The History of Mitcham Garden Village
| 1930 | Mitcham Garden Village was formally opened on the 20th June 1930. The development was funded by Sir Isaac Wilson, designed by Chart, Son and Reading, and erected by local builder Charles Higginson. |
| 1937 | The Village originally comprised blocks of terraced houses but in 1937 it was resolved that all houses would be converted into flats. |
| 1947 1959 |
In 1947 it was agreed to consider the installation of electric lighting but this was deferred following the submission of an estimate for £1,200 by the County of London Electric Supply Company. At about this time, authorisation was obtained from the War Damage Commission to carry out repairs and in 1958 the scheme for electrification of the whole Village was again considered and the installation was eventually completed in July 1959 at a total cost of £2,700. |
| 1982 | In 1982 building works commenced to provide all flats with a bathroom and internal toilet. These improvements were made possible with the aid of Government Grants, the co-operation and help of Officers of the London Borough of Merton and all works were completed in 1988. |
| 1986 | In 1986 it was agreed to replace the original 'Crittal' single glazed casement windows with double glazed units and undertake the general overhaul of the exterior fabric of the buildings, thereby improving the appears of the Village as a whole. |
| 1990 | In 1990 the London Borough of Merton decided the Village be included within the Mitcham Cricket Green Conservation Area and about this time it was agreed that thirty-two of the flats be converted to self-contained units, a project that was completed four years later. |
| 1999 | In 1999, the decision to equip Village homes with night storage heating, led to a confrontation with London Electricity after the company refused to accept responsibility for the cost of upgrading the power supply infrastructure by the provision of a new electricity sub-station. In the dispute that followed, the Village was supported by ‘Offer’ the Office of the Electricity Regulator, which ultimately made headline news in the London Evening Standard. Subsequently the matter was debated in Parliament and after concerted pressure, following a judgement issued by ‘Offer’ and an intervention by the Minister of State, London Electricity agreed to upgrade the supply which enabled new electric heating to be provided to all dwellings. |
