Merton Council’s cabinet agreed the Morden Station planning brief this week.
The council produced the planning brief in partnership with the main landowner, Transport for London, to attract interest from developers and to guide any future redevelopment proposals for Morden station and its surrounding sites.
The planning brief highlights development opportunities and provides detailed planning guidance to boost developers’ confidence in investing in Morden. The site includes Morden Station and related car parks, Sainsbury’s and the building above it and Kenley Road car park.
Responses from residents and businesses to the council’s consultation in November 2013 have been evaluated; key issues which were raised include building height, types of shops, parking, different types of housing and community facilities. The planning brief was amended to reflect the issues raised.
The vision builds on the council’s moreMorden consultation in 2008/9 and the adoption of the council’s vision for Morden, through the Core Planning Strategy 2011 and updated site designations in Merton’s Local Plan 2014.
Merton Council cabinet member for environmental sustainability and regeneration Councillor Andrew Judge said: “These are exciting times for Morden. We have been working with TfL to create a viable planning brief which would allow development on the site that would be the catalyst for the regeneration of the whole town centre. The responses we had to our consultation before Christmas are very useful in helping guide our decisions on how Morden will look and what it will offer in the future.
“We want the people who live and work here to be happy and proud of Morden. The town is on the Tube and is a great transport hub which should be advantageous to the prosperity of the town centre. We already have some developer interest in the site thanks to our pro-active planning work. We want to see Morden flourish for businesses and the local community alike.”
Merton’s planning brief can be found at: merton.gov.uk/moreMorden
-ENDS-