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SECTION A.
STATISTICS AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF THE AREA
Area (in acres) 3,238
Population (Census 1961) 67,974
Population 1963 (Registrar-General's Estimate) 67,090
Number of inhabited houses (according to Rate
Books) 22,618
Rateable Value (as at 31st December, 1963) £3,955,192
Sum represented by 1d. Rate £5,596
The Urban District of Merton and Morden dates from the amalgamation
of Merton with Morden in 1913. It lies in the valley of the
Thames and is one of the areas of the so-called 'Outer Ring', that is to
say, part of Greater London within the Metropolitan police district,
but outside the Administrative County. The district is generally flat and
sheltered, lying between the 42ft. and 141 ft. ordnance datum levels; it
is drained by the River Wandle, the Beverley and Pyl Brooks, all
tributaries of the Thames. With the exception of a belt of sand or
alluvium in the north-eastern part running through Merton Park, the
rest of the district has a subsoil of clay.
The area is both residential and industrial, the industrial area
comprising three main factory groups, the largest of which is the
Lombard Road Estate on the north-eastern boundary, The greater
portion of housing of the distrct is owner-occupied, but the Council
owns and manages a pre-war housing estate of some 500 houses and
has built several large four-storey blocks of flats scattered in various
parts of the district to meet the post-war housing need. A considerable
part of Morden is formed of the London County Council St. Helier
Housing Estate.
The residential part of the district is part London dormitory and
partly and increasingly occupied by residents engaged in industry or
business within the area, but a very large number of workers come into
the area daily from other areas, chiefly for work in the factories.
There were 178 factories on the register at the end of the year,
including several large factories, e.g. the Tri-ang Group of toy factories
employing over 3,000 persons. There are, in fact, four factories
employing over 400 persons. The brand names of many products from
Merton and Morden factories are house-hold words throughout the land.
The district is indeed fortunate in having at its disposal some 368
acres of open spaces, in fourteen different parks, providing an even
distribution of recreational facilities throughout the area.
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