Council Push Morden Regeneration Back to 2041: Lib Dems Demand Change
Merton Lib Dems have slammed Merton’s Labour Council for extending the timetable for Morden Town Centre regeneration again, pushing back the project to the 2040s - doing so beneath the radar without any formal announcement. This follows the Council’s failure to attend a key meeting with the Housing Minister in July, arranged by Wimbledon’s Lib Dem MP Paul Kohler, to inject urgency into the long-delayed project. The Council also voted down Merton Lib Dems’ proposal to allocate £4m of unspent funds (currently doing nothing in capital reserves) to begin regeneration work from next year.
Labour-run Merton Council has once again promised a “bold vision” for regenerating Morden town centre, but the project due to start in 2029 has now been delayed until, at best, the 2040s.
This comes after the Council ducked out of a key meeting with Housing Minister Alex Norris MP in July, organised by Wimbledon’s Liberal Democrat MP Paul Kohler, to try and drive progress forward. Despite signalling they would attend, the Council pulled out at the last minute, claiming the discussion was “premature.”
Labour have been promising to regenerate Morden town centre for decades and more recently in 2019 actually went as far as to pledge they’d find a private sector partner, but nothing has come of it. Six years on, there is still no partner, no land referencing completed, no affordable housing targets, and no formal role for TfL, which owns the most important site in the area.
Meanwhile, Labour councillors voted down a Lib Dem proposal to retain £4 million of regeneration funding in the 2026/27 budget, proof they lack any serious plan to deliver for Morden.
At the ministerial meeting Council failed to attend, Paul Kohler highlighted the urgent need for progress. The Housing Minister has since pledged to work with Mr Kohler and TfL, but made clear moving forward depends on the Council finally stepping up.
Commenting, Paul Kohler MP said:
“After more than 20 years of excuses, it’s no wonder there is such deep frustration in Morden. Labour are rehashing ancient promises in the hope residents will fall for it. They finally pledged to find a regeneration partner back in 2019, but nothing came of it, and have left Morden in limbo ever since.
“They have actively blocked progress in Morden's regeneration by refusing to attend the meeting with the Housing Minister and voting down Merton Lib Dems’ proposal to invest £4 million in 2026/27.”
“With the local elections coming up, the Liberal Democrats are the only party with a serious plan to unlock Morden's full potential.”
ENDS
Merton Council’s plans are detailed here and here.
Paul’s question in the chamber requesting the meeting with the Housing Minister can be found here.
Further reading on Merton Lib Dems’ local campaign, backed by Paul, here.
On 11th November 2019, Cabinet resolved “to procure a third party development partner to jointly deliver the [Morden] regeneration scheme.”
The new Cabinet Report says, "the overall development and regeneration of Morden Town centre will be delivered over a 10-15 year period". The Report in 2019 said, "The regeneration was a priority for the Council and would be delivered over a 10 year period." They promised it would be done by 2029, now they're promising 2041 (2026+15).