Pollards Hill is a small residential district straddling the

south London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

boroughs of

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

and Merton between

Mitcham Mitcham is an area within the London Borough of Merton in South London, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross. Originally a village in the county of Surrey, today it is mainly a residential suburb, and includes Mitcham Common. It ...

Norbury Norbury is an List of areas of London, town and suburb in south London. It shares the postcode London SW16 with neighbouring Streatham. The area is mainly in the borough of Croydon London Borough Council, Croydon, with some parts extending int ...

and

Thornton Heath Thornton Heath is a district of South London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon. It is around north of the town of Croydon, and south of Charing Cross. Prior to the creation of Greater London in 1965, Thornton Heath was in the Coun ...

. The boundary of the two boroughs is a street named Recreation Way. No roads directly cross the Croydon/Merton divide, and streets were planned according to each borough, leading to differing architectural or building schemes. Pollards Hill lends its name to a ward of the London Borough of Merton.

History

Mitcham Borough Council (MBC) dissolved in 1965 on incorporation into London. It helped to meet the post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

housing shortage, wrought by the

London Blitz London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...

, by building prefabricated ‘Arcon’ bungalows at Pollards Hill. The first were ready by January 1946, meant to last about 10 years. Many remained until the mid-1960s. The pre-fabs were mostly demolished in the 1960s, to make way for a new, high density, low-rise scheme that was constructed by Merton London Borough Council and Wimpey Homes between 1967 and 1971. Separately, four landmark maisonette blocks were built by MBC in the 1950s on Yorkshire Road: Westmorland Square (1950), Castleton Road (1956) and between those years Hertford Way and Berkshire Way. A branch library and community centre were built, which received a design award.

Governance

Councillors

Both sides of Pollards Hill elected Labour Party councillors at the last Council elections in May 2022. At present in the local government re-warding process used nationally for the regular election of a delegation of councillors, it lends its name to a ward of the Merton.

UK elections (general elections and by-elections)

The Merton and Croydon areas in Pollards Hill have, since 1992 and 1997 respectively, seen their respective seats in London, wholly dependent by borough, return Labour MPs. The area has been represented by the Streatham and Croydon North and Mitcham and Morden constituencies since 2024, as a result of the

2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies The 2023 review of Westminster constituencies was the most recent cycle of the process to redraw the Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency map for the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The new constituency b ...

. In all elections since 1997, the two seats have returned Labour majorities greater than 28%.

Geography

To the east (in Croydon), covering the sides of the hill, are larger houses, stretching towards central

. The roads are lined with pollarded lime trees. To the west (in Merton), at the foot of the hill, is the Pollards Hill estate stretching to Broad Green and Purley Way. A section of the estate was transferred to the ownership of Moat Homes

housing association In Ireland and the United Kingdom, housing associations are private, Non-profit organization, non-profit organisations that provide low-cost "Public housing in the United Kingdom, social housing" for people in need of a home. Any budget surpl ...

in 1998 under a stock transfer from the local authority. Moat has since demolished four maisonette blocks dating from the 1950s and is undertaking a wider regeneration of the stock. Covering the crown of the hill is Pollards Hill Park, an open area of 7.75 acres (3.14 hectares), managed by Croydon Council, to whom it was donated in 1913. The park is the highest point in the Norbury area and can give views as far as

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

. A viewpoint at the top of the park indicates the direction of various landmarks.

Education

In September 2006, Harris Academy Merton opened on the former site of Tamworth Manor High School. The academy is on the Merton side but right on the

border. Tamworth Manor High School was originally Pollards Hill Secondary Modern School built in the 1950s, which became a comprehensive school, Pollards Hill High School, in 1968.

Transport

The nearest railway stations are Norbury railway station and Streatham Common railway station & Thornton Heath railway station. Bus routes 60, 255 serve the eastern Croydon area & Buses 152, 463 serve the western merton area.

Demography

Pollards Hill is home to the largest Ghanaian British community in the UK on the Merton side according to the 2011 census, with 6% of the population and over 600 people born in Ghana. It has a large

British Asian British Asians (also referred to as Asian Britons) are British people of Asian people, Asian descent. They constitute a significant and growing minority of the people living in the United Kingdom, with a population of 5.76 million people or 8.6 ...

population on the Croydon side, and the area is home to many other different nationalities.

Culture and community

Pollards Hill on the Merton side also contains a wide range of community facilities including a library, community centre, youth centre and a neighbourhood police station, the first in Merton. In 2005, a community cycling club was set up with help from the Commonside Trust. It won the London Cycling Campaigns' award for Best Community Cycling Initiative in 2006.

References

External links

Croydon Council - Pollards HillCroydon Council - Pollards Hill History
{{London Districts Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Croydon Districts of the London Borough of Croydon Districts of the London Borough of Merton Hills of London