- The All England Club want to build 38 new courts in their Wimbledon expansion
- The proposal was approved by the London Mayor’s office last September
- Local residents are pushing back against the decision as they want the land to be available for community use
Wimbledon’s controversial expansion plans are set to be decided in the courts after a local protest group launched legal action against the club’s proposal.
The All England Club want to build 38 new grass courts on land bought from the Wimbledon Park Golf Club in 2018 and appeared to have scored a decisive victory when the London Mayor’s office approved the plans last September.
But after that meeting, local residents vowed to continue the fight. ‘We are just entering the third-set tie-break, and have plenty of aces to serve,’ said retired local lawyer Christopher Coombe.
Their first ace appears to have been delivered as the group Save Wimbledon Park announced they have begun legal action against ‘the greater London authority and also the All England Club and the London Boroughs of Merton and Wandsworth as Interested Parties’.
The thrust of the challenge is that Wimbledon Park is covered by a statutory trust, enshrining the land for public use and forbidding private development. The All England Club believe such a trust does not exist, and in December took the pre-emptive step of asking a court to rule on the matter, a case which is yet to begin.
Jeremy Hudson of Save Wimbledon Park said: ‘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.
Plans to build 38 new courts at Wimbledon were approved in September by the Mayor’s office
The Save Wimbledon Park group announced they have begun legal action in light of the plans
‘We must get the AELTC to think again. This step is not just for our local community but also important for many other Metropolitan Open Land spaces under threat of development.’
Wimbledon remain confident that their plans will eventually come to fruition but the continued wrangling means balls will not be hit on those new courts until 2030 at the very earliest.
And for a club which prides itself on being a jewel in the crown of its community, to be effectively taken to court by local residents is an extremely uncomfortable position.
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