Wimbledon’s plans for expansion dealt blow after council refusal،
LONDON, Nov 21 — Representatives of the All England Tennis Club, host of Wimbledon, said they were disappointed after the London borough of Wandsworth on Tuesday refused planning permission for a massive expansion.
The plans, including 39 new grass courts and an 8,000-seat showcourt in adjacent Wimbledon Park, had been given the green light by the London Borough of Merton, but Wandsworth’s planning committee refused them.
The decision will now be reviewed by the London Mayor’s office.
“Naturally, we are disappointed by the decision of the London Borough of Wandsworth,” Sally Bolton, chief executive of the All England Club, said in a statement. “Our proposals will bring one of the biggest sporting transformations to London since 2012, as well as substantial benefits for the local community.”
Only a small part of the AELTC’s plans fall under Wandsworth, but both councils needed to give the green light for the ambitious plans to go ahead.
Wandsworth planning officers earlier this month recommended councilors oppose the development, arguing it would “cause substantial harm to the opening of metropolitan open land”.
A post from the London Borough of Wandsworth on X, formerly Twitter, confirmed the decision: “Wandsworth planning committee votes to refuse plans to expand tennis at Wimbledon.”
Local residents and environmental groups also objected, with 14,000 people signing a petition to stop the plans which would include the felling of 300 trees – although the AELTC noted more than 1,000 trees would be planted.
A large crowd of protesters stood outside Wandsworth Town Hall on Tuesday as councilors made their decision.
The All England Club has transformed its facilities over the past two decades, but the fact that the Wimbledon qualifying competition would have to be held off-site, several miles away, was one of the factors driving its expansion.
In 2018, the AELTC’s £65 million bid for Wimbledon Park Golf Club was accepted by members.
The tennis club says its expansion plans would effectively return private land to the public.
“We firmly believe that the AELTC Wimbledon Park project delivers significant social, economic and environmental improvements, including the transformation of 23 acres of previously private land into a new public park, as well as hundreds of jobs and tens of millions of pounds sterling of economic benefits for our neighbors in Wandsworth. , Merton and across London,” Bolton said.
“Given the council’s split decision, with the London Borough of Merton deciding to approve our application last month, our planning application will now be referred to the Mayor of London’s office for consideration.”
Lawmaker Stephen Hammond, who represents the Wimbledon constituency, said he was happy Wandsworth had refused the plans.
“I think this demand is too big and very difficult to justify,” he told the Daily Mail. “It’s not clear that you need 39 courts, it’s not clear that they need to build a show court of the size they’re talking about, and it’s not clear that they’ve thought about a building in the public park.”
