A local campaign group is taking legal action to stop the expansion of the All England Lawn and Tennis Club (AELTC), as the row over the future of Wimbledon reignited on Monday.
Save Wimbledon Park (SWP) said it has made submissions to the Greater London Authority arguing for a judicial review of plans to convert a swathe of the former Wimbledon Golf Club into a vastly expanded grand slam venue. The protest group says it has taken this “momentous” decision to stop “inappropriate” development of the 29-hectare (73 acres) site.
The move comes after the decision by the mayor of London’s office to approve planning permission for the development in September. The deputy mayor, Jules Pipe, spoke at the time of the “very significant benefits” that would come from the plans, which promise 39 new courts, an 8,000 seat show court and the restoration of a lake designed by Capability Brown.
Local opposition has been consistent since expansion plans were accelerated in 2018, arguing that access to “metropolitan open land” would be restricted. Legal action had been expected. The arguments are technical, however, relating to a covenant that was agreed by the AELTC when it bought the freehold on the land from Merton council in 1993. According to the text of the covenant, a version of which is published on the SWP website, the land could not be used “otherwise than for leisure or recreational purposes”. The SWP argue that “the proposed private tennis entertainment complex” breaks those terms.
“We have taken this momentous step because our directors, members and the community feel strongly that this precious, historic and highly protected environment should be preserved from inappropriate development, be allowed to remain accessible, and continue to be available for community use for sport and recreation,” the SWP’s Jeremy Hudson said in a statement.
The AELTC’s counterargument is that a once private golf course will now be converted into land that will offer access to the public, including a 23-acre park, with further green space also open throughout the year outside the Championships. It also contends that scaling up the facilities at the All England Club is necessary to maintain the prestige of Wimbledon’s grand slam tournament.
A spokesperson for the mayor of London said: “The mayor believes this scheme will bring a significant range of benefits including economic, social and cultural benefits to the local area, the wider capital and the UK economy, creating new jobs and cementing Wimbledon’s reputation as the greatest tennis competition in the world.”
