Demolition vehicles have been making short work of pulling down the Cricketers pub in Mitcham.

The pub, built in 1958, has been the subject of various different planning proposals over the years. The area is within the Mitcham Cricket Green Conservation Area and is an Archaeological Priority Zone.

Plans for development of the site have been rejected by planning committees four times since 2010.

The latest proposal, to build a three storey block containing 10 flats, was finally approved at the beginning of this year.

Several different designs for the flats had been rejected by councillors. The final design uses bricks similar to that of nearby Vestry Hall and the fire station.

Wimbledon Times:
Plans that have been proposed, and then rejected, for the site

Tony Burton is one of the trustees of Mitcham Cricket Green Community and Heritage group, which has been part of local resistance to plans. He said: "For the last five years there has been a long planning dispute with councillors strongly resisting the giving of planning permission by officers, and they have been standing firm.

"The final design is the most modest. They are not particularly welcomed, but they are not the worst."