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10
Morden
Morden town centre remains surprisingly resilient
despite recent challenges for the UK’s High Streets.
A good offer of independent retailers and restaurants,
a busy transport interchange and the magnificent
Morden Hall Park are all key assets to the town.
However the poor quality streetscape, lack of
public spaces and dominance of traffic and the
bus interchange act as a barrier to investment
and regeneration.
futureMerton and Transport for London are currently
working on a development brief for the Morden Station
site and its car parks. The redevelopment of this site
will act as a catalyst for investment and change in the
town, bring new homes, retail, restaurants and high
quality public spaces to the town. A vision for Morden
town centre is already established in Merton’s Core
Planning Strategy, seeking to accommodate housing
growth in the town centre to boost the local economy.
Morden Station will be the key development site in our
plans which should go live in 2015-16.
Raynes Park
In 2012, Raynes Park was voted London's most
successful high street with one of the lowest vacancy
rates in the UK despite challenging times for our
High Streets. Successful of new development and
developer contributions has delivered over 120 new
homes, additional retail stores including Waitrose,
Sainsbury’s and Costa. A new state-of-the-art health
centre has recently opened and a hotel and new
business units is on the way. The council has completed
a major public realm and streetscape upgrade to
complement the new investment in the town.
Raynes Park also has a very active community and
business forum who have worked with the council to
ensure that Raynes Park is not only a popular commuter
suburb, but a thriving local centre in its own right.
Further investment is planned for the Rainbow
Industrial Estate to provide modern business premises,
new homes and environmental enhancements to the
Kingston Road area.
Wimbledon
Wimbledon is Merton's economic powerhouse,
containing 50% of the borough’s overall employment.
The creation of LoveWimbledon business improvement
district has strengthened the area’s business base
and brought increased events and activity to the
town centre. The council, with TfL and Network
Rail completed the Destination Wimbledon project
in 2012. The project created a new town square
outside Wimbledon Station alongside a major
de-cluttering and other streetscape improvements
along the Broadway.
Wimbledon will also benefit in future from tram
upgrades and the forthcoming Crossrail 2 line
which will see Wimbledon become a major hub in
the southwest London transport network.
There is a huge opportunity for growth in Wimbledon's
business sector over the next decade. With an
exceptional quality of life and an internationally
renowned brand, Wimbledon will become South
London's business location of choice. The opportunity
will be debated at the FutureWimbledon development
conference in September 2013 which will lead to a
business led community plan for the town.