Grace Salmon is to be applauded for her letter in which she is trying to engender a positive attitude in the residents of Mitcham to  meet the challenges that Mitcham town centre faces.

However, I was at the meeting at St. Mark`s Church along with over 200 other Mitcham residents where concerns were expressed regarding the number of betting shops and related activities, fly-tipping, public drinking of alcohol, drug taking and dealing, urinating and general socially unacceptable behaviour.

And, of course, the lack of a police presence including a slow response to emergency calls because of low police numbers - the latter being due to the national problem of a fall in police numbers.

This fact was recognised by the complainants. For some people Mitcham has become a very unpleasant place to live and they were quite in order to express their worries.

Incidentally, they showed remarkable restraint in the manner in which they voiced their concerns.

I found the reporting of the meeting in the Wimbledon Guardian, on August 7, to be accurate, fair and totally unbiased.

Paul Carter

Via email

 

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