Wimbledon expansion plans given green light

The Wimbledon tennis site is set to almost triple the size after a campaign group’s (SWP) legal challenge against the decision to grant planning permission was dismissed by a High Court judge.

The proposal which had been approved by the Greater London Authority will provide  thirty-eight new tennis courts and an 8000 seatere stadium.

Save Wimbledon Park (SWP) had argued in court the development on the former Wimbledon Park Golf Club was unlawful as the proposed land was protected.

Deborah Jevans, chairwoman of the All England Club, said she was “delighted” with the decision while the SWP indicated it may challenge the ruling.

Barristers for SWP told the High Court earlier this month that the decision to approve the plans was “irrational” and should be quashed, as Wimbledon Park – a Grade II -listed heritage site partly designed by “Capability” Brown – was covered by restrictions on how it could be used.

The GLA and the All England Club defended the challenge, with the court told that the decision was a “planning judgment properly exercised” and that the restrictions were not “material”.

Dismissing the challenge, Mr Justice Saini said: “In short, the defendant’s decision on the relevance of deliverability, applying to both the statutory trust and the restrictive covenants, was a planning judgment rationally exercised and having regard to appropriate and relevant factors.”

The new proposals would see seven maintenance buildings, access points, and an area of parkland with permissive public access constructed, in addition to the courts and associated infrastructure.

It would also allow the club to host Wimbledon qualifiers on site.

Main photo:- Wimbledon aerial view and Wimbledon Park by AELTC