Colliers Wood is located in South West London, in the London Borough of Merton. It is predominantly a residential area, but also has a busy high street, which is located around Colliers Wood tube station. This bustling street offers residents the choice of lots of different places to eat, as well as a plethora of local attractions and historic sites! The neighbourhood is well served for transport as it takes around 30 minutes to get to London Bridge.

Colliers Wood is named after a local wood that was located to the east of Colliers Wood High Street. By the 18th century the area was used as a tollgate, sited at the current tube station, which popularised the village, coming to be known as Singlegate; the local primary school is named after the Colliers Wood tollgate. The area also has an industrial history, from corn mills to printing textiles. In recent history, Colliers Wood has grown in popularity, which is made evident by the large amount of housing that has been erected in the area.

In 1881 famous British artist and designer, William Morris, opened up a printing factory in local Merton Abbey Mills. Another interesting fact is that one of the Romans’ famously straight roads, Stane Steet, which connects London to Chichester, was located on what is now Colliers Wood High Street.

Thousands of books borrowed from Merton libraries, including Colliers Wood, are not returned each year, and the Council has said they will not replace them unless they are asked. Another downside of the area is that a fifth of all of London murders can be linked back to Merton, with Colliers Wood having the third highest rate of knife crime in the Borough.

TFL has revealed plans to extend the Croydon tram network to areas including Colliers Wood; this move will be able to support up to 10,000 new homes. That said, plans for the initiative have suffered a number of delays and uncertainties. While TfL backs the project, its had trouble procuring the funds for it. In 2018, the closed Toys R Us, located in Colliers Wood, was reopened as a big Aldi, following its success in receiving planning permission by the local council. Just next door, a multi-storey car park was demolished and is currently awaiting development proposals. It has suggested by the council that in its place a tower building should be built, filled with residential units on the upper floors, and retail as well as office spaces be designated for its ground floor units. Just beside this site, a modern development by the name ‘Britannia Point’ was completed in 2017. It is also a mixed-use development with all residential units occupied, a testament to the area’s increasing attractiveness. A recently completed development is the refurbishment and redevelopment of Colliers Wood Tower, situated opposite of the tube station. As London keeps expanding and more people move out of the city centre, this neighbourhood is likely to see even more developments.