Merton council to spend £300K on plans approved by its failed development company

By Tara O’Connor, Local Democracy Reporter

Merton council is to spend £300,000 updating plans approved under its failed development company.

Councillors approved the extra cash in a special cabinet meeting which lasted just eight minutes on Wednesday night.

The authority closed down Merantun Development Ltd in January 2021 after investing more than £2million into it.

The company never actually built any homes but did receive planning permission for 93 homes across four sites.

Schemes in Canons Place, Raleigh Gardens and Elm Nursery in Mitcham and Farm Road in Morden were all approved in 2020.

Since then, there have been policy changes – Merton council will now spend £300,000 bringing them up to date.

At the meeting, cabinet member for finance, Councillor Billy Christie, said the council was taking the “urgent and necessary steps to deliver affordable housing here in Merton”.

And fellow Labour councillor Andrew Judge, member for housing, said: “There is a housing crisis in Merton, and we have 9,500 people on the housing waiting list. That is people who don’t have decent or affordable homes, aren’t able to feel the security or pleasure that comes from having your own home.

“This isn’t a crisis that can be solved easily but in Merton we are doing our utmost to address it. We have land owned by the council that is surplus to our requirements, and we have these four sites that were granted planning permission two years ago.

“We are informally resolving to ensure that those schemes are built out with urgency.  Whether we build the homes ourselves or in partnership with a housing associations there is first architectural work to be done which we estimate will cost £300,000.”

The new updated plans should be completed by March 2023.

Pictured top: CGI of the plan for 21 new flats on the Elm Nursery car park in Mitcham (Picture: Merantun Development Ltd)