The fate of a plan to almost triple the footprint of the Wimbledon Tennis championships will be decided in a little over two weeks, City Hall has confirmed.
A public hearing to decide whether to grant permission for the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club’s (AELTC) expansion project will be held on Friday, September 27 – with residents opposed to the scheme planning to protest outside.
The plan would see the construction of 39 new tennis courts, including an 8,000-seater show court, on the former site of Wimbledon Park Golf Club.
At the hearing, London’s deputy mayor for planning, Jules Pipe, will consider the strength of arguments for approving or refusing the project.
It comes after the plan split opinion between the two neighbouring boroughs who host the annual championships, with Wandsworth Council rejecting the proposal and Merton Council approving it.
Campaigners opposed to the project believe it would cause unacceptable damage to the area’s biodiversity and heritage. They also argue it could set a dangerous precedent for sites like the former golf course, which are designated as ‘Metropolitan Open Land’ and are protected from development in most circumstances.
But AELTC say the scheme will “secure the future of the Championships” by enabling them to better compete with other global tennis tournaments and that it will create “year-round benefits for the local community”. The plan proposes opening up part of the former golf course as parkland with ‘permissive’ access to the public and building a boardwalk around Wimbledon Park’s lake.
Ahead of the hearing, Mr Pipe will be presented with a report prepared by City Hall’s planning officers, who will make their own recommendation as to what he should decide, based on their assessment of where the balance lies between the scheme’s harms and benefits. The report is expected to be published on Thursday, September 19.
Any final decision by the deputy mayor could still be over-ridden by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Angela Rayner, should she decide to ‘call in’ the planning application herself.
Both of the area’s local representatives in Parliament – Putney’s Labour MP Fleur Anderson and Wimbledon’s Liberal Democrat MP Paul Kohler – are opposed to the plan.
The hearing will be held in the Chamber at City Hall (Kamal Chunchie Way, London E16 1ZE) on September 27, starting at 10am. It will also be livestreamed. Those wishing to attend are advised to notify the Greater London Authority by emailing Wimbledon.Park@london.gov.uk
