Wimbledon moves one step closer to major expansion amid bitter planning row

28 October 2023 , 07:00

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The All England Club's plans were approved despite protests

A major expansion of Wimbledon has moved a step closer after the All England Club gained planning permission from the local council, despite strong opposition from local residents.

Merton Council voted by a 6-4 majority to approve the plans to build an 8,000-seater show court and 38 other grass courts on the former site of Wimbledon Park Golf Club. As Mirror Sport reported in July, the plans are hugely contentious with a petition against the idea gaining 13,285 signatures and the council receiving 2,000 letters of objection.

The decision to move forward with the plans, which will almost triple the size of the site, came after midnight at the end of a four-hour meeting. The meeting was adjourned abruptly after a protestor told councillors they should "hang their heads in shame" for approving a "climate crime scene".

A spokesperson for the London Borough of Merton said: “After considering the officer’s report, relevant submissions, and the relevant planning framework, the independent planning committee, made up of councillors from all parties, voted to approve the application made by the All England Lawn Tennis Ground (AELTG) for expansion of its site at Wimbledon.

“There are further stages in the planning process and the land remains subject to covenants contained in the transfer of 1993 from the Council to AELTG. Until these covenants are properly addressed by AELTG they operate to restrict the use and development of the land as proposed in the planning application.”

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The All England Club bought the land, which is across the road from their current site, from Merton Council in 1993 for £5.1million and, in 2018, offered Wimbledon Park Golf Club £65m to end its lease early – a decision which handed club members, including Ant and Dec and Piers Morgan £85,000 each.

The proposed 8,000-seat Parkland show court and the surrounding area (Allies & Morrison / AELTC)

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Fleur Anderson, Labour MP for Putney, Southfields and Roehampton, told Mirror Sport in July that the plans were “a land grab for an industrial development”, dismissing the inclusion of a 23-acre public park as window dressing. Stephen Hammond, the Conservative MP for Wimbledon, has described the plans as "inappropriate" and wants a revised application which would benefit the community more.

Around 75 members of The Save Wimbledon Park group protested outside the meeting. The group objects to the huge scale of the plans and hopes a covenant that prevents building on the Grade II listed parkland could still come to the rescue. The 1993 covenant prevents the use of the land other “than for leisure or recreation purposes or as an open space”.

The All England Club wants to build 38 new grass courts (Allies & Morrison / AELTC)

Lib Dem Wimbledon councillor Paul Kohler said he was “disappointed but not surprised” with the decision, which came “despite the overwhelming opposition of residents, civic societies and environmental organisations”. He has called for an extraordinary meeting of the council to discuss the covenant on the land.

Anderson tweeted: “I am very disappointed that Merton Council have NOT listened to local people and voted in favour of the Wimbledon Tennis industrial scale development on protected, Grade II listed Metropolitan Open Land. Our green spaces are precious and should be protected.”

All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton told the meeting the plans would deliver “one of the biggest sporting transformations for London since the 2012 Olympics”. The AELTC wants more courts so they can bring qualifying on-site, as well as improve the tournament proper by spreading out matches.

Felix Keith