Merton Council has secured £150,000 from private developers to create a business support fund to help Mitcham businesses attract new customers and create more activity in the town centre. 

Mitcham Town Centre has huge potential, and this new business support fund will help to unlock it and offer more to local people. Alongside other interventions such as Mitcham Market, the new bandstand, free exercise classes and events on Fair Green, and a new Town Centre Manager to work directly with local businesses, Merton Council is working hard with its partners in the community to make Mitcham an even better place to visit and do businesses for everyone.  

Local businesses will now be invited to work with the Town Centre Manager to identify how this new funding could help their business to flourish. The fund will focus on small investments that help unlock big changes – creating new experiences, increasing footfall, encouraging people to spend more time in the town centre and helping businesses to work together to make more happen in Mitcham. 

Potential projects could include a pub buying equipment to start serving food, a business getting help to pay for licensing for a new event, or a retailer investing in a new shopfront signage. 

Councillor Ross Garrod, Leader of Merton Council, said:

“I love Mitcham. It’s where I grew up, and I know the potential this place has. I want to help unlock that potential, and the funding we have secured from private developers to support local businesses will do just that. I can’t wait to see the ideas our local businesses come up with to bring more life to Mitcham’s streets.  

“We’re only able to offer this golden chance to revitalise the town centre because we secured a great deal for Mitcham residents and businesses when granting planning permission for new homes being built in the area. This is really important because we want development to benefit everyone by providing much needed housing for local people, and making Mitcham Town Centre better at the same time.” 

Mitcham’s Town Centre Manager will be visiting local businesses to encourage them to apply for funding, but if you’re interested you can also reach out by emailing regeneration@merton.gov.uk

These projects will be funded by money that the council negotiated from developers as a condition of house building projects around Mitcham. Known as a Section 106 agreement, arrangements like these make sure that local residents and businesses feel the benefit of the developments being built in their area.