Three months removed from controversial expansion plans being appoved for Wimbledon, the local residents’ group fighting it – which includes adding one stadium court and 38 further courts to the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) grounds – has this past week begun legal action challenging the validity of Sadiq Khan’s decision granting planning permission for their redevelopment.
Long game beckons as Wimbledon residents’ group respond
IN a statement dated last Friday, January 3, Save Wimbledon Park (SWP) confirmed they will challenge the permission granted by the Greater London Authority (GLA) at a public hearing last September, naming the AELTC, Merton and Wandsworth Councils as interested parties.
SWP contends that “errors of law and planning policy” were made regarding the Wimbledon Park golf course land which the AELTC bought in 1993, believing the new proposed planning permission contradicts a “statutory trust,” which requires certain land areas to be kept free for public recreation.
The AELTC feels that doesn’t apply to the land in question and such, both are seeking legal judgment over a longstanding issue and one that has felt inevitable for almost a decade as SW19 are increasingly keen not to be overtaken by their rivals.
Multiple sources say any forthcoming review will likely take place in 2026, as a High Court judge will now assess the legal challenges before determining whether or not to proceed with a judicial review – taking a few months to come to their conclusions.
The AELTC bought Wimbledon Park Golf Club in 2018, a year after the hyperlinked news article above showed a “big expansion” was approved by Merton Council.
The SWP also contend developments to that acquisition were also in breach of trust, as well as “restrictive covenants” stating the land shouldn’t be used besides for leisure, recreational purposes or as an open space. Wimbledon’s expansion wouldn’t fall under that, they will argue.
The GLA issued final confirmation in late November, with London mayor Sadiq Khan recusing himself from the process 13 months earlier as his deputy, Jules Pipe, approved the AELTC’s proposals after a 221-page GLA report found “no material considerations that are considered to justify the refusal of consent.”
A spokesperson’s charm-offensive statement read as follows, per The Guardian: “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 world’s greatest tennis competition.”
One of the new 39 courts would be an 8,000-seater stadium, while the other 38 would allow the AELTC to bring the qualifying event from Roehampton on-site, held the week before the main tournament begins – Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam who doesn’t already have this in place. Their third court, No. 2 Court is also the smallest of his kind across the four Major events and that too is something they’d like to change.
Picture source: Getty Images
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