Pollards Hill

infobox UK place
country = England
map_type = Greater London
region= London
population=
official_name= Pollards Hill
london_borough= Croydon & Merton
constituency_westminster= Mitcham and Morden & Croydon North
post_town= LONDON & MITCHAM
postcode_area= SW
postcode_district= SW16 & CR4
dial_code= 020
os_grid_reference= TQ315695
latitude= 51.4092
longitude= -0.1083

Pollards Hill is a residential district crossing the border of the south London boroughs of Merton and Croydon between Mitcham and Norbury. It is the name of a council ward in Merton. The district is bisected by the Merton/Croydon boundary along Recreation Way. With no road connections between the Merton and Croydon portions of the district, they retain very different characteristics.

To the west (in Merton), at the foot of the hill, is the Pollard's Hill estate stretching to Mitcham Common. A section of the estate was put under the authority of MOAT housing association in 1998, which has since rebuilt four maisonette blocks dating from the 1950s. Mitcham Borough Council’s solution to the post war housing shortage was to put up pre-fabs, ‘Arcon’ bungalows at Pollards Hill. The first bungalows were ready as early as January 1946, and were meant to last about 10 years; in fact, many were still in use in the mid 1960s.

The four maisonette blocks were built by the Council in the 1950s beginning with Westmorland Square in 1950 and the final block, Bovingdon Square in 1956. The pre-fabs were mostly demolished in the 1960s, to make way for a new high density, low-rise scheme that was constructed by the Borough of Merton and Wimpey between 1967 and 1971. A new branch library and community centre was included in the estate, which at the time received a design award.

To the east (in Croydon), covering the sides of the hill are larger houses, stretching towards central Norbury. The roads are lined with pollarded lime trees.

Covering the crown of the hill is Pollards Hill Park, an open area of 7.75 acres (3.14 hectares), managed by Croydon Council.

The nearest train stations are Eastfields, Norbury railway station and Streatham Common railway station. Buses advertising 'Pollards Hill' (and road signs to Pollards Hill) take you to the western, Merton, district. The buses that serve the area are routes 60, 152 and 255.

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 September 2006 the Harris Academy opened in place of the Tamworth Manor High School, the academy is on the Merton side but right on the Croydon 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.

In recent years the area has seen a growing Ghanaian community on the Merton side, the ethnic population of both parts has grown with a large Asian community on the Croydon side. Currently the ethnic population of Pollards Hill is over 40%.

The area is represented at Westminister by Siobhain McDonagh on the Merton side and Malcolm Wicks on the Croydon side, both are Labour Party. Both sides of Pollards Hill also elected Labour Party councillors at the last Council elections in May 2006.

Inside the park

*Open grassland
*Viewpoint over Croydon.
*Football cage

Nearest places

*Norbury
*Mitcham
*Eastfields
*Thornton Heath

See also

*List of Parks and Open Spaces in Croydon
*Mitcham Common
*Cotelands

External links

* [http://www.croydon.gov.uk/leisure/parksandopenspaces/parksatoz/491772/pollardshill Croydon Council - Pollards Hill]
* [http://www.croydon.gov.uk/leisure/parksandopenspaces/parksatoz/491772/pollardshillhistory Croydon Council - Pollards Hill History]
* [http://www.commonside.net Commonside Community Development Trust]