Saving Atkinson Morley's Hospital Green Space
 and Working for a Greener London

Morley Park: The Council Cabinet again deferred their discussion about the management of the new Morley Park. It is now on the agenda for 16th January.

Atkinson Morley and Firs built development: The Section 106 agreement, which sets the conditions attached to the planning approval has now been signed.  The terms specified in the Section 106 include the specifications for the works Berkeley homes will do to the open land before they hand the freehold of the new park over to the Council. This means that construction work on the hospital and Firs sites can now start. Work can also start on the demolition and rebuilding of the sports pavilion and cottage at the southern end of the open land. We will let you know as soon as we get an update on Berkeley Homes work schedule. 
 

LUNG believe that management of the whole park by a Community Trust will be a much better approach than the standard Council format. This is explained in our proposal which has been submitted to the Cabinet Members.

Proposal for management of the park by a Community Trust (Morley Park Trust).

The new Localism Act will give local residents' groups the right to insist that councils give their proposals for managing local resources serious consideration, and the Merton Labour party manifesto said they would encourage the use of Community Trusts to run local resources. This scheme is an opportunity to convert these political aims into a local reality.

Council officers have submitted their paper for the Cabinet Meeting. It is a negative report, recommending that the management of Morley Park should be retained by the Council, instead of being entrusted to a Community Trust (Morley Park Trust).

Council officers' report (published 23rd Nov 2011)

LUNG has responded to the officers’ report.  We are particularly disappointed that council officers have completely ignored the obligations under the new Localism Act and indeed fail to even inform the Cabinet of the existence of the Act.  You will see from our proposal that we have a strong team prepared to donate their services to the Trust and a detailed analysis of the expected costs and potential income.

The link below is to a plan of the whole Atkinson Morley site with an explanation of which parts of it will be included in the new park. 

Morley Park map
 

Click here for the first Berkeley Homes newsletter to residents outlining the schedule of works to be done on the site over the next few months. It tells us that the development on both the hospital and Firs site is to be known as Wellington Gate. This is presumably a reference to the second Duke of Wellington who lived at Prospect Place for a few years in the 1850s, having bought it from Charles Pepys (Earl of Cottenham).

Prospect Place was pulled down when the site was bought by St Georges Hospital in 1863.

Overall, we feel the outcome is very positive for both the built and open land parts of the site. 

The approved plans include restoration of the open land, much of which will become a new public open space ('Morley Park') incorporating 3 sports pitches and a pavilion.

Much of what the community has been fighting for over several decades will finally be achieved, but we still need your support to ensure there is a sustainable plan for the proposed park.

Click here for further details of the plan

Click here for archived background information