Our Aims
Character and Ambience
To help to maintain the character and ambience of this area and of Wimbledon Village having regard to its status as a Conservation Area.
BERA Community
To foster a sense of Community in the area.
Support Local Residents
To keep local residents informed about potential threats to the area and to help members to resist developments which they may consider undesirable.
Current activities include...
Engaging with local Councillors, Merton and other Residents' Associations regarding local traffic, particularly on matters of safety and through traffic.
Working with other Residents' Associations, local Councillors and our MP to represent our members' views on the proposed development of the Wimbledon Park Golf Course land by the All England Lawn Tennis Club.
Monitoring planning applications for both residential and commercial property to ensure the Village remains an area of residential character with a thriving business community
Scope of BERA
Alan Road, Arthur Road (from the mini roundabouts of St. Mary’s Road to the mini roundabout with Leopold Road), Belvedere Avenue, Belvedere Drive, Belvedere Grove, Belvedere Square, Cambisgate, Church Hill, Church Road (Village End), Clement Road, Courthope Road, Currie Hill Close, Haygarth Place, High Street (non commercial residents from Belvedere Grove to Lancaster Road), High Street Mews, Highbury Road, Lancaster Avenue, Lancaster Gardens, Lancaster Place, Lancaster Road, Leeward Gardens, Leopold Road (from Arthur Road to Ricards Lodge/Vineyard Hill Road), Old House Close, St. Aubyn’s Avenue, St. Mary’s Road, Walnut Tree Cottages, Wimbledon Hill Road (between Belvedere Drive and Belvedere Grove junctions).
Our Committe Members
Susan Cusack
BERA Chair, Planning & Licensing
Anneke de Boer
AELTC liaison
Louise Furber
Honorary Secretary
Isabel Hammond
Membership Secretary
Mark Ingham
Website co-ordinator
Maureen Vincent
Leila Moore
Treasurer
Mark Morgan
Roads
Art Mountain
Robert Thomson
History of BERA
The Association was founded in the early 1960’s. It was brought about by the grant of planning permission, and subsequent building, of the block of townhouses in Belvedere Drive, opposite the end of Belvedere Avenue. This was regarded locally as totally out of keeping (Apologies to the current owners!).
The leading light was Ben Prowse who lived in Alan Road and who, we believe, was the first Chairman. The Association had the same aims as it has today with an accent on planning matters but was fairly quiescent. Subsequent Chairmen included Michael Allen, also of Alan Road, Michael Cooke of Highbury Road, and Cathy Williams of Belvedere Avenue who was an efficient and proactive Chairwoman.
In about 2007 an approach was made to Merton Council by the BERA Committee to close roads in the Belvedere Estate in order to reduce traffic which had increased as a result of the effective closure of Woodside at its junction with Wimbledon Hill. The members of BERA were not consulted on this matter or communicated to. Sadly this issue has caused divisions within the community and resulted in splintering of the residents association. Since then, there has been considerable council money spent, consultants engaged and experimental schemes put in place and removed.
Our hope is of course that we can heal these divisions, manage traffic in the area to the benefit of all residents and continue to focus as one community on the many other matters that the residents associations deal with.
- Compiled from the recollections of current and former committee members