Planning for the future – Merton’s Local Plan

Cricket Green is going to change a lot in the next 20 years.

The community is growing and getting younger. New public transport routes are planned. Over a thousand new homes could be built.

The Wilson is set to be redeveloped to provide new health and community services. The green spaces around The Canons will see investment and a new cafe.

The Burn Bullock and White Hart could reopen and the old fire station be given a new use.

All of this could improve our neighbourhood but it could also do harm. The Conservation Area and its environs are sensitive and easily damaged. More shops could close and green spaces and gardens could be lost.

The local workshops and yards could be built over and rising traffic could cause more pollution and make it even harder to cross the roads.

Merton’s new Local Plan will have a major influence on how Cricket Green changes. It is the keynote document containing all the policies that decide where and what kind of development is permitted and how well it should be designed.

The Local Plan is under review and we have set out our stall for how it should guide Cricket Green’s future.

We’re disappointed that too many of the policies are so vague they won’t help ensure the high quality of new building the area deserves. We’ve asked for the policies governing development sites, such as Benedict Wharf, The Wilson and The Birches to be strengthened. We’ve also identified the shopping parades in Church Road, London Road and Bramcote Parade for protection.

We are looking for more cultural facilities and we want Merton Council to identify and protect local community assets such as the Wandle Industrial Museum.

We’ve asked for extra protection for the green space behind Mary Tate’s almshouses and in Glebe Court. We want investment in the streets and pavements to make London Road and Jubilee Corner more pleasant and to close King George VI Avenue to prevent car parking at the heart of Cranmer Green.

We want more trees to be planted and local ponds protected. We’ve welcomed the Local Plan’s expectation that Mitcham cricket pavilion will become community run.

The Local Plan also needs to set the standard for good design and prevent Cricket Green becoming an area dominated by blocks of flats. We favour new homes based on streets and houses.

It is important that the Local Plan sets an expectation that local people will be involved in shaping development ideas well before they get to the stage of a planning application. It also needs to be backed by a stronger commitment from Merton Council to enforce planning laws when people develop without permission.

The Local Plan is expected to go to a public hearing later this year and come into force in 2020.

You can read our full submission – Merton local plan consultation Jan 2019

The Local Plan pages at Merton Council web site

Will the Sutton Link come to Mitcham?

Mitcham has benefited greatly from the opening of the tram in 2000 and there are plans afoot which could bring new transport links running through Benedict Wharf.

After years of concerted lobbying Transport for London is consulting on options for a tram or bus rapid transit route to Sutton town centre. One option would link to South Wimbledon and another to Colliers Wood.

We have welcome the potential of the Colliers Wood option.

This would run across the existing tram route at Belgrave Walk and through the car pound to join Church Road near to Mitcham parish church.

It is disappointing that the legitimacy of the consultation is undermined by failing to include details of where trams or buses will be stored and maintained. There is also a lack of detail over the precise route which will require some demolitions. We have asked Transport for London to consult again with more detail before a decision on the principle of any route is made.

The plans coincide with the emerging proposals for 500-800 homes on Benedict Wharf but neither consultation mentions the other.

We have also asked that the crossing of the existing tram avoid an intrusive over-bridge which would be visible from the Wandle Valley and Mitcham Cricket Green Conservation Areas.

There is also an opportunity to celebrate the route of the Surrey Iron Railway – the first public railway in the world – which would be followed by the Colliers Wood option.

Find out more about the “Sutton Link” proposals

Sutton Link MCGC&H comments

 

White Hart restoration plans blighted by intrusive flats

The Grade II listed White Hart is one of the most important buildings in Merton and stands prominently at the heart of Cricket Green Conservation Area.

It includes a large area of land to the rear which is the focus of plans for a new block of flats.

We have welcome the proposals to restore and re-open the White Hart and demolish the modern extension to its rear.

Unfortunately the new building proposed as part of the development is less sympathetic.

The architects drawing clearly show it will be visible above the roofline of the White Hart in the key approach along Cricket Green to the south.

Worryingly, there is no information provided on the impact on Lower Green West.

The design of the new flats also doesn’t do justice the the location and the proposed beer garden will spend most of its time in shade. An opportunity has been missed to service the White Hart from the rear and avoid delivery lorries adding to the congestion and road safety problems at Jubilee Corner.

As a consequence we have objected to the plans (see here) and invited the developers to collaborate on an alternative. We would welcome well designed residential development which funds restoration of the White Hart and avoids damage to the Conservation Area.

Read our comments

The future of Benedict Wharf

The long awaited plans for the future of Benedict Wharf have started to emerge.

This is the largest brownfield site in Mitcham and it will become available for development once SUEZ moves its waste facility to a new site on Beddington Lane.

We have previously welcomed the move and the plans to re-use the site for housing. Something in the order of 500-800 homes are planned.

The site has huge potential, including to strengthen links between Mitcham and Morden. It is a little known fact that Mitcham Parish Church is closer to Morden Hall Park than Merton Civic Centre but Benedict Wharf is a major psychological and physical barrier.

The plans revealed by SUEZ at a recent public exhibition are a step in the right direction but miss out on some of the key opportunities for improving access and lack the detail required for us to be confident of the proposals.

There are widespread concerns that the site might be developed for 10 storey blocks of flats looming over the area – including over London Road Playing Fields.

We have asked SUEZ to rethink and provide homes based on houses and streets. We are also keen to see a mix of developers involved, including the potential for custom-build housing and community land trusts.

It is disappointing that SUEZ is limiting community engagement to just one more public exhibition in 2019 and we have asked it to rethink its approach and not rush to a planning application in the Spring.

Read our submission on the December 2018 public consultation

View the information boards shown at the December 2018 public consultation

Let us know what you think – info@mitchamcricketgreen.org.uk

Wandle House plans

We have welcomed plans to separate the Grade II listed Wandle House from the 1960s office block it has been linked for over 50 years.

Wandle House is an important part of Mitcham’s story with links to the assemblage of historic buildings by the ford across the Wandle by Bishopsford Road.

The planned development is an all too rare example of a scheme which will improve the Conservation Area for the Wandle Valley.

There are also opportunities to improve the landscaping and reduce the large area of hard standing and car park.

We are also alert to the possibility of the office block being converted to flats following the precedents of Justin Plaza and Brook House.

You can read our submission here.

Memorial stone at Lower Green West war memorial

Merton Council has submitted an application to itself to install a memorial stone at Lower Green West war memorial.

We secured national listing for the war memorial last year.

The memorial stone will recognise William White, Mitcham’s only Victoria Cross holder from World War I and it will be set flush to the ground immediately in front of the war memorial.

Remarkably, Merton Council had to declare its own application invalid for failing to provide key information and a site plan.

We have welcomed the plans and ask that they are supported by a method statement that sets out how the sensitive installation should be managed and that there are long term guarantees that the stone will be maintained.

You can read our submission here.