Colliers Wood

Joanna came to the UK for work almost 19 years ago from a little village in Poland where she worked in the hospitality business. She started as a kitchen porter in Frankie & Benny’s in Colliers Wood and within three years she was promoted to Manager.

Joanna fell in love with London and its multiculturalism and decided to stay permanently. Married for 26 years, she and her husband run a family catering business in Wimbledon where they serve homemade Polish cuisine. Joanna is also the carer for her 12-year-old daughter who has SEN needs.

Joanna helps the Royal British Legion at their Poppy Appeal stall and helps take care of the abandoned graves of Polish soldiers who fought in the UK during World War 2, including raising funds for their renovation.

In her spare time, Joanna is an avid gardener and is becoming an accomplished rose grower. She is a member of the Colliers Wood Wildlife Watch group and volunteers for the Colliers Wood Resident Association, taking part in litter picking on the Colliers Wood streets and planting bulbs to brighten the area.

Colliers Wood

Caroline Cooper-Marbiah has been a Councillor for Colliers Wood for 12 years. She is a qualified accountant and is now semi-retired, having had a successful career in both the private and public sectors.

In 2012 she founded the Crusoe Road Plus Residents’ Association of which she is now the Chair. Caroline has been the Treasurer and a Trustee of Balham Baptist Church and is a Trustee for the London Youth Games.

In Colliers Wood, Caroline has worked to improve road safety, getting speed humps on two dangerous roads. She has also worked with the owners and local businesses to revitalise Merton Abbey Mills, helping to bring new visitors and boosting the area’s vibrancy.

Caroline has worked with various groups such as Colliers Wood Residents’ Association and the Park and Green Spaces Group to improve our enhance community spaces. She regularly joins litter picking and flower planting sessions to help keep our area looking good.

Caroline was a keen runner and footballer as a child, and now, at the age of 62, has just overcome her fear of water and learned to swim, making her the perfect grandparent for her two grandchildren

Colliers Wood

Before becoming a councillor, Stuart Neaverson worked for a number of environmental and fuel poverty charities, and has made protecting and enhancing Colliers Woods’ wonderful green spaces one of his top priorities.

Stuart has been heavily involved in the campaign to hold Criterion Capital, owners of the Colliers Wood Tower, to account. He has spent months forcing them to fix their windows after a pane fell out of the building, and supported residents inside the building when their hot water went out for a month.

Stuart is dead against Criterion building three more towers in Colliers Wood when they have proved themselves unable of looking after the one tower they do have. He continues to push Criterion to repay the £3million they owe the council, who had to step in to protect residents when Criterion wouldn’t.

Outside of his work on the council, Stuart is also a local school governor and is regularly involved with our local residents association and green spaces group.

Alongside taking part in litter picks and volunteering at community events, he especially enjoys the days where he gets to put on waders and help clean the Wandle River of invasive weeds and litter!

Mitcham and Morden MP

Siobhain has lived in the constituency of Mitcham and Morden her whole life and was elected as the Member of Parliament for Mitcham and Morden in 1997.

Siobhain is renowned as one of the country’s hardest-working MPs, and regularly leads the list of MPs who have written the most letters, taking up thousands of new cases on behalf of constituents every year. She has led a variety of campaigns, including the opening of a new train station at Mitcham Eastfields, saving St Helier Hospital, introducing new community ‘Safer Neighbourhood’ police teams, and tackling graffiti, abandoned cars, vandalism and other anti-social behaviour.

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