Sign up to our free sports newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing
Sign up to our free sports email for all the latest news
Sign up to our free sports email for all the latest news
Ambitious expansion plans by All England Club will go before a public hearing Friday at City Hall London Deputy Mayor Jules Pipe recommends approving the construction of 39 new courts Wimbledon park.
Earlier this month, a report from officials Greater London Authority (GLA) said that while the “very significant” economic benefits and enhancing the Wimbledon brand are two reasons why conditional planning permission should be granted, “there are no material considerations to justify refusing consent.” It is believed”.
The All England Club bought the lease of neighboring Wimbledon Park Golf Club in 2018 for a reported £65 million.
Initial redevelopment plans – including another show court with 8,000-seat capacity and a retractable roof – were accepted by Merton Council in October 2023 after a lengthy late-night planning committee meeting, subject to certain conditions .
Across the site – which also includes Wimbledon Park Lake and a section of Church Road – designated North and South Player Hubs will be created, as well as a new 23-acre public park.
The grounds will almost triple in size and allow Wimbledon to host qualifying tournaments in SW19 rather than a few miles away from their current home in Roehampton.
Completion is projected for 2030, which will increase championship capacity from 42,000 to 50,000 and also provide “heritage open space, recreational and community-related benefits”.
However, the £200m project fell into doubt when Wandsworth Council, some of whose land was included in the application, later announced that it intended to reject it.
A revised bid was submitted to the GLA in May 2024, and the decision now rests with the Deputy Mayor – Mayor of London Sadiq Khan was not involved in publicly supporting the initial plans in 2021.
Regardless of the decision made by Pipe, which could come after Friday’s public hearing, the Deputy Prime Minister angela rainer The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government – will still have seven days to approve or reject the application.
Many local groups, residents and politicians have opposed the proposal, saying it is too large for the area and would cause significant environmental damage.
About 2,000 trees are expected to be removed in approximately 75 acres of Metropolitan Open Land, which is intended to be preserved as a landscape, recreation, nature conservancy or area of scientific interest.
The All England Club says the project “delivers significant social, economic and environmental improvements”.
Paul Kohler, the Liberal Democrat MP for Wimbledon, said in a statement on Twitter, supported by other local politicians, that if Pipe approved plans to “transform the majority of Wimbledon Park into a concrete industrial tennis complex”, he would be “completely Will be showing contempt from “the people of Wimbledon”
The Save Wimbledon Park group intends to appear “in force” at City Hall ahead of the start of Friday’s public hearing.
“There is a huge amount of animosity and bitterness because the risk of loss of this open space – which is vital to people’s well-being and recreation – is so significant,” SWP spokesman Christopher Coombe told PA.
“This land has been protected forever, never built on – the decision to approve this application will lose it forever.”