Sutton Council is officially set to celebrate the Buddhist and Hindu New Year for the first time later this year.

An amended motion put forward by Stonecot ward councillor Param Nandha, and seconded by Worcester Park councillor Tom Drummond, was agreed at full council.

Schools across the borough, as well as community groups, will also be contacted to promote the New Years’ day celebrations for Buddhists and Hindus in April.

“I’m delighted Sutton Council has adopted this motion,” Cllr Nandha said. “In this difficult time of division in our nation and communities, it’s a well-timed chance to celebrate another nation’s faith and culture, and to reinforce the values that all parties in our borough have been proud to support and proclaim.

“Our differences, and the opportunities arising from them, bring us closer together and bring us a better understanding of ourselves – as Suttonites, Londoners and as Brits.”

The Sinhala and Tamil New Year (Avurudu/Puththandu) day, a national holiday in Sri Lanka, will be on April 14.

Cllr Ruth Dombey, the council’s leader, said cultures and traditions should be celebrated by everyone – irrespective of one’s own personal heritage.

She added: “Learning about other faiths and other traditions and deepening our understanding of other cultures makes our communities more cohesive and enriches our lives.

“Festivals are the way that a community comes together. Traditional clothes, traditional foods, traditional dances and processions are a time honoured way of marking our joy and sharing it with others.

“Sutton Council has always been open to promoting such events amongst the wider community.

“It is an honour to be here this evening to celebrate the diversity of the different cultures and the different traditions of the many people living in the London Borough of Sutton.”

The adopted motion was agreed at full council on January 28.