Sir,
Whatever Cllr Alambritis might claim on the Wimbledon Guardian front page (18 January 2018), the reality is that under 8 years of Labour running Merton council, the regeneration of Morden town centre has stalled.
Residents are understandably frustrated at the lack of progress. Morden has great transport links, parks and open spaces. But we all know our town centre could be so much better.
Congestion and air pollution are particular problems due to the position of the bus stands and the traffic that cuts the town centre in two. Morden also lacks public space and trees to make the area around the station more attractive. And even though thousands of commuters use Morden each day, the poor choice of shops and restaurants does not encourage them to stop in the town centre.
Merton Labour have promised regeneration of Morden numerous times before but have never delivered. In fact, if anything, the high street has been getting worse.
In 2015 the previous Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, allocated £42million to kick-start the redevelopment of Morden. Yet this funding still sits unspent whilst Merton Labour continue to dither.
That’s why the Cannon Hill Conservative action team has been campaigning for the council to get on and invest this money in Morden town centre. If elected in May our priority will be to deliver the investment and improvements that Morden needs.
Morden residents deserve an administration with energy and ideas. Yet at the recent Morden Community Forum which we attended the Council was talking about a timeline for regeneration of 2026.
This is simply not good enough. Morden town centre needs investment now. The money is there but Merton Labour just can’t be trusted to deliver.
Nick McLean, Michael Paterson & Harry Todd
Conservative Action Team for Cannon Hill Ward