Nominations for the ten 2026 Sutton Community Awards close at midnight on Friday 18 September. Every category, how to enter, and the new Marian James award.

Residents have until midnight on Friday 18 September to nominate someone for the 2026 Sutton Community Awards. There are ten categories this year, and winners will be announced at a ceremony in November. (London Borough of Sutton)

One of those categories has a new name. The community champion award is now the Marian James Community Champion Award, after the former Wallington North councillor who died on 15 July 2026, days after the council granted her the Freedom of the Borough.

Nominations opened on 20 July and are made through an online form. Anyone who lives in the borough can put a name forward, and there is no limit on how many categories one person or organisation can be entered for.

The ten categories

  • The Marian James Community Champion Award, for an individual or organisation driving positive change and a more inclusive borough
  • Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, for work celebrating Sutton’s diverse communities
  • Outstanding Volunteer, for one person who has gone beyond what was asked of them
  • Outstanding Volunteering Group, for a team, including staff who volunteer together through a business
  • Outstanding Young Person, for someone under 21, in academic, sporting, artistic or cultural fields, or community leadership
  • Outstanding Voluntary and Community Sector Organisation of the Year, for a local charity, community group or social enterprise
  • Sue Robson Trustee of the Year, for a trustee, board member or governor of a local organisation
  • Marlene Heron Tenant of the Year, for someone improving the lives of social housing residents in the borough
  • Outstanding Community Health and Wellbeing Champion, covering physical health, mental wellbeing and physical activity
  • The Lifetime Achievement Award, for support given to vulnerable people over many years

Three of the ten are named after people who worked in the borough. Sue Robson was deputy director and later chief executive of Sutton CVS, now Community Action Sutton, and the trustee award was created to mark her work on governance in the voluntary sector. Marlene Heron was a Sutton councillor until she stood down in 2022, then joined the board of Sutton Housing Partnership, where the council says she was an advocate for tenants and leaseholders.

The award renamed for Marian James

Marian James was elected as a councillor for Wallington North in 2014 and chaired the People Committee from 2018 until she retired in 2026 after a cancer diagnosis. Before she was elected, she was the founding chief executive of Sutton Carers Centre. As a councillor she oversaw the opening of the first council-run children’s homes in London and a technology enabled care service for residents living independently at home. (London Borough of Sutton, 16 July 2026)

The Mayor of Sutton, Councillor Muhammad Sadiq, said at the time that he had “the huge honour of presiding over a special meeting of councillors to award Marian the Freedom of the Borough, the highest civic award the Council can grant”. She died at home the following evening, on Wednesday 15 July.

The council says the community champion category “has been renamed to honour the late former Councillor” and now recognises an individual or organisation that, like her, is “the driving force in creating positive change”.

How to nominate

Nominations go through an online form. You will need:

  • your own name, email address and phone number
  • the name of the person, group or organisation you are nominating
  • the category you are entering them for
  • an explanation of why they deserve it

The council’s own guidance is worth reading before you start. It advises writing your entry in a Word document first, so you keep a copy if the form fails. Entries that do not meet a category’s criteria may be rejected without further consideration. (Submission guidance)

Judging is by an independent panel, and a judge whose own organisation has entered a category steps back from judging it. Only what is written in the entry is considered, and the panel’s decision is final. Everyone who is nominated will be told whether or not they have been shortlisted, though the council says it cannot give individual feedback on unsuccessful entries.

Shortlisted nominees will be featured in a digital campaign before the ceremony. Winners receive a commemorative award and a certificate, and are listed on the council’s website.

Key dates for the 2026 Sutton Community Awards: nominations opened 20 July 2026, close at midnight on Friday 18 September 2026, shortlisted nominees are notified before the ceremony, and winners are announced at a ceremony in November 2026. Ten categories, four partner organisations.
Graphic by Sutton Online, from Sutton Council's awards pages and submission guidance.

What it means for you

If there is someone in your street, school, club or block who quietly holds things together, this is the month to write it down. A nomination is a few paragraphs, not a submission pack. The council does ask you to have consent before naming an external individual or organisation, because what you write may be used in its promotional material.

If you run a voluntary group, note that you can enter more than one category, and that trustees are recognised separately from volunteers. Small organisations often miss the trustee award because nobody thinks of the board as volunteers.

The awards are run in partnership by Sutton Council, Community Action Sutton, Volunteer Centre Sutton and Sutton Housing Partnership. Questions about the process go to communicationsteam@sutton.gov.uk, which is also the address for the guidance in large print, audio or braille.

Sources