Category Archives: Cricket Green Conservation Area

Canons £4.7 million Lottery bid a success

We’re delighted The Canons has been awarded over £4 million by the Lottery as part of a £5 million plus restoration project.

Securing this funding has been a major effort from the three community organisations who have donated hundreds of volunteer hours over the last four years to achieve it. These are Mitcham Cricket Green Community & Heritage, Friends of the Canons and Mitcham Society.

Merton Council is the applicant as it owns the land and buildings and expert consultants have provided new insights and research.

The project will deliver on one of the key objectives of our Cricket Green Charter.

The running track, dovecote, obelisk, Bellamy’s Copse and pond will all benefit. The Canons house will be restored. Most of the house will be let as offices but the basement will become a community space and the large room on the ground floor will be available for hire.

The disused toilets between Canons House and Madeira Hall will be demolished. There will be a new café built onto Madeira Hall looking into the east lawn where the dovecote is.

The car park immediately outside the entrance to the leisure centre will become a plaza, including a new children’s play area replacing the one in front of Park Place. A new entrance will be opened up at the obelisk. There will also be investment in managing the area better for wildlife.

And that’s not all!

There will be a programme of community events and activities, an archaeological dig and educational projects. These will provide multiple ways in which local people can get involved.

This is a massive investment in our part of the Conservation Area. It reflects the importance of Mitcham’s heritage and open spaces. This one off funding will give The Canons a real boost and reinvesting the income it generates from new activities will secure its long term future.

Now the grant has been secured, the real work begins! A planning application for the works is expected in September. Watch out for more news and let us know if you want to get involved.

Your invitation to Community on the Green 26 July 2017

Join us on Wednesday 26th July on Mitcham cricket ground.

6pm till dusk.

Mitcham Cricket Green Community & Heritage invites you to join us on Wednesday 26th July for our annual celebration of Cricket Green and everyone who lives and works here.

This year we will be launching our new Community Map for Cricket Green and sharing news of the multi-million pound Lottery funded project bid at The Canons.

There will also be a free guided walking tour and cricket will be played on the historic ground during the evening.

We are delighted that the Mayor of Merton will be attending.

Community on the Green includes:

exhibitions and displays about what is going on in Cricket Green, The Canons and the Wandle Valley
launch of our new Community Map for Cricket Green
a guided walk at around 7.30pm
short speeches at 7pm, including from the Mayor of Merton
information on the multi-million pound bid to the Lottery for The Canons and its grounds
the latest news on the future of the Burn Bullock and the Wilson Hospital
a celebration of the oldest cricket ground in the world
a Wandle Industrial Museum display
opportunities to visit Mitcham cricket pavilion, Merton’s first registered asset of community value
drinks and light refreshments

It would be helpful if you could tell us you’re coming by emailing us – info@mitchamcricketgreen.org.uk

We look forward to seeing you!

The lost paths of Mitcham Common

Mitcham Common is one of the true jewels of Cricket Green.

This large area of open space has remained undeveloped throughout the growth of London. It is managed by Conservators appointed by local authorities under Victorian legislation.

Mitcham Common is a remarkable place, defended against damage, development and the M23 by previous generations and on the doorstep of thousands of Londoners.

It is therefore highly disturbing to learn of the impact of unannounced decision by Merton Council to halve its funding for management of Mitcham Common.

The impacts are already being felt. Mitcham Common Conservators has withdrawn all path maintenance and litter clearance from seven different parts of the Common. These include areas near Mitcham Junction and along the railway line opposite Three Kings Piece.

Friends of Mitcham Common even found it necessary to organise a “lost paths” walk as these important recreational areas are in all but name put out of bounds to local people.

You can find out more about the areas affected here
http://mitchamcommon.org/category/all-publications/ and if you feel strongly then let Merton Council leader Stephen Alambritis know (Stephen.Alambritis@merton.gov.uk). As London grows so its green spaces become more important.

Mitcham Common deserves better.

General Election 2017 – our questions to candidates

We have asked all six candidates standing for election in Mitcham and Morden a series of questions about the local area.

Q1 What is your most important priority for improving the quality of life in Cricket Green?

Q2 Do you support the Cricket Green Charter and how will you use it in your work as a Member of Parliament?

Q3 Are you committed to protecting Mitcham Cricket Green Conservation Area (designated by London Borough of Merton in 1969) and will you make representations on planning applications for development that fails to enhance its special qualities?

Q4 What will you do to help provide legal security for Mitcham Cricket Club and its pavilion (registered as Merton’s first asset of community value) to continue the 333 year old tradition of cricket being played on the Green?

Q5 What will you do to ensure the listed Burn Bullock is removed from the national Heritage at Risk register and other listed buildings (such as the White Hart) don’t join it?

Q6 How do you think the redevelopment of the Wilson Hospital and its grounds can best respect the historic site and provide for the needs of the local community?

Q7 What is your favourite place in or memory of Mitcham Cricket Green Conservation Area?

All the candidates have replied and their full, unedited, responses are in the document below.

General Election 2017 – candidate responses

Annual Review 2016 published

We published our Annual Review for 2016 at our AGM on 25th April 2017.

This captures the breadth and scope of our work throughout the year, and it is packed with information.

Highlights of 2016 include :

Reporting on the events we hold through the year including Community on The Green in July and Mitcham Heritage Day in September
Continued efforts to support Mitcham Cricket Club for example in the context of the ongoing saga of the development of the closed Burn Bullock Pub site – under the same ownership of the pavilion, and in raising funds for the Club at events throughout the year
Our ongoing work to support the natural environment and in paricular to protect our trees from increasing environmental pressures
Continued work to help protect our area from insensitive development – the amount of potential development in our area is constantly growing, and 2016 saw much activity on this topic
Our very significant involvement in the £5m Canons Lottery bid, with hundreds of hours of volunteer effort put in. A decision on this is coming in June 2017.
Proposals for items for addition to the Local List. which records significant structures across the borough

There is much more about us and our work in the Annual Review.

Get your copy of our Annual review 2016

Protecting Mitcham’s Town Greens

Mitcham is defined as much by its green spaces as its buildings. Once linked to the vastness of Mitcham Common they remain central to Mitcham’s story and to its future. Mitcham’s Greens were originally put in the hands of the Mitcham Common Conservators in 1891. Responsibility was transferred to the local authority in 1923 and they are now managed by Merton Council. Five were registered as town greens in 1967 – Figges Marsh, Fair Green, Three Kings Piece, Cranmer Green and Cricket Green – and given high levels of protection. This recognition provides a reassuring certainty in an area experiencing rapid development and change.

Or so it seemed.

In June 2016 Mitcham saw the open grassland and green road verges of Three Kings Piece and Cranmer Green replaced by tarmac, kerbs, bus stops and road crossings (see photos). This happened without warning and there was no consultation. Land which had survived undeveloped for hundreds of years was lost. The special character of an important area of the town greens was destroyed.

The damage was the talking point of our stand at the Mitcham Carnival and questions were asked as to whether Mitcham’s Greens were safe after all.

We moved quickly to raise concerns with Merton Council and seek an explanation. The response was emphatic – Merton Council believes it has the power to tarmac the Greens and does not need to consult. Further, Merton Council believes the protections afforded town and village greens do not apply to Mitcham’s greens and its duty to make bus stops accessible overrides other concerns.

We turned to the Open Spaces Society for advice – as the UK’s oldest conservation body it is a national source of expertise on common land and town and village greens. With its help we have explored the complex legal position and arrived at very different conclusions to Merton Council.

Over 10 years ago the House of Lords ruled that laws protecting greens applied to all greens, new and old. This set a precedent and means Mitcham’s greens are protected in the same way as other greens. As a result, any encroachment or development requires consent from the Secretary of State. The fact that Merton Council has the power to undertake the works affecting Mitcham’s Greens does not override the need for it to seek this consent. Nor does the requirement to take steps to make bus stops accessible override these protections.

We believe Merton Council has overstepped the mark. It has damaged the Mitcham Greens without authorisation. We are asking Merton Council to come clean and either seek permission from Central Government or undo the works and return both Cranmer Green and Three Kings Piece to their former condition. And most important of all we are asking Merton Council to be clear about the procedures protecting Mitcham’s Greens so we can all avoid a repeat and be secure in their future.

Read our report

Open Spaces Society press release