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SECTION A.
STATISTICS AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE AREA.
Area (in acres) 3,238
Number of inhabited houses according to
Rate Books 21,938
Rateable value at 31st December, 1950 £675,628
Sum represented by Id. rate £2,730
The Urban District of Merton and Morden, now one of the
largest Urban Districts in the country, owes its origin to the separation
of the Parishes of Merton and Morden from the Croydon
Rural District Council; first Merton in 1907 to form the Merton
Urban District Council, and later Morden, in 1913, amalgamated
with Merton to form the present Urban District. Their combined
populations at that time was 16,767 persons, and there were 3,646
houses in the area, of which 86 were empty. The growth of the
district has been by the building of houses and the impetus given
to building by important local events. Study of the table on page
16 showing the population growth reveals the effect of these events
on the fillip given to the rising population. From the year 1913
until 1926 the rise is gradual — an average of 230 per year.
The population had grown from 17,000 to 20,000 and the houses
from 3,646 to 5,689: that year 621 houses had been built by
private enterprise according to the Medical Officer's report for that
year, and he further observes that the Council were contemplating
building a further 100 non-parlour type houses on the Whatley
Estate. The Council in 1922 and 1923 had erected 436 houses,
but throughout these years the observation is recorded "there is a
shortage of houses in the district".
In 1926 the extension of the City and South London tube to
Morden was completed and in 1929 the L.C.C. housing estate at
Morden was begun. During those 13 years building by private
enterprise and by local authority effort was going on side by side.
Over 15,000 houses had been built and the population had reached
the peak figure of 72,150 in 1939—a figure which was not regained
until 1946. From that year the population figures resumed
their upward trend, and they have not yet reached their final peak.
Such is the residential development of Merton and Morden.
But it would be erroneous to assume that the district is a purely
residential one; it is in fact the largest industrial town in the
County of Surrey and it is owing to the forethought and care given
to the planning of the factory sites that this fact remains unobtrusive.
There are several large factories in the area, e.g. the
Tri-Ang toy factory employing over 4,000 persons. There are in
fact three factories employing over 500 persons. In addition to
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