Yes, it was a genuine proposal to cut up swathes of Surrey to build a motorway into London. And did you know, they even started building it? Hidden parts still exists – this includes part of the carriageway and an abandoned bridge that you still drive under today.
If you come off the M25 at Junction 7 heading for Carshalton you will travel towards Hooley on the M23 and pass under this large abandoned bridge. Can’t place it? – to the right just before the bridge is an old orchard surrounded by a picket fence. After the bridge, the road joins the A23 opposite the large Starbucks [fig 4.] that used to be a pub.
So when did it come about? Between 1969 and 1973 a new extension to the M23 was carefully drawn out, and this bridge was due to carry the motorway.
It would extend the motorway at this point to travel into London, from its start in Brighton. It would connect with London at Streatham and cut through Chipstead, Banstead, Beddington and Wallington.
The surface of the proposed extension can still be seen between the M23 and A23 junction – snaking off to nowhere.
The top of the bridge itself is hard to access but once there you will see a wide area of tarmac and a central reservation marked. But of course, in the end, it never served a purpose.
The road would travel along Woodmansterne Lane where Dobbies garden centre is.
At Wallington it would cut through the back gardens of houses on Sandy Lane South.
In Beddington it would pass close to Sutton’s only Grade 1 listed building, Carew Manor.
Then it would have cut directly through the area known as Beddington Farmlands.
At the time of the announcement, house prices dropped considerably in affected areas.
The plans were finally declined in 1978 by the Department for Transport. It’s hard to imagine how different our area would have been if this had gone ahead.
Thanks for reading. As you can imagine this takes considerable time and effort to put together. If you enjoyed reading it, we’d be grateful if you could add your comments and feedback below. Words and diagrams by Secret Carshalton. Please note the diagrams are indicative only and not 100% accurate. Additional credits: youtube.com/@nearlycossack9420, Roads.org.uk.
I still have an AA Greater London Atlas that shows this proposed extension to the M23 that ends near Woodmanstern. It was originaly proposed in the 1960,s to have an inner London Motorway ring and this M23 was to link to the outer ring now M25. When I was at school at Mitcham Eastfields the motorway was to come accross our playing fields within a few feet of our tower block.
Thank you for this article. Was something I was aware of whilst growing up but never had any detail. I always wondered where it was going to be routed. Indeed, whether it was a figment of my imagination!
Great article. Reminds me of the panic we all shared when we heard the news they’re planning to cut that motorway right through our neighborhood. So glad it never happened.
But I don’t think the M23 ever made it to Brighten. Doesn’t it merge w the A23 near Pyecombe?
It ends at Pease Pottage at the south end of Crawley before becoming the A23.
The end of the motorway was built. It is the 6 lanes from the Wandsworth roundabout, to join Trinity Road, heading towards Tooting Bec, beside Wandsworth Common
I moved to the Carshalton Beeches area in 1960 and took my dog to the Hackbridge Kennels. Remember it being next to the main
road.
Moved to Wallington and remember the worry about the compulsory purchase order on the houses, Foresters drive and Sandy Lane South. Great information.
A collection of some interesting comments via Facebook
“At one point our house in Sheridan Walk was up for compulsory purchase. All very scary at the time” Gill
“I still have an old A-Z somewhere with the motorway on it. There was going to be a 3 level roundabout junction, and it would cut part of mellows park off and the houses Queenswood ave” Michelle
“Driving up the M23 is so weird, the way you get forcibly shunted up a sliproad at the end and suddenly the actual motorway just stops dead” Madeline
My grandparents lived in Queenswood Avenue, Wallington. They and their neighbours received compulsory purchase order notices as their houses would have been knocked down to make way for the M23.
Apparently the large grass mounds on Mitcham Common are remnants of foundations for an elevated section of the motorway they were built, never used, and covered in earth and grassed over.
Can’t imagine how awful it must have been to get those orders, and the effect on everyone living nearby. Interesting about Mitcham Common. I wonder if any other roads were affected.