Transforming Mitcham

Description of Works
FM Conway worked in partnership with the London Borough of Merton to support a major regeneration scheme for Mitcham town centre – the largest ever project of its kind in the borough. For a number of years, Mitcham’s town centre has suffered from falling pedestrian numbers, little activity after dark and the negative impact of heavy traffic around the main shopping district. In 2012, Merton Council launched a £6.2m regeneration project called ‘Rediscover Mitcham’ to address some of these challenges.

Supported by the funding from Transport for London, the scheme transformed Mitcham town centre into a prosperous, vibrant and accessible community hub that will support local residents and businesses for many years to come. As the term maintenance contractor for Merton for over 30 years, FM Conway worked closely with the Council to deliver this exciting project.

Services used on this project Highways Maintenance

Delivering Innovation

The first phase of the six-stage project saw FM Conway refurbish the main shopping area and market place in time to deliver phase two: improving access for visitors by introducing a new bus route into the heart of the town centre.

Jonathan Delany, Project Manager at FM Conway, explained: “Improving the accessibility of Mitcham town centre is a critical part of the regeneration scheme. The new bus route from nearby Fair Green is designed to bring visitors through the heart of the newly revitalised shopping area to boost footfall.”

Jonathan continued: “Using recycled asphalt from FM Conway’s state of the art manufacturing plants, we’ve altered a number of approach junctions. We’ve also completely reconstructed Mitcham’s main highway, London Road, to withstand the weight of bus traffic and installed new drainage.

“Throughout the project we’ve made sure the materials and techniques we’re using will support the long-term performance of the asset. For the London Road works this has meant using an MOT Type One and concrete sub-base with expansion joints to prevent the road from cracking, before laying high-quality granite setts which offer an improved aesthetic finish and a more durable road surface.”

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By using high quality street furniture and materials, we’ve looked to reflect the town’s heritage and achieve a balance between traditional and contemporary designs.

Jonathan Delany - Project Manager at FM Conway

Outcomes

The FM Conway team upgraded a number of footpaths into the town centre with sandstone paving as well as introduced new cycle lanes and parking bays. FM Conway upgraded Mitcham’s street lighting using its in-house specialist lighting team and installed high specification street furniture, including new seating areas.

An important consideration of the project was to preserve the historic character of Mitcham.

Jonathan explained: “By using high quality street furniture and materials, we’ve looked to reflect the town’s heritage and achieve a balance between traditional and contemporary designs.

“We also had the opportunity to save some of Mitcham’s history ourselves. During our reconstruction works along London Road, we uncovered and managed to salvage remains from an old tram route into the town."

Paul McGarry, Head of Future Merton at Merton Council, commented:
“The rediscover Mitcham programme is a long term vision to create a thriving town centre which works for residents and businesses well into the future. As our term maintenance partner for over 30 years, FM Conway understands the challenges as well as the opportunities we face, and we look forward to working with them to create a town centre that Mitcham can be proud of.”