A South London council has refused plans to build a new 8,000-seat stadium and 38 more tennis courts on the former site of Wimbledon Park Golf Club.
All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) wants to expand the grounds of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships to around 46 hectares under the proposals.
But Wandsworth Council’s planning committee voted 7-0 to reject the scheme on November 21.
Councillors agreed with Wandsworth’s planning officers’ recommendation that it should be rejected as it would cause “substantial harm to the openness of Metropolitan Open Land”.
The application will now be referred to Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, who may call it in to make a final decision. It could also be referred to Michael Gove, the secretary of state for levelling up, homes and communities.
At Wandsworth’s meeting, Conservative councillor Kim Caddy said: “The loss of green space and the harm caused to Metropolitan Open Land are not outweighed by the potential benefits of the scheme.
“There are no special circumstances here which justify a huge 8,000-seat stadium in a Green Belt area.”
Councillor Caddy also raised concerns about the impact of construction on local air quality and road safety.
She said: “There are many schools and nurseries along the route proposed and the additional lorry and other traffic movements will just worsen the already poor air quality in Southfields as well as increasing road safety risk.”
Conservative councillor Daniel Ghossain described the scale of the proposed development as “disproportionate and insensitive to the needs of residents and the environment”.
He said: “The All England Club has not engaged with residents in a way that is commensurate with the sheer scale of the proposals and, let’s be clear what this is – the building of a stadium on Metropolitan Open Land, the colossal environment footprint that entails and the best part of a decade of disruption to daily life.”
Labour councillor Jamie Colclough said he felt there were some benefits to the scheme, but added: “When it’s still weighed up against the damage it’s going to be doing to Metropolitan Open Land, I still don’t think it’s enough – it’s not life-changing.”
It comes after neighbouring Merton Council voted to approve the scheme in October. The site is designated as Metropolitan Open Land and most of it lies in the Merton borough, with some parts in Wandsworth.
Along with building an 8,000-seat show court, 38 grass courts and 10 maintenance hubs on the site, the plans include a new public park spanning 9.4 hectares.
The extra courts would allow AELTC to move the qualifying competition for the championships, currently held in Roehampton, to the expanded site. It would also host a new 14-and-under tournament and double the size of the wheelchair tennis tournament.
AELTC has argued the scheme would safeguard the future of the championships in Wimbledon and make sure it “remains as the pre-eminent tennis tournament in the world and one of the most recognisable global sporting events”.
Iain Simpson, chair of Save Wimbledon Park (SWP), welcomed Wandsworth’s decision on the plans. He said: “The councillors unanimously recognised the crucial point that this application provides no justification for so much harm to Metropolitan Open Land, our precious Green Belt.
“We have nothing against the tennis. However, protecting the environment, a desire shared by the Greater London Authority (GLA) and all Londoners and indeed the whole country, and keeping open space truly public for the recreation and well being of real local communities is much more important.
“As yet we have won nothing. In sporting parlance, we move into the next round of the competition, pleased that points we have been making for over two years have finally been acknowledged by politicians.
“The next step is for the GLA to prevent any further damage to the environment and such important open spaces.”
Sally Bolton, chief executive of AELTC, said the club was disappointed by Wandsworth’s decision. She said: “Our proposals will deliver one of the greatest sporting transformations for London since 2012, alongside substantial benefits for the local community.
“We firmly believe the AELTC Wimbledon Park project offers significant social, economic and environmental improvements, including turning 23 acres of previously private land into a new public park, alongside hundreds of jobs and tens of millions of pounds in economic benefits for our neighbours in Wandsworth, Merton and across London.
“Given the split council decision, with the London Borough of Merton resolving to approve our application last month, our planning application will now be referred to the Mayor of London’s office for consideration.”
