Living and working in Sutton

A short hop by train from central London, Sutton is home to over 200,000 people, a London borough increasing in diversity and popularity. We boast award winning parks and open spaces, low crime rates, affordable housing and great schools (we are one of the highest performing education authorities in the country).

Sutton combines a high quality of life, green and spacious, with distinctive town centres providing access to jobs and culture the capital has to offer.

Sutton also is home to the Royal Marsden Hospital and the Institute of Cancer Research – with plans to create the world’s second biggest cancer research campus. The London Cancer Hub is set to create 13,000 jobs while contributing £1.2bn to the UK economy each year.

Once complete, The London Cancer Hub will be the world’s leading life-science district specialising in cancer research and treatment, and will create a vibrant community of scientists, doctors and innovative companies, intended to deliver real benefits for cancer patients and drive economic growth.

We’re all about working with people, so they can live well and independently for as long as possible. Our adult social care team provides dedicated support across a range of settings to improve the outcomes for people living with dementia, learning and physical disabilities or those who struggle with their mental health.

Sutton is a fantastic place to work with supportive colleagues all geared to doing our very best for adults and their families. We work with our residents to build resilience and independence, and support them to make positive choices so that they can achieve their best outcomes around our industry, to give our residents the very best that we can.

We work closely with wider partners such as NHS, GPs and voluntary and community organisations to maximise our resources to the best of our ability and provide the best possible support to our residents.

We are passionate about looking after our colleagues and ensuring that you have the tools to be the very best you can be, as individuals and as teams. Our continued professional development enables us to adapt and benefit from changes in and around our industry, to give our residents the very best that we can.

In 2020, Sutton was a recipient of a prestigious Cultural Impact Award from The Mayor of London. Sutton achieved the sought after prize with a proposal exploring science through art and culture. The year-long programme, taking place throughout 2023, will see a host of cultural activity taking place with STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Maths) at its core.

Sutton boasts a wide range of factors that underpin its high desirability as a place to live, work and invest.

Honeywood Museum
Sutton Station
Honeywood Museum
Cheam Park. Sutton  (Photo - Zute Lightfoot)
Well-connected

Situated in Zone 5, Sutton is less than 30 minutes by train from central London, and south and south west London are easily accessible by public transport.

There are 10 train stations which serve key neighbourhoods within the borough providing direct connections to London Victoria, London Bridge, London Blackfriars and St Pancras International.

Sutton also has direct rail connections with Epsom, Dorking, Guildford and Horsham, as well as Wimbledon for an interchange with the London Underground and West Croydon for the London Overground.

Gatwick and Heathrow airports can be reached easily within 30 and 60 minutes, respectively. There is an extensive road network which provides close and easy access to the M25 and M23.

High quality housing

Sutton has plenty of high quality housing which is relatively affordable by London standards. It has the fifth highest owner occupancy rate in Greater London.

Village feel

Being an outer south London borough, Sutton enjoys being in close proximity to central London and the serenity of Surrey. There are seven district centres in Sutton, many of which retain a ‘village’ atmosphere not seen in central London.

Outstanding green spaces

Sutton boasts over 1,500 acres of open space and the largest regional park outside of central London.

The Council’s 2015 MORI survey revealed that 80% of residents regularly use Sutton’s parks, with 82% expressing satisfaction with them.

Skilled workforce

Sutton has a highly trained workforce with over 40% of working age residents holding a degree level qualification or higher.

Every four in five Sutton residents aged between 16 and 64 are economically active – higher than the London and national average.

Designated development sites

There are a significant number of development and investment opportunities across the borough. Sutton currently has over 50 designated development sites in its planning policy, and approximately 150 in its draft Local Plan – of which 47 are in Sutton Town Centre.

A safe borough

Sutton has a track record of low crime rates and is the third safest borough in London.

High achieving schools

Sutton is renowned for its high educational attainment, with the latest statistics showing 17.4% more young people attaining 5 A*-C grades at GCSE and 22.1% of young people attaining A*-A grades at A Level. These place Sutton schools in second and third place nationally for educational attainment.

Affordable business space

Rateable values for commercial, retail and industrial floorspace in Sutton are competitive with an average of £87, £149 and £64 charged per square metre, respectively.

Vibrant business sector

Home to over 6,800 businesses, businesses of all sizes and sectors have chosen Sutton as their business base.

Since 2009, the number of new business start ups has almost doubled and Sutton has the highest one- and two-year business survival rates in outer south London.

Frameworks for investment

Sutton Council is currently refreshing its Local Plan and has developed draft masterplans for Sutton Town Centre and the London Cancer Hub in Belmont to guide inward investment.

Ready for growth

Sutton has the foundations for growth already in place. Beyond a skilled workforce and space to grow, Sutton Council has put commercial innovation and growth at the heart of its plan.

From the Sutton Decentralised Energy Network to the Council’s own housing development company, Sutton Living Limited, Sutton Council is an enabler and has a proactive approach to growth.

Why Sutton

Sutton is unique and there is much for us to be proud of both as a council and as a borough.