A survey by Merton Council has revealed the difference in perceptions of Wimbledon residents to those in Mitcham and Morden.

The residents' survey asked 1,020 people over the age of 18 their views on the borough. 252 interviews were carried out with 11 to 17 year olds in the same households.

By constituency, whilst most Mitcham and Morden residents are satisfied with their local area as a place to live (89 per cent), satisfaction levels were "significantly" lower compared to Wimbledon (96 per cent).

The report says that after dark, Mitcham and Morden residents are "significantly" less likely, compared to Wimbledon, to feel safe. 82 per cent of residents said they felt safe at night in Mitcham and Morden, compared to 88 per cent in Wimbledon.

The lower levels of perceived safety in Mitcham and Morden are driven chiefly by responses in Lavender Fields, Pollards Hill and Figge's Marsh wards, the results say.

Merton Council cabinet member for finance Councillor Mark Allison said:"The survey shows that residents in Mitcham and Wimbledon feel safer than those in the rest if the UK and I'm delighted Sadiq Khan is reversing the police cuts we saw under the previous Conservative mayor, with more local bobbies on the beat across the borough."

Respondents were also read a list of neighbourhood issues and asked to rate the

extent to which these are problems in their local area. Of the issues listed, residents described rubbish or litter as one of the biggest problems.

Mitcham and Morden residents were significantly more likely to report noisy neighbours or loud parties, people using or dealing drugs, and groups hanging around the streets. These issues were most common with residents of Ravensbury, St Helier and Cricket Green wards.

On the subject of council services, responses were least positive in relation to street cleaning, where 53 per cent rated the services as very good or good, parking services, where only 50 per cent highly rated the service, and road and pavement repairs, in which 48 per cent gave the service top ratings.

When asked how much of a problem litter was in their local area, 63 per cent of residents said they did not think it was a problem and 37 per cent said it was a fairly big or very big problem.

Respondents were interviewed between February 9 to March 5 this year, prior to the handing over of waste collection and street cleaning by the South London Waste Partnership to Veolia.

Councillor Allison said: “Getting record levels of approval from residents is very pleasing, but as local people ourselves what’s most satisfying is seeing how much pride there is in our community.

“But this survey also helps us to see where we need to improve, and after decades of black bags splitting and leaving litter we agree with residents that it’s time to act. Wheelie bins are not everyone’s cup of tea, but we have to listen to what people say, and they will reduce litter, could contribute to nearly £2 million savings per year and are the businesslike approach.

“Residents also need to know that, although we can’t be on every corner, we will have staff on the street, taking a zero tolerance approach to those who litter or fly tip, because we want families to be proud of where they live.

The rest of the results can be found here.