This is Sutton high Street; running from Sutton train station up to Sutton Common station, this elongated area is one of the neighbourhood’s local economic arteries. There are endless shops, both large chains and local businesses, which sit along the street, and within Time Square Shopping Centre. The latter, however, is not just a retail space, and is distinctly important to many local residents, due its incorporation of Sutton College and Robin Hood Junior School, as well as popular Holy Family Catholic Church. All of this makes it the heart of the large town of Sutton, which recently received one of the highest happiness scores in the whole of England!

The history of Sutton stems all the way back to the Roman invasion – local excavations in nearby Beddington unveiled a Roman Bath house and villa. Originally, recorded as ‘Sudtone’ in the charter of Chertsey Abbey, the then village was a key stopping point along the route to London from Brighton and the Southern Coast. This became even more prominent after two key historical developments; firstly, in 1755, a turnpike road was created from London to Brighton, and secondly, after the opening of Sutton railway station in 1847. The latter was the key impetus for the demographic doubling of the population between 1851 and 1961.

A fun fact, and the pride of many Suttoners, is that The Return of Mr Bean was filmed on Sutton High Street. Another fact of interest is that there is a large mural in Wellesley Road, about a hundred yards south of the railway station. It was created by the street artist, Eva Mena, who is from Bilbao, Spain: she is a leading practitioner in the urban art movement. The mural dates from 2008, and was completed in three days.

One key complaint that many locals have about Sutton town centre, the majority of whom are commuters, is the unreliable train service from Sutton to Central London. Another issue is the high percentage of homes in Sutton, which are second homes, meaning that 19% of the properties in the area are actually often empty.

There are some big developments being undertaken in Sutton. On the high street, the biggest of these is the massive redevelopment of the Old Gas Works. Completed in December 2016, the redeveloped Gas Works site now provides 163 one and two-bedroomed apartments with a ground floor dedicated to commercial uses. Another example of an ambitious development is Sutton Point, a complex composed of three towers that was recently completed, which offers 332 private and affordable apartments, plus 139-bed hotel over the three towers. The tallest tower is 22 storeys high and a range of other uses are also included on the lower levels: offices, health and fitness centre, shops, financial and professional services, restaurants, cafes and bars. Sutton Point has also attracted additional development interest, with another proposal submitted for a 19-storey block of flats 0.3 miles away from Sutton Point. This potential development would see the 1960s office building St Nicholas House demolished to make way for 281 flats.