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estate should not thereby be diminished, the Council decided on 5th February, 1929,
to make a compulsory Order for the acquisition of about 89 acres of land, between
the north-west boundary of the estate and Morden railway station of the London
Electric Railway, the Council in its choice of the additional land being influenced by
the desirability of providing direct access from the estate to the railway station.
After a local inquiry the compulsory Order was confirmed by the Minister of
Health in June, 1929.
The Council on 30th July, 1929, approved an estimate of £595,000 for the
development of the second (south-western) section of the estate by the erection of
about 960 houses and flats, and on 3rd December, 1929, it decided to proceed with
the development of the third (northern) section, namely, the portion covered by the
compulsory Order of 1929, by the erection of about 948 houses at an estimated cost
of £572,000.
In consequence of the decision to dispose of the land to the west of the Wimbledon
to Sutton railway and of amendments of the lay-out, the number of houses to
be erected on the first (central) section of the estate has been reduced from 2,940 to
2,462, and the estimated cost of the development of that section from £1,764,000 to
£1,490,000.
In connection with the development of its cottage estates it has been the general
practice of the Council to reserve sites for leasing for the erection of shops by private
enterprise. The Council has, however, erected some shops at Becontree and other
estates and it has decided to undertake, through its contractors, the erection at
St. Helier estate of a number of shops, commercial garages and workshops. Proposals
were approved by the Council on 3rd December, 1929, for the provision of a
first instalment of 14 shops with living accommodation over them, 12 lock-up
garages and 12 lock-up workshops at an estimated cost of £38,000
Open spaces, playing fields, etc., to a total of approximately 120 acres, have
been reserved on the estate as follows:—An area, about 29 acres, adjoining the River
Wandle (this was conveyed during the year to the Carshalton Urban District
Council, free of charge); a wooded area, about 12 acres, between the north-eastern
boundary of the estate and Greenwrythe-lane; an area, about 50 acres, between
Greenwrythe-lane and Wrythe-lane, which it is proposed to sell to the National
Playing Fields Association, a private donor having made a gift of money to the
Association for the purchase; an area, about 17 acres, for playing-fields to the southwest
of Green-lane, some part of which could be made available for London scholars;
and a wooded area of about 11 acres between the Sutton by-pass road and Londonroad.
Small greens and shrubberies will also be formed as part of the lay-out of the
areas to be developed by the erection of houses, etc. There are also within the confines
of the Council's land, but not forming part of the estate itself, the recreation
ground, about 20 acres, of the Merton and Morden Urban District Council, and a sports
ground, about 10 acres, purchased for the staff of a London newspaper. In close
proximity to the estate areas of about 70, 99 and 17 acres have been acquired, or
are proposed to be acquired by other bodies for open spaces purposes.
During the year a small strip of land on the south side of Central-road was
surrendered to the public way for a widening of that thoroughfare.
Sites were let on lease for 99 years for an electricity transformer station and for
a doctor's residence, respectively.
Arrangements were also made as regards the disposal of the 78 acres of
land west of the Wimbledon to Sutton railway. The Council on 12th March and
9th July, 1929, agreed to lease about 17 acres of this land to the trustees of the
Douglas Haig Memorial Homes for 999 years at a nominal rent of £1 a year for the
erection of about 170 houses and, probably, a tenants' hall. The houses are to be
let to disabled ex-service officers and men and the widows and dependents of exofficers,
and the rents are to be fixed at amounts showing no interest on the capital
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