1. Chairman’s Introduction
Mitcham Cricket Green is one of Mitcham’s historic sites. Mitcham Cricket Green
Community & Heritage (“C&H”) is a registered charity and was set up as an organisation which could help to protect the environment and heritage of the Cricket Green
Conservation Area and its environs, and to promote activities for the benefit of the residents and visitors.
The Conservation Area includes not only the Cricket Green but also Lower Green,
Cranmer Green, Three Kings Pond and Three Kings Piece.
The Cricket Club, founded in 1685, is an intrinsic part of the area, and its survival is important to the surrounding community. C&H meets monthly and reports on various issues which are vital in the maintenance of the environment of this unique Area.
To this end, regular updates are made on Public Open Spaces, Planning/Trees/
Licensing and the Cricket Club itself, as well as reports of the activities of local groups.
Where appropriate, representations are made to the Council for action to be taken.
C&H encouraged the Cricket Club’s application to have the Clubhouse War
Memorial added to the National Lottery of War Memorials at the Imperial War
Museum, as part of the ongoing campaign to raise the profile of the Cricket
Club’s heritage.
C&H is not primarily a fundraising body but, has in conjunction with the Mitcham
Society and the Mitcham Village Residents’ Association, held a fundraising social evening at the Vestry Hall in November, in aid of the Club and also to celebrate the Vestry Hall as a focus of community life. It is hoped that other such activities may follow.
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C&H is advised by the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association (which has an interest in the wider Area extending back over a century) on matters pertaining to the local open space heritage ,the Wandle Country Park and the potential
Wandle Regional Park.
C&H is a member of The Civic Trust and The London Civic Forum
John Strover – (Chairman, C&H)
2. Public open Spaces
The highways scheme which replaced the highly contentious initial proposals for the Cricket Green area is about to be implemented at the time of writing.
So the visual aspect of the heart of the Conservation Area currently accommodates machinery and raw materials for the work ahead - happily with little disturbance to the open spaces. Nevertheless, it makes sense for suggested improvements to the margins of the open space areas, such as tree planting, to be held over until the highway works have been completed.
Meanwhile, it is encouraging to note that Figges Marsh, an under-appreciated area of open space which is located outside the Conservation Area (although it has the same legal origins as the Cricket Green, Cranmer Green and Three
Kings Piece) is now being actively promoted and publicised as a place of interest in its own right by the North Mitcham Parks Friends.
Pressure to ensure better maintenance of the recently-renovated Three Kings
Pond and Three Kings Piece (specifically the replacement of a fallen knee rail, the removal of wind-blown litter from the Brook and Pond, etc.) has at last proved effective. However, the method of hedgerow management and the running-down of the walled garden at The Canons - one of the area's finest amenities - remain causes for concern. The public open spaces of Mitcham are a vital element in the regeneration of Mitcham as a whole.
The Churchyard of Mitcham Parish Church, a major green space with many fine trees and historic monuments (albeit much affected by problems ranging from war damage to vandalism) is located in the westernmost extremity of the
Conservation Area. It has gained new prominence by virtue of its inclusion in the English Heritage list of important historic features at risk. It has also been given open space status in the latest Borough planning framework. Much new residential and other development is being carried out in the vicinity of the
Churchyard. So its conservation and renovation will be important to the overall regeneration of the Church Road area and will be receiving close attention.
One of the major tasks for C & H in the months ahead must be to address
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the rejuvenation of the Cricket Green itself, not merely in terms of landscape detail-but also in prompting and aiding the Cricket Club to revive the image of the Green as a focus of sporting history - surely a pre-requisite for the rejuvenation of the Club itself.
In the sphere of general amenity "The Hooden on the Green" public house entered the annual "Merton in Bloom" competition and won the trophy for the best floral decorations among Merton's public houses.
Joyce Bellamy MBE (Director C&H, Secretary of Metropolitan Public Gardens
Association)
3. Trees
The year has been dominated by Merton Council’s changes to personnel and policy within the planning departments. Although it may be admirable to cut costs, the wholesale ravaging of several key departments has left a complete lack of continuity.
During the year it was impossible to get immediate Council responses to a number of issues, such as retrospective planning involving the illegal removal of trees, butchering of established hedges by unsupervised workmen etc. and to get answers to long-running problems like the unfinished erection of fencing around Cricket Green. Most disheartening of all was the news that the Council budget for tree planting in 2007/8 was zero!
It became increasingly obvious that, to protect and improve the trees within the conservation area, we, as a group, should work alongside other agencies, such as
Merton Tree Wardens, Wandle Heritage and The Wandle Trust, to negate the problems caused by Council inertia. Thus it is hoped that new plantings within the boundary of the cricket pitch, and replacement plantings in the Mitcham Parish churchyard will be funded by non-Council entities. The Tree Wardens have established an allotment for the raising of indigenous tree species from seed, nut and cuttings. Any help with its upkeep and increasing of stock would be very welcome. C&H has also been asked to help in some initiatives to protect and improve the wild habitat within the Canons, this involving assistance at workdays.
The inability of the Council to take trees seriously in our part of the borough was emphasised by the replanting within the Glebe Court precinct. Several semi-mature trees were planted on behalf of Transport for London to replace a planter of trees felled during the upgrade of the London Road bus-stop. Having been planted, the aftercare was non-existent, so, unsurprisingly, the trees withered. This year a dead silver birch was replaced, but this subsequently died, again through lack of aftercare. The rowans remain as dead reminders of the problem. Apparently a team arrived to remove them, but could not budge the rooting system!! We hope for some progress in 2008, having established exactly who is now nominally in charge of various departments.
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One of the worst acts of vandalism on our patch during 2007 was carried out by subcontractors of Merton Council who, by allowing the uneducated (and unsupervised?) use of chainsaws, reduced to a spindly hole-ridden mess a thick mature holly hedge which surrounded the Mitcham Bowls Club in the Canons,. Worse still, this barbarism occurred during the bird nesting season, and the hedge was a known haunt of sparrows, blackbirds, wrens, dunnocks and robins. Our letters of complaint remain completely ignored – unanswered by any department or by the Leader of the Council.
The cool wet summer did have one benefit this year. The leaf miners whose caterpillars so disfigure the horse chestnuts in mid and late summer did not multiply in as great a number as in years past, so that most trees remained green into the autumn. However the march of the beasties continues, with new threats to oaks (from moths) and plane trees (from lacebugs).
John Davis
4. Planning/Trees/licensing
Over the year, C&H ha s looked at many planning applications pertaining to the Conservation Area and other bordering parts. John O’Sullivan has been at the fore front in analyzing the individual applications and presenting them to every monthly meeting of C&H. a) endorsed the application, noting where certain conditions had to be observed: or b) agreed in principle that action needed to be taken, but objected to the proposed application, where such action was inappropriate for the Area, seeking comment from the appropriate department; or c) Objected to the application as being totally inappropriate to the Area.
C&H and local residents have been involved in a review of the late licensing hours of
The Burn Bullock, as it is believed that late night rowdiness has resulted in damage to the playing area of Cricket Green.
The aim of C&H is to be as influential as possible in preserving the character of the Area wherever possible. This may be as individuals, or as an organisation or in conjunction with like minded groups
John O’Sullivan
5. Mitcham Cricket Club (Gwyn Williams, Director C&H, Hon. Treasurer - Mitcham
Cricket Club)
Several issues are pertinent to the Cricket Club. There have been representations to the
Council about the playing of football on the cricket square, the maintenance of the boundary fence, the damage caused to the trees by dogs and the maintenance of the
Cricket Green as a whole. In addition, several members act as unofficial watchdogs, as they live on the edge of the Cricket Green.
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During the winter, C&H will be discussing with the Cricket Club and the Council the possibility of tree planting around the Cricket Green, which will concentrate on the replacement of dead and lost trees. An agreed strategy will be needed and may include the restoration of the avenue of trees at Cranmer Green.
In the longer term, C&H is committed to supporting the Club in establishing a permanent arrangement for the occupation of the Pavilion. C&H will continue to do all that it can to help the Club’s revival, the restoration of a sense of pride in its central role in the
Conservation Area and its growth from strength to strength.
6. Membership and Finance
The membership continues to rise. C&H now has 15 Life members and 21 Annual members.
The current list of members will be circulated to all members of MCGC&H
The membership fees are an important part of the income of MCGC&H. However this year we were particularly grateful for a donation of £ from the Mitcham Park Residents
Association, who transferred their remaining funds to MCGC&H
The need for a fighting fund to oppose decisions made to the detriment of the area is is still relevant. During the year MCGC&H will have further discussions with other interested groups in the area about the creation of such a fund.
R Humphreys (Director/secretary C&H)
7. Mitcham Town Regeneration Proposals Lucy Hedden, Secretary The Mitcham
Society)
The Mitcham Society continues to monitor the proposals for the Mitcham Town regeneration.
The Cricket Green Transport proposals are being monitored by all local groups.
8) Hall Of Fame
The Mitcham Hall of Fame is continuing to be developed. The list of names can now be seen on our web page:
( http://www.mertonconnected.com/mitchamcricketgreencommunityandheritage )
For additional items of interest - contact Michael Maberley via mikemaberley@btinternet.com
or Eric Pillinger via esp31@globalnet.co.uk
9. ROCA
Early in 2007 it was known that there would be a Review of the Conservation Area
(ROCA) by Merton Council. C&H therefore formed a sub-committee to prepare a report for the Merton Conservation Officer to dovetail with this review.
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Our brief was to identify areas within, or adjoining, the existing Conservation Area, and to advise as to the suitability for inclusion in the revised Area design. To this end we recommended the following eight areas for consideration: Mitcham Park (South Side), the Close and Tramway Path (pedestrian); London Road Playing Field; London Road
(northeast of Mitcham Park to Linden Place); Glebe Court; Langdale Parade Green,
Upper Green East, Fair Green and “Lavvy Café”; Downe Road; Cranmer School Playing
Fields to the rear of Wilson Hospital; and Cottages by Goat Common/Mill Green,
Carshalton Road and Aspen Gardens.
Our submission, in a five page report, emphasised the particular unique aspect of each of these sites, and itemised the benefits which Conservation Area protection would bring. Photographic evidence was also provided.
Our summary was as follows – “Extending the Cricket Green Area will enable us to carry the beacon, and assist in promoting our previous local heritage. With the development pressure that will increase still further during the town centre revamp, the time is ripe to help protect what is dear to us. As C&H is positioned at what is considered to be the
Mitcham fulcrum of the Conservation Area, we hope to play a leading role in liaising between all interested parties should our recommendations be taken further”.
We are pleased to report that our submission formed the basis of a public exposition in the summer, organised by the Conservation Officer. We are led to believe that her review will be put to the full Council in December for implementation.
John Davis
10) Conclusion
It has been another interesting year. In conjunction with others, pressure has again been put on the Local Authority, planners and businesses with some notable successes.
Several local councillors attend the meetings on a regular basis and the dialogue is particularly welcome.
The relationship with the Mitcham Society continues to flourish and more joint fundraising events are being planned for the benefit of the community of the Cricket Green and its environs.
Russell Humphreys (Director/Secretary, C&H)
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