We should like once more to draw the attention of
our readers to the admirable efforts that are being made to raise a fund for the extension of Wimbledon and Putney Commons and for saving one hundred and seventy-two acres in Kingston Vale from the builders. A sum of £52,771 is required, of which over £21,000 has already been contributed, including £10,000 from the Wimbledon Borough Council and £3,000 from the Malden and Coombe Urban District Council. The Wands- worth Borough Council decided by a narrow majority to make no grant, on the ground that the benefit would be felt by the whole of London, and that the matter was not merely one of local interest. It is felt that if there were a more satisfactory response from London at large Wands- worth would reconsider its decision. We cannot help sympathising to some extent with the attitude of the Wands- worth Council. In the parallel instances of Hampstead Heath and Epping Forest, only a small proportion of the necessary funds was raised locally, and we feel that the new project deserves just as wide a support as these. A specific gain in the case of the Wimbledon extension is that it would allow the Loudon Territorials for the first time to use both banks of the Beverley as an exercise ground, and for this reason the scheme is being supported by the City of London Territorial Force Association. Further information may be obtained from the secretary of the fund, Mr. Richardson Evans, The Keir, Wimbledon, S.W.
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