Lots has been happening behind the scenes on the £4 million Lottery bid for The Canons.

During 2016 there will be a range of different ways local people can get involved in shaping the project and contributing to the work on the final bid which will be submitted to the Heritage Lottery Fund at the end of the year.

The first opportunities to have your say come in the form of two Open Days at The Canons. At these you will be able to:

• See inside The Canons house
• See plans and drawings
• Meet the team of Southern Green – the people putting together the Conservation Management Plan, which is a key document that will guide all the ideas in the final bid

The two events are happening on:

• Saturday 23 January 12-4pm
• Wednesday 27 January 6-8pm

See the Canons open days flyer for more details about the different things available on each of the days.

If you want to be kept up to date with all the news about this project then let us know.

We were pleased to be invited to meet with the developer of the Kwik Fit site in Mitcham, and to be asked to make specific input to them ahead of their public exhibition. We duly made input and you can read about it here.

We were less enthusiastic when we saw the plans which have now been lodged as a planning application.

As part of the application the developer says it has made changes to its original plans in response to our prior consultation. We can’t see evidence of changes being made as a result of our conversation, and despite repeated requests, the developer has not explained to us which changes have been made.

We have submitted a formal response to the planning application, which looks in detail at the plans for 22 flats and 290 square meters of ground floor commercial space.

Read our comments: Kwik Fit site redevelopment – Sep 15.

The deadline for submitting comments on this application is 23 September. While Merton Council has a good record of accepting comments beyond the official deadline date we urge you to make your thoughts known by that date.

Details on the planning application are here.

You can submit comments online and all the instructions are here.

The sorry saga of the state of the Burn Bullock pub continues.

This listed building is at the heart of Cricket Green and its fate also affects the nearby cricket pavilion as they are both owned by the same person.

After much campaigning Merton Council issued a listed building repair notice in March which set out 34 things that need to be done to put the building in good order.

This specified 3 August as the deadline for the works to be complete.

The owner didn’t start work till July and the deadline has been missed.

Only a fraction of what needs to be done has been completed and some of this is below the standard required.

An application has now been lodged to extend the deadline to the end of the year and we are asking Merton Council to put an end to this foot dragging and take action now to look after the Burn Bullock.

Read our response  on the Burn Bullock extension of LB repair notice – Sep 15

See Merton Council’s detailed response to a question at a full council meeting listing the required work

Read our Autumn 2015 Bulletin including news about:

• Our national Design Award from Civic Voice
• Mitcham Heritage Day on 19th September
• New unsightly bollards on
• Proposals for new flats on the Kwik Fit site
• Latest news on the Burn Bullock

MCGCH Bulletin Autumn 2015

Mitcham Cricket Green is in the vanguard of an exciting new initiative to have London recognised as a National Park City.

Did you know that 47% of London’s land surface is green?

We live in a remarkable city and we all know how important the open spaces of Mitcham are to our local quality of life. Where would we be without Mitcham Common, Three King’s Piece, Cranmer Green or network of small open spaces and private gardens that make up our neighbourhood?

This story is repeated London-wide and Cricket Green is one of the first wards in London to back its declaration as a National Park City.

Look out for the special newspaper which is being circulated widely and find out more on how to declare you support from the website www.nationalparkcity.london.

A growing number of London boroughs have already supported the initiative, including Sutton and Kingston and it is backed by many ward councillors in Merton. We are now pressing Merton Council to give its support.

The founder of the initiative – Dan Raven-Ellison – will be speaking at the Vestry Hall in Cricket Green on October 17th at Wandle Futures – a workshop being organised by Wandle Valley Forum. let us know if you want more information.

We are delighted to be organising Mitcham Heritage Day on 19th September 2015.

You can enjoy a range of free walks, exhibitions, tours and visits to buildings and open spaces in and around Mitcham Cricket Green. Many of the buildings are not usually open to the public so it is a great opportunity to learn more about the area.

Refreshments are available at many of the locations.

Walks, tours and exhibitions:

• 10.00 to 10.45 The Canons guided tour. Booking required – 020 8640 3333.
• 10.00 to 1.00 Vestry Hall photographic exhibition. No booking.
• 11.00 to 11.45 Vestry Hall guided tour. Booking required – 020 8640 3333.
• 12.30 to 1.30 Parish Churchyard guided tour. No booking. Meet at front porch.
• 2.30 to 3.30 Cricket Green heritage walk. No booking. Meet at cricket pavilion.
• 11.00 and 3.00 Parish Church cemetery mortuary chapel open. No booking.

Open buildings:

• 10.30 to 4.30 Mitcham Cricket Pavilion
• 10.30 to 4.30 Mitcham Parish Church
• 10.30 to 4.30 Mitcham Methodist Church
• 10.00 to 1.00 Vestry Hall (with photographic exhibition)

There are more details about the open buildings, walks and tours on our flyer. Download the Mitcham Heritage Day 19 September 2015 details as a PDF for high quality printing, or click the image below to see a larger version on screen.

Bring your friends and family!