Mitcham Common is the largest and most significant open space in our neighbourhood.

At 182 hectares it is bigger than Hyde Park or Kew Gardens and it is enjoyed by thousands.

The Common only exists as a result of public campaigns in both the 19th and 20th centuries to protect it from gravel extraction, new roads, landfill and encroaching development. The M23 was once planned to carry on north and run right across it.

As time passes each new generation finds Mitcham Common is more and more valuable to all our lives. It also supports a vast diversity of wildlife. Thousands of us discovered it during lockdown and there is immense public interest in its future. It should be no surprise that Friends of Mitcham Common is one of the largest membership groups in our area.

Mitcham Common matters. It is highly valued by those who enjoy it and yet there are many more who are still unaware it exists or of the rich experiences it can offer. Too often it is seen as a scary wasteland. This all presents opportunities for Mitcham Common to matter even more.

We are, therefore, delighted to see a new Management Plan is in preparation under the guiding hand of Mitcham Common Conservators who own and run it under 19th century legislation. The new Management Plan cannot come quickly enough. The last one ran out ten years ago and the public have not had any opportunity to inform the management approach since 2007.

We have fed in views on what should be in the new Management Plan. The draft suggests it will offer much for the wildlife of Mitcham Common and it is good to see the strong line against the clutter of bins, signs, sports pitches and seats and the laying tarmac paths. We also agree that opportunities for major tree planting on Mitcham Common are limited if it is to retain its open nature and important habitats.

Despite these positives the Management Plan is a deeply disappointing document. We find it narrowly drawn and unlikely to generate the public and financial support needed to provide Mitcham Common with a sustainable future. Instead it is reliant on short term financial fixes which could harm the Common such as mass participation events, music festivals and advertising. These provide no basis for securing its long term future.

We are invited to respond to the draft Management Plan by making “comments relevant to specific parts of the draft document”. This implies a belief that the draft is almost there and only need tweaks and adjustments to provide what Mitcham Common needs to guide its future. Instead we believe there are fundamentals still missing and a misconception of what Mitcham Common offers and what’s needed.

The new Management Plan should be a watershed. It should redefine how Mitcham Common relates to the thousands of people who both use it and would be willing to do more to support it. The Common has been managed for too long as if it were run by a local authority. Inward looking, focused more on risk than opportunity, lacking creativity and managed remotely from the people who use it. Yet the Conservators have few of the constraints of local government and their independence means they can take a very different approach more suited to the times.

We believe Mitcham Common needs to be managed with the mindset of a charity or trust not a local authority. It needs to inspire and to tap into the energy and support for those thousands of people who people care about and benefit from what it offers. Currently, volunteer support is too often turned away or constrained by unwelcoming attitudes, excessive charges or unnecessary requirements for “professional supervision”. Mill House Ecology Centre lies idle most of the time when it should be fizzing with activity as a community and educational hub. The army of citizen scientists interested in Mitcham Common’s ecology, history and landscape remains untapped. Mitcham Common has no official presence on social media. By any measure of the level of community support, volunteer activity or external funding, Mitcham Common compares poorly with equivalent green spaces across London and beyond.

Thinking like a local authority isn’t surprising given the majority of Mitcham Common Conservators are councillors appointed by Merton, Sutton, Croydon and the City of London. For too many their priorities lie elsewhere and attendance at meeting is patchy. This should change. While there is a place for councillors as Conservators they should not be in the majority. The boroughs can use their powers to appoint independent voices, bringing fresh insight and knowledge and involving those who use and volunteer on the Common. This will bring wider perspectives to the discussion and decisions.

The Common is also run day to day under a contract with Merton Council’s Greenspaces team. Mitcham Common’s Manager is a Merton Council employee. While this has some advantages it makes it hard to think beyond the local authority mind-set and the skills and experience needed to grow public support for the Common are missing.

These arrangements are among many reasons why we are asking the Conservators to commission an independent review of themselves to learn from their experience and improve the way they work. It’s only healthy for any organisation to take a look at itself every few years and the Conservators have been running the Common for 131.

We are also keen to see the management contract currently held by Merton Council re-tendered. This is another example of basic good practice to ensure the management approach is effective and cost efficient. It would also allow the tender to evolve to bring on new skills and experience to address the priorities in the new Management Plan, including building the case for more visitor and volunteer support and a more imaginative approach to income generation than is apparent in the current draft Management Plan.

We’ve asked for the Management Plan to be based on a bold vision and to be well supported by a clear objective and aims. The current draft struggles to do this. It also lacks key information that can inform important targets against which to measure ongoing work. We firmly believe that for the Management Plan to be effective these need to be incorporated, and there should be a commitment to publish a progress report each year.

The Management Plan’s approach can also do more to recognise the value of Mitcham Common’s landscape and heritage as well as its wildlife. It should recognise and protect the value of its relatively dark skies and tranquillity.

There are also other environmental benefits to address, including the role of Mitcham Common in reducing the impact of climate change, managing water resources, reducing urban overheating and mitigating air pollution. These are all in addition to the significant contribution the Common makes to the wellbeing of those who use it.

We have also asked for a more outward looking approach that recognises Mitcham Common is part of a much larger green landscape stretching all the way to Beddington Park and including Beddington Farmlands, Mitcham’s Greens and the open land by the railway north of BedZed. Mitcham Common should be part of the efforts to recognise this key resource at the heart of Wandle Valley Regional Park, looking beyond the boundaries of ownership to join things up and improve the environment.

The new Management Plan is virtually silent on some important outlying areas of Mitcham Common, including the significant area which lies within Mitcham Cricket Green Conservation Area around Mitcham Garden Village and running south towards Mill Green. This area has been threatened by a new access road to Willow Lane Industrial Estate and is one of many subject to significant and persistent flytipping.

The next Management Plan period also needs to see a much stronger evidence base on which to make decisions over Mitcham Common’s future. It is both striking and shocking that the Management Plan admits “there is no available data for the number of visitors to the Common” and nothing is known about those who do visit. The ecological data is also partial and out of date. Large parts of the Management Plan are based on a 1984 report that even leaves out some important parts of the Common. The Management Plan has also been prepared with no assessment of Mitcham Common’s landscape and its character available.

Mitcham Common already plays a vital role in our neighbourhood. Yet it can do so much more to tackle some of the most important challenges of our times. At a time of climate crisis, declining wildlife, rising air pollution and growing concerns over public health, mental wellbeing and civic pride we need to be able to turn to places like Mitcham Common. With the right Management Plan, revitalised Conservators and a dynamic new relationship with the users of the Common and the local community we know we will be able to find some of the answers on our doorstep.

Read our full response to the draft Mitcham Common Management Plan – Mitcham Common Management Plan – Oct 22

The Management Plan is hosted on Mitcham Common Conservators’ website – https://mitchamcommon.org/category/all-publications/