Councillor Martin Whelton

The meeting was held at Vestry Hall and chaired by Councillor Martin Whelton. 20 residents and six councillors attended. The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and explained how the meeting would work.

Councillor Caroline Cooper-Marbiah

Councillor Caroline Cooper-Marbiah, Cabinet Member for Sport and Heritage, gave a presentation on the Borough of Sport. The presentation is attached to this report.

Cllr Cooper-Marbiah said that Merton has a rich sporting heritage including Mitcham Cricket Green, Wimbledon tennis, Tooting & Mitcham FC and AFC Wimbledon as well lots of grass roots organisations. Being a Borough of Sport means working with organisations to benefit residents and encourage physical activity. Under Borough of Sport we are prioritising Under 16s, to help them develop good habits of being physical active, and those who are over 65 to help improve health and well-being. The council is also trying to help remove barriers to sport and activities for people with disabilities, and those from less affluent backgrounds.

Activities in Mitcham include:

• Free swimming for over 65s Monday 10am-12pm
• Dementia friendly swimming Wednesday 9-10am
• Under 16s every weekend 1.30 – 3.30pm; Term time Wednesday 4-6pm; School holidays 9-11am and 1-3pm.

We have also partnered with an organisation called Equip to supply free or low cost equipment at Tamworth Rec and Oakleigh Way tennis courts.

An organisation called ParkPlay is delivering activities in parks including fitness and exercise every Saturday at the Canons, as well as sessions at Sherwood Rec, Mitcham Eastfields, and Fair Green. There is also Walking Netball taking place at the Canons. 

A resident asked if a new youth club at St Marks could apply for grants for sports equipment. Cllr Cooper-Marbiah said that there was a grant programme for community groups earlier in the year and we hope to repeat in 2025.

A resident asked how they could find out about activities or promote free local activities.

Cllr Cooper-Marbiah said residents can search the online Activity Finder and local groups can upload their activities.

A residents asked if activities are open to non-residents and Cllr Cooper-Marbiah said that they are trying to encourage Merton residents to be active but residents are usually welcome to bring guests.

Mark Warren

Mark Warren, Mitcham Town Centre Manager, gave a presentation on the Town Centre. The presentation is attached to this report.

The Mitcham Matters consultation results will be published shortly but as a result of what residents said there are new objectives for Mitcham Town centre:

• Putting people first
• Building positive partnerships
• Enhancing the experience

There are also some new activities taking place to help reach these objectives:

• There is a pop-up youth centre, run in conjunction with the Salvation Army, every Friday, with 30-50 young people turning up to each session.
• There is improved planting around Sibthorpe Car Park which was done along with St Marks Primary school pupils.
• At end of October we will be carrying out machine bulb planting and will also be giving bulbs away to residents.
• A project to paint a mural on a refurbished basketball court in Armsfield Cresent should be delivered by the end of 2024.
• There are new Mitcham market banners being installed tomorrow based on residents ideas.
• The Second Saturday market is taking place every month, the next one on 12 October, 11-4pm. There is no registration fee to encourage small businesses.
• The Dinner Club, a street food event after 6pm, showed a desire for family events in the evening.
• We are linking with local community groups, like Our Parks and ParkPlay, Royal British Legion, and new Playzones.
• A new creative studio space is being built in the vacant Morrisons site.
• Five new businesses since February and vacant units are starting to get more interest.

Mark said that the next steps include planning for events next summer, installing new community notice boards and continuing to grow the market.

A resident asked where the new noticeboards will be put and Mark said they would be by the clocktower gardens near the road and will be integrated with new artwork.

A resident suggested having a ‘Welcome to Mitcham’ sign on the roundabout near Beehive Bridge. Mark said this was outside of the town centre but he could raise the idea with colleagues. Cllr Manly said there was another project looking at all the gateways into Mitcham.

A resident raised concern about the lack of banks in Mitcham. Mark agreed this was a significant issue, including a lack of ATMS. Mark said he hoped Lloyds might add another ATM and whilst he can speak with landowner, Clarion, he has limited influence. Cllr Agatha said nationally and locally government is looking at banking hub options. Cllr Fraser asked if the mobile bank that goes to Morden town centre could come to Mitcham and Cllr Manly said the van used to come to Mitcham but was not well marketed so was not well used and stopped coming. Cllr Fraser also asked if the post office could host an ATM. Mark said he will look into these options and if it can fit into the new rhythm of the town centre.

A resident asked if closing some of the car parks will impact on footfall and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

Sarah Gayton

Sarah Gayton, Campaigns officer, for NFBUK gave a presentation and showed a video about the organisations campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of floating bus stops to blind and visually impaired pedestrians. Sarah said they will be holding an event on Tuesday 15 October in parliament to raise awareness.

Hyacinth, a local visually impaired resident shared her experience of trying to access local services by bus and finding that the journey is no longer safe.  

TfL claim there are few incidents in these floating bus stops, but Sarah says they have seen many accidents and not enough pedestrians are reporting accidents. 

Cllr Manly said that educating cyclists was an important measure.

Cllr Fraser said the increase of delivery bikes has made the situation worse and there are not enough resources in police to enforce rules.

A resident asked how local communities could help and Sarah said they could write to elected officials, especially if any more schemes are proposed.

Cllr Manly said that dockless bikes blocking the pavement are also a significant issue. Hyacinth said this is a problem for visually impaired people, especially on narrow pavements. Sarah said they should be docked off the pavement.

Warm and Well project – Jonathan Green

Community Health and Well being Champion – Dee Morris

Warm and Well Project

Jonathan Green from Wimbledon Guild introduced the Warm and Wellproject. The Guild provides a wide range of activities and services for people aged 18+. They have an office in Wimbledon on Worple Road and a new office in Morden, on Crown Parade near to the Civic Centre. Many referrals to the services are by word of mouth so Jon hopes attendees will be encouraged to pass on the details to family, friends and neighbours. There are fitness and exercises classes, discussion and social groups, a wellbeing service for the over 50s, and a welfare grants programme. 

The Warm and Well project focuses on energy and helping with the impact of the cost-of-living crisis. They offer free home energy assessments, and support residents with debts and arrears. The project also helps residents identify and avoid scams, including joining the priority needs register. In some circumstances they can also provide fuel vouchers. Jon said he was confident that everybody in the room could make at least two changes to help with their energy costs.

Cllr Manly asked how the Guild can raise the profile of their work in Mitcham. Jon said the Guild wants to talk to more people across the borough and is also working closely with groups based in Mitcham including Age UK, Commonside Trust and others.

Dee Morris, Community Health and Well-being Champion, said she is based in Pollards Hill and the role is funded by the NHS and MOAT housing, to bring health and housing support together. Health is impacted by a lot more than health services, so it is important to support well-being in a variety of ways. Dee said she works in Tamworth and Wide-Way surgeries, and the Pollards Hill Youth Centre. She has been looking at the impact of the cost of living, mental health, and building working relationships with partners. Dee is coordinating a new well-being studio at Moat’s offices on Wednesday mornings 10am-12pm, including coffee mornings, talks and events. The events are listed in MOAT newsletters, on Next Door, and through partner organisations. pion – Dee Morris

A resident wanted to ask what could be done about food waste boxes being opened by foxes. Cllr Whelton said he was happy to follow up. The Fox Project charity provides advice on deterring foxes.

A resident asked about resolving the dockless bikes problem and Cllr Whelton said he has raised this issue with the Cabinet member.

A resident said that there have been problems with the wrong yellow lines being painted in the conservation area, and a road sign in Cedars Avenue has replaced with one that says SW19. Cllr Manly said she has raised this with officers.

A resident asked if there was any news on the former Nat West playing fields site.

A resident asked about the redevelopment of the Gasworks, and Cllr Whelton confirmed that the planning application was approved in the summer.

A resident said that they have found that postal deliveries have been erratic.

A resident wanted to ask about the amount of fly-tipping in the area. Cllr Martin said as well as reporting fly-tip you can raise problem spots with your ward councillors.

Ask the Leader – 7pm 12 November at Vestry Hall

Mitcham ‘Assembly’ – 7pm Thursday 21 January 2025 at Vestry Hall

Mitcham Community Forum – 7.15pm Thursday 27 February 2025

Conversations with the Leader – 7pm 12 November at Vestry Hall, booking essential

Mitcham ‘Assembly’ – 7pm Thursday 21 January 2025 at Vestry Hall

Mitcham Community Forum – 7.15pm Thursday 27 February 2025, venue TBC