere. The planning application can be viewed on the Basingstoke and Deane planning portal at reference 25/00498/FUL. While he was still the Duke of Cornwall, King Charles studied at Cheam in the late 1950s and early 1960s, just like his father had done before him in the 1930s. has announced the sale of Shirley View Nursing Home in Cheam Built around You.Your expert business property advisers Shirley View is a ‘Good’ rated profitable care home that provides nursing care for up to 22 residents The business occupies a 21-bedroom detached converted and extended property in an affluent residential area in the popular commuter village of Cheam It has been owned by the Rasaiyaah family since 2007 and was brought to market to allow them to retire Following a confidential sales process with John Harrison at Christie & Co the home has been sold to Renuka Sharma of RVJ Healthcare Ltd who also owns a care home in East Grinstead “I am delighted to have completed the sale of Shirley View Nursing Home on behalf of the Rasaiyaah family who have transformed the home during their ownership and I am sure that Renuka will continue the strong reputation they have built It has also been a pleasure to have found Renuka her second home following her purchase of Knowle House in East Grinstead in 2018 which she bought through me This sale demonstrates the strong demand we are continuing to see for a variety of care homes across the South of England.” Shirley View Nursing Home was sold for an undisclosed price Visit Christie & Co’s Business Search page to find out more about current healthcare listings. Keep up-to-date with our latest listings and more… © Christie & Co 2024 | A member of Christie Group This interview was originally published in April 2022 then-manager Steve Coppell reflected on one of the highest and lowest times in Palace history - culminating in that memorable Cup triumph When Coppell entered the Kenilworth Road dugout for Crystal Palace’s league opener against Luton Town in August he had one simple goal: to improve on the season before For a man who transformed the club from cash-strapped Division Two survivors to FA Cup finalists Even Coppell regarded the upcoming months conservatively by his own admission “optimistically looking forward to the new season without having great expectations.” As the Eagles took a single point from Bedfordshire few could have imagined a significantly improved campaign should Coppell’s prediction prove true Crystal Palace had won their first major trophy finished as England’s third-highest club and earned a rightful claim to compete in Europe “We had the mentality to a certain extent which was a little bit non-league - something to prove,” Coppell says today That starting point swiftly developed when Palace opened their campaign with a 10-match unbeaten run moving to the top spots almost instantly and staying there stubbornly (The club would sit third from December 16th onwards – not dropping or climbing a single place throughout 22 rounds.) Two defeats in their opening 20 games made Palace one of the league’s most competitive outfits and an 8-0 victory over Southend United in the League Cup set out their stall: the Eagles were there to fight “We were really fit and wanted to play at a tempo not many teams could handle,” Coppell says “When you’ve got a strike partnership of [Ian] Wright and [Mark] Bright people loading the bullets like [Eddie] McGoldrick and [John] Salako when you’ve got a real solid back four of Eric Young top quality goalkeeper – an awful lot of good things can happen “The one thing I remember about that season more than anything was we didn’t make many changes… We had [a squad of] 17 It wasn’t as if you could make wholesale changes and the players wanted to play rather than run up and down Farthing Downs [then the club’s rudimentary fitness routine] Quote Icons“We all appreciated we weren’t a bad side The way we played at that time was almost clockwork; we had a style of play which was direct “We had a mentality… We trained on Saturday mornings before games Things like that just don’t happen anymore We went to a lovely Italian restaurant for the pre-match meal after we trained; we drove from the ground to the restaurant in Thornton Heath and then drove back We got into a routine with all these games where we just felt we could beat anybody.” Coppell calls winning “a lovely habit to have” and explains that his gritty squad gleaned from the cut turf of lower league football regarded each and every game as a chance to sustain their momentum That included the Full Members’ – or Zenith Data Systems – Cup a tournament devised partially by Chairman Ron Noades for clubs in the top two flights Some 39 teams took part in 90/91 with a Wembley clash at stake – but the competition’s significance was open to debate then as it is now “I wasn’t bothered what competition we played in because we wanted to win the game “It wasn’t a question of: ‘Let’s target this because it’s a route to Wembley.’ I think everyone was aware that it’s the ZDS but let’s just go in trying to win the games “When you’re winning you enjoy playing and you enjoy winning You want to keep it going – you don’t want to fall off a cliff in a game which might be perceived as lesser.” With that mindset the Eagles dispatched Bristol Rovers “We knew Everton under Howard Kendall were an entity,” Coppell says of his second final in two years – facing the Toffees on 7th April I would say they would have expected to win for us to return to Wembley - although it wasn’t obviously the big game - was a chance to put things right and it was possibly very close to the team that should have played the year before He [Wright] was a cat on a hot tin roof at the best of times but he felt this was very much his chance to prove himself to everybody… Going in to it was almost redemption.” The Wembley turf still vividly bore markings from an American football game the night before and the final itself was a dogged affair Geoff Thomas put Palace ahead after 66 physical minutes before Robert Warzycha levelled almost instantly Coppell recalls: “If you’d have said to our players ‘you’re playing extra time,’ they’d have said: ‘Well We’re fitter than everyone else.’ It was the mentality we had “[Going into extra time,] I would have said [to the team] the cards are stacked our way I always felt that season we could score from nothing Every team has a way of scoring – our way of scoring was to get the ball out wide get crosses in and score goals… But also we had that wonderful addition to the armoury that we could score a goal from nothing “I would have hopefully confidently spoken about our full repertoire of scoring goals and given them confidence to maintain the way we played We had a Plan A and our Plan B was to play Plan A better we’ve tried this way of playing so now we’ll knock it around and keep possession forever.’ No Saturday morning sessions and tackling Farthing Downs guided Palace through a dominant 30 minutes: Wright bagging either side of a Salako header Palace reacted as only Palace could: “After that final,” Coppell remembers “we hadn’t planned a celebration or banquet dinner or anything like that I seem to remember meeting up with quite a few of the players at a bar in Cheam just to have a few beers we should go to the Royal Garden and have a sit-down banquet.’ I think even later that night after a couple of beers with the players in Cheam we went back to Ron’s and he was having an open house with players coming in and out it was amateur hour after winning a cup final at Wembley!” On his way up the Wembley steps to lift the trophy Coppell quietly told Noades: ‘This is the first of many.’ That night in Cheam the pair could be forgiven for thinking their relentless work in the late ‘80s had finally paid off and transformed Palace into one of England’s highest flyers with second-placed Liverpool banned from European competitions for a third year the third-placed south Londoners were just weeks away from continental qualification themselves Such a feat would likely glue a much-lauded team together and bring the club the funds required for sustained top-flight success and Palace were excluded from the UEFA Cup they had once seemed guaranteed Coppell’s voice drops to an almost sombre tone as conversation turns to the decision the former manager starts picking his words audibly: “Ron was working hard to get it to break our way but there was too much hurt from what had happened previously "It was very much whatever we said was going to be insignificant The fact that little Crystal Palace was a casualty in that bigger game was but it was very much a huge influence on Crystal Palace’s future “We knew Ian Wright was like a ticking timebomb I certainly felt at the end of that season that we’d finished third in the league had a great season - he’ll want to stay here and fulfil his ambition with us people had obviously been speaking to Ian and he made it known to me - very it wasn’t sneaky – he said: ‘I feel as if I’ve got to go to really achieve my ambitions.’ That was the sad thing We’ll find another one.’ But you don’t find another one You don’t find someone who’s going to get you 20-odd goals a year you go up and down those motorways and you try But the attitude of other players changed because of that.” the following 16 months saw Palace’s nucleus collapse: first Phil Barber just one man – Nigel Martyn - would remain from the Full Members’ final “All players grew with us and grew together,” Coppell says “Then all of a sudden we were put in this situation where we had to sign like for like replacements… Looking back we couldn’t predict – because we’d never been through this before - the way the future was going to go.” Palace were eventually relegated in 1992/93 and Coppell resigned shortly after The struggle those seasons posed make the club’s earlier success even starker But they didn’t begin to diminish its impact “I remember sitting with [then-first-team coach] Ian Branfoot after games and he’d say: ‘Can you believe this “I speak with Ian today and he says to me: ‘That was the best year ever.’ It was his happiest time from a coach’s perspective and I must admit it was a lovely warm feeling… We were very conscious of making history for Crystal Palace.” Related NewsMore NewsCrystal palace A prep school near Newbury that educated King Charles during his youth has had a leadership change Cheam School in Headley announced in June that the current head Will Phelps would be joined by his wife Sophie Green from Godstowe School in September and the married couple would lead the school together as co-heads resulting in the first female head at Cheam in its entire 379-year history the pair decided during the summer that this proposed co-headship would not be the best course of action for the school both have now left Cheam and deputy head Nick Milbank has taken over as acting head and will remain in the role until such time as a new permanent head takes office A Cheam spokesperson said: “During his tenure as headmaster Will Phelps made significant contributions to Cheam including the reformation and modernisation of the senior leadership team (SLT) structure and the formalisation of character education within the school Will and his wife Sophie reflected on their proposed co-headship and concluded that it was not the most suitable leadership model for Cheam “During their time they always put Cheam’s interests first and their decision to explore new paths reflects this choice “As such Cheam will continue with the traditional model of a single headship Mr Milbank has been working at the prep school for 25 years joining as a form tutor and progressing up the ranks to become one of Cheam’s three deputy heads He grew up in Yorkshire and is married to his wife Kirsten A Cheam spokesperson said: “Nick brings to this latest role not only deep experience and expertise as an educationalist but also a unique understanding of what makes Cheam special “He has an infectious passion for life and a desire to help children reach their full potential and love every moment of their week at school.” While he was still the Duke of Cornwall, King Charles studied at Cheam in the late 1950s and early 1960s just like his father had done before him in the 1930s The Newbury Weekly News reported on Charles’ arrival when he first went to Cheam on Monday joined by the Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip after they all travelled down from Balmoral There were 150 people waiting for the royal party outside the school and the young prince and his parents were greeted by Mr Beck News | Environment Residents in parts of Surrey and south London have been told they could face a complete loss of water supply after a major fault at a water company’s treatment works Sutton and East Surrey (SES) Water said its customers around Sutton, Morden and Epsom could be affected as it carried out “essential repairs” on Monday Two bottled water stations have been set up at Bourne Hall in Ewell, Surrey, and in Upper High Street Car Park in Epsom, as a makeshift solution, while the issues at its Cheam Water Treatment Works were resolved Both stations will remain open throughout the night and into Tuesday The company had earlier said that parts of Carshalton Ewell and South Croydon may also have experienced issues with their water supply that the situation was “not good enough” and he would be monitoring the situation closely He said: “I have been informed by SES this afternoon of a fault at the Cheam Water Treatment Works “Despite efforts by SES teams to repair a critical valve failure and sustain the water supply through alternative measures they have been unable to fully resolve the fault this means the supply across the network has diminished and some customers may now experience interruptions to their water supply Mr Taylor added: “I have contacted SES to tell them that this is not good enough for residents in Sutton and Cheam and that addition water stations must be set up closer to local residents.” SES Water confirmed it was working closely with St Helier Hospital in Sutton to support their water needs The company said it would be looking to set up further bottled water stations on Tuesday An SES Water spokesman said: “Following a fault identified overnight at our Cheam Water Treatment works our teams initiated a routine alternative supply plan to ensure customers water supply operated as normal our reserve levels as part of this response have not been able to maintain the supply and demand meaning a number of customers within Sutton Morden and Epsom are currently experiencing no water supply until this fault is fixed British diplomats meet new Syrian leader in Damascus Revellers ‘cramped’ as ‘unsafe’ rave held at London’s biggest venue UK is ‘wired for old world’ of the 1980s and 1990s Stellar travel insights for your next getaway or overseas investment “We are therefore standing up an emergency response ensuring all partners and stakeholders are supported as well as our priority service customers “We sincerely apologise to all customers who are impacted by this disruption “Please rest assured that this is our absolute priority to restore supplies to these areas as fast as possible and we will be communicating updates via our social media channels and our website.” SES Water supplies 160 million litres of water to more than 750,000 people in parts of Surrey was cleared to buy the company for £350 million in June VE Day 2025 fashion: best looks from the day VE Day 2025 fashion: Princess of Wales to Lady Victoria Starmer Prince Louis steals the show at VE Day parade as he keeps dad William looking sharp and mimics brother George Prince Louis steals show with sweet antics at VE parade David Beckham extends olive branch to son Brooklyn amid 'family feud' Ukraine 'launches stunning Kursk offensive' in major blow for Putin ahead of Victory Day celebrations Ukraine 'launches stunning Kursk offensive' in blow for Putin Pregnant Jesy Nelson reveals plans for future in message from her hospital bed after surgery Pregnant Jesy Nelson reveals plans for future in message from hospital Evening Standard analysis of key seats in London for the July 4 General Election News | Politics Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice Millions of voters across London went to the polls on July 4 to elect the new Government The Standard looked at key battleground seats in the capital and published an interactive map of the results SUTTON AND CHEAM WINNER: LUKE TAYLOR Top five candidates (in alphabetical order): Tom Drummond - Conservatives (13,775 votes) Chrishni Reshekaron - Labour (8,430 votes) Luke Taylor - Liberal Democrats (17,576 votes) Area: Wards in the constituency include Belmont I’m not sure if I’m in this constituency: Here’s how you can check Boundary changes impact (Thrasher and Rallings analysis): Boundary changes have not changed the political make-up of this constituency. A man from Cheam who masterminded the importation and sale of cocaine and heroin worth more than £4m has been jailed for 18 years after National Crime Agency investigators identified him from secret phone messages not knowing that in 2020 an international law enforcement team would crack EncroChat’s encryption Thousands of unattributed messages exchanged by Vaid under the pseudonym “Starkcake” were passed to the NCA the UK response to the takedown of EncroChat by international colleagues subsequently identifying Starkcake arranged for 96kg of cocaine to be imported from Brazil over a month in 2020 and for further amounts of up to 15kg to be imported from the Netherlands every week The messages revealed that Starcake was also arranging the supply of 20kg of heroin and 1kg of cocaine in the UK Lead investigating officer Luke Seldon said: “As investigators painstakingly examined each of Starkcake’s messages it became clear that he was a linchpin in the criminal world Starkcake had the links to drugs suppliers overseas and those selling potentially fatal substances on UK streets His messages revealed he was also a professional money launderer managing and hiding millions of pounds he and others made from crime.” Investigators found clues to Starkcake’s real-life identity in his messages pairing these with cell site and financial data to verify it was Vaid One message to Starkcake indicated that criminal cash had been paid into the account of “H Vaid” which investigators identified corresponded with a transaction on Vaid’s bank account Officers also identified that Vaid made a payment at a café in Dubai around the time Starkcake told an associate he was in the country Investigators gathered cell site data that showed Vaid’s movements correlated with conversations about Starkcake’s whereabouts data indicated Vaid was at a river near his then-home after Starkcake told an associate he was going for a riverside walk Investigators subsequently arrested Vaid at his home address in April 2024 The evidence gathered by investigators was so compelling that Vaid pleaded guilty to 12 drugs and proceeds of crime charges Lead officer Seldon concluded: “Vaid attempted to fly under the radar by using an encrypted phone and getting others to do his bidding but he underestimated the capability and tenacity of investigators “By taking a pivotal person like Vaid out of the service of organised crime groups the NCA is disrupting the supply of the most dangerous drugs in the UK and taking the profit out of ruining lives.” Sign In Subscribe Now Chilliwack's second-oldest school is marking its 150th anniversary and everyone is invited to come celebrate Cheam Elementary will have its sesquicentennial party on Saturday May 10 where the public can learn about the history of the school "It's important to celebrate history… especially when the schools are such a big part of a community," said principal Iain Gardner "Obviously none of us have been here for that long The original Cheam School was built on the north side of Yale Road East in 1875 just a few years after Chilliwack's first school Greendale Elementary opened (then called Sumas School) the current Cheam Elementary was built in 1952 at the southwest corner of Yale and Banford roads. While Cheam is the second-oldest institution its current building is not the oldest schoolhouse in Chilliwack. Kw'íyeqel Secondary on Elm Drive (former site of Robertson Elementary) was built in 1921 and Central Elementary on Young Road opened in 1929 There's a lot of history between 1875 and today students will be adding more to the history books with their milestone celebration Cheam parent David Williams helped research the school's history and worked with Chilliwack historian Merlin Bunt who wrote an article which was shared on social media Teacher Ashley Wall turned Bunt's article into a condensed story called The Little School in the Valley It will be on display as a 'story walk' in the gym accompanied by students' drawings for each page of the picture book Some kids have been working on art pieces pertaining to the school's history while others have crafted handmade miniature tables with little hand-sewn tablecloths Talent show acts in the gym will be dispersed throughout the day where students will perform piano Bands from Sardis Secondary School will play between the talent show acts wrote an original bilingual song called The Little School that Could which the school's choir will sing Former principal Steve Klassen will speak at the event and Gardner said they're expecting at least one former student in her 80s to be there as well and school tours where folks can see old class photos and artifacts One of the oldest artifacts still at Cheam is the school handbell It predates the 1952 school and was found inside the wall during a renovation "The principal had to document the names of students and number of straps they received," Gardner said Cheam's original one-room schoolhouse was built in 1875 about 825 metres east of Banford Road where the current school is Initial enrolment was 17 students from Kindergarten to Grade 8 Cheam's first teacher was James Thompson who was paid an annual salary of $400 children often walked to school barefoot in the warmer months," historian Bunt wrote as the Cheam District was often 'very boggy' and a 'skating rink or mud-hole.'" Other students went to school on horseback The children served as custodians at the school as well gathered firewood from the pile delivered outside they received one dollar per month from the teacher." the one-room school was again considered inadequate for the district’s needs and the following year a new school was built at the southwest corner of Yale and Banford roads With the baby boom that followed the Second World War all schools were dealing with capacity issues In 1952 another new Cheam school was built just to the south of the existing building which allowed construction to take place while classes were in session in the aging 52-year-old building and two-thirds are in the early French immersion program Staff at Cheam are putting together a time capsule to mark the 150 years and some of the items will be on display at the celebration They will bury it at a later date and Gardner said they want to find a safe place with "clear instructions" on where it is and how to take care of it He emphasized this because there is another time capsule that was buried 25 years ago It's most likely buried underneath one of the portables," Gardner said That time capsule was never marked and new portables came onsite years after Cheam's 125th anniversary Anyone who knows where that time capsule was buried is encouraged to let Gardner know "We actually do have quite a bit of history that's worth knowing," Gardner said "Celebrating those milestones is important Cheam Elementary's 150th anniversary celebration is Saturday and the closing ceremony will be at 2:30 p.m People are advised they may have to walk a distance as parking might be a bit of an issue Dialogue and debate are integral to a free society and we welcome and encourage you to share your views on the issues of the day. 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To learn about our commenting policies and how our community-based moderation works, please read our Community Guidelines For best viewing experience of this website Please enter a place name in the search bar Environment Agency Updated: 13:32 (UTC+1) on Tue 6 May 2025 it will turn increasingly cloudy from off the North Sea Some bright or sunny spells developing by evening Staying dry with some lengthy clear skies overnight Turning chilly with a touch of grass frost in places Largely dry with variable amounts of cloud and bright or sunny spells on Wednesday with variable amounts of cloud and bright or sunny spells throughout the period Dry across the vast majority of the UK with clear or sunny spells but also some patchy cloud Cloud will likely thicken across the far north and northwest during the weekend with some outbreaks of rain for a time There is also a small risk of some heavy showers in the far south or southwest high pressure will be dominant across the UK This will bring predominantly fine and dry weather for the majority of places Temperatures are likely to be slightly above normal for the time of year although there is a chance of some cold nights Fairly typical weather for the time of year is most likely through this period fine and dry weather is more likely to dominate although this will be interspersed with occasional spells of rain and showers with a risk of heavy rain and thunderstorms in places temperatures will most likely be near to or slightly above average Sutton and East Surrey (SES) Water said customers around Sutton Morden and Epsom could be affected as it carried out essential repairs Residents in parts of Surrey and south London have been told water supplies are “starting to return to normal” after a major fault at a water company’s treatment works Morden and Epsom could be affected as it carried out “essential repairs” on Monday evening A statement from SES Water issued after midnight on Tuesday said when water returned it may be cloudy or discoloured “We are pleased to confirm that supplies are starting to return to normal,” it read some customers may continue to experience lower pressure or intermittent loss of supply “Our water storage remains low in the area and therefore customers may experience further interruption to their supply.” Two bottled water stations were set up at Bourne Hall in Ewell and in Upper High Street Car Park in Epsom while the issues at its Cheam Water Treatment Works were resolved He said: “Despite efforts by SES teams to repair a critical valve failure and sustain the water supply through alternative measures An SES Water spokesman earlier said: “Following a fault identified overnight at our Cheam Water Treatment works our teams initiated a routine alternative supply plan to ensure customers’ water supply operated as normal Morden and Epsom are currently experiencing no water supply until this fault is fixed.” a North Hampshire prep school will be led by a husband and wife team from the beginning of the next academic year Headley’s Cheam School will be led by co-heads and married couple Sophie Green and Will Phelps when Sophie joins Cheam from Godstowe School The pair have 25 collective years in charge of schools and Sophie will be the first female head at Cheam in its 379-year history Cheam’s chair of governors Mark Harford said: “I can say that the board is both resolute and excited that this is the very best next step for Cheam’s leadership “We believe co-headship will take best advantage of our school’s good fortune in having not one but two experienced leaders in Will and Sophie with their different and complementary styles and skills “It will represent a boldly progressive approach to meeting the ever more complex challenges of school headship and it will serve daily as a living model of equal partnership to all Cheam’s pupils There are no statistics available for this player Thanks for visiting The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here New supermarket owners have sparked outrage after building a ‘tin conservatory’ outside their shop surrounding the front door of residents living upstairs The structure, used to house fresh fruit and vegetables, was erected without planning permission The sudden development has raised concerns about the lack of communication between the supermarket and the residents above residents were shocked to see the new structure appear overnight outside Cheam Arena supermarket on London Road which allowed easy access to the front door Now, what was once a clear path has turned into a shuttered alleyway, and residents were not notified of the change. This created what the residents’ association member Richard Johnson called an ‘enclosure’ outside the shop Mr Johnson said: “The worst thing about it is what you can’t see which is that you have got people that live in the flats above and their only access is from the front “They don’t have rear access, and at the moment, they are being fobbed off with the line that the council has said yes to the development He spoke about how one resident living above came home and was shocked to find the structure built around their front door He added: “The resident got the double shock of seeing that structure there and also finding people sitting in their doorway.” To make matters worse, this structure was put up without planning permission from Sutton Council Permission for ‘less invasive’ awnings was rejected back in 2020 before permission was given to the former owners for simple wall-mounted awnings six months later Mr Johnson said: “You would have thought that if even something like that got a no then something like what they have done now will obviously be a no What they have done now is far removed from anything really and they have created an enclosure that has just been dropped in front of the shops.” I have never known about anything like this being passed.” Its sudden emergence late last week drew a mixed response from residents this is horrendous for the people living above.” Facebook user Gemma Putney said: “I think it looks lovely much better than seeing boxes of fruit and veg scattered around all over the place.” Mr Johnson noted that Sutton Council’s enforcement team had acted quickly against other businesses that erected ‘less invasive’ structures outside their premises in the past One infraction included a nearby Italian restaurant which was forced to remove several tables and chairs outside Mr Johnson added: “If they are going to come down heavy on chairs and tables you would think this sort of thing would top the list.” The shop’s owners later confirmed their lack of permission when questioned by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) Co-owner Serap Yumak said the decision to build the new structure was necessary as they had no room to store the produce inside the shop She also claimed the awnings used by the former owner were leading to damage to the shop’s stock She went on to say: “We had a few problems with the old canopy; it would fly away in headwinds and would let water damage our stock below “We would come down to crates ruined by the water from all the rain that came earlier this year when we took over the shop Residents upstairs would also throw cigarette butts onto the canopy.” She did not apologise for creating the new structure and insisted they had not obstructed the pavement outside She confirmed that they would soon apply for retrospective planning permission for the structure and that they would appeal if this permission were not granted by Sutton Council Mr Yumak admitted that the residents living upstairs did not get notice of the plans to build the new structure and apologised for what she saw as an oversight She also pushed back on the claim that the new building negatively affected access to their front doors Residents now have to pass under the structure to reach their front door shop staff confirmed that shutters will be lowered at the end of the day and a door will be opened 24/7 to maintain access without compromising the shop’s security which will change its name to Elif Food Centre in the next few months is also planning to apply for its first-ever alcohol licence This is part of Yumak’s plans to expand the shop the shop is currently under investigation by Sutton Council’s planning team and the fate of the new structure remains uncertain A Sutton Council spokesperson said: “We understand that residents are concerned and we are investigating the situation at Cheam Arena as a priority “The Planning Enforcement team received complaints from residents on this issue at the end of last week and our officers are checking the planning history at the site what has been built and also talking to those responsible “The council will then decide whether any formal enforcement action is needed.”