Morden Community Forum is exploring new strategies to increase public participation following concerns about poor attendance at recent meetings. At the Morden Community Forum meeting on 22 October 2025, only five residents and five councillors were present, prompting Councillor Shuile Syeda, Deputy Mayor and chair of the Morden Community Forum, to express concern about the consistently low attendance and the need to find new methods to involve residents.

The issue was further discussed at a meeting of Merton Council on 19 November 2025, where reports from various community forums were reviewed1.

Suggestions were offered by the forum group for improving community engagement and identifying locations to reach seldom-heard groups.

Councillor Alambritis suggested that higher attendance at Community Forums in Raynes Park and Wimbledon may be attributed to planning applications being on their agenda items.

  1. See the Minutes Public Pack 22102025 Morden Community Forum for details. ↩