Residents have complained about the number of planning decisions that allow small houses to be converted into even smaller flats. People have raised concerns about the effect this has on local communities, where a rapidly increasing population can place a strain on local facilities and cause more problems with parking.

Merton Liberal Democrat Anthony Fairclough said

"Obviously developers will want to build flats when there's a demand for them. But the council should be able to take local residents' concerns into account.
New planning rules are currently being developed, which should include proposals dealing with this."