Campaigners raise £200k to fight Wimbledon tennis expansion plans
A campaign group fighting plans to expand the home of Wimbledon tennis has raised £200,000 for an upcoming judicial review.Plans were approved last September for the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) - which runs the world-famous tournament - to build 39 tennis courts and an 8,000-seat stadium on protected open land on Wimbledon Park.AELTC, which owns the land, argues its development will open up a part of the park that it says was "inaccessible to the public for almost a century" however Save Wimbledon Park has concerns around the environmental impact. The judicial review, set to be held early in July, is to rule on if the way the decision was made was procedurally unfair or irrational.
'Pinnacle of the sport'
AELTC leased the land to a private golf club until 2018. The tennis club wants to build the courts on land opposite its current site so that qualifying matches for the tournament can be played there. Currently, those matches take place about three-and-a-half miles (5.6km) away at Roehampton's Community Sports Centre. That site can cater for about 2,000 spectators a day, whereas the new development could host up to 10,000 meaning the grounds as a whole could see up to 50,000 visitors per day.The other three Grand Slams - the Australian, French, and US Opens - all hold qualifying matches on site alongside the main courts.The development would also represent an upgrade in facilities for the players.Debbie Jevans, chair of the AELTC, said: "We are already very tight of space. "We want to be able to match what other Grand Slams do to maintain Wimbledon at the pinnacle of the sport."She added: "We always talk about history and tradition with Wimbledon but we need to evolve and embrace this area, which was a private golf course, and deliver economic benefits both locally and nationally."
'Public want us to fight this'
Plans to expand the site were first put forward in December 2018, when AELTC's £65m bid to buy the land was approved by the Wimbledon Park Golf Club members, who used to play on the site. In 2021, a planning application for the scheme was sent to both Merton and Wandsworth councils. It was refused by Wandsworth but accepted by Merton.The case then went to the Greater London Authority (GLA), which approved it last September."We have massive public support, who really want us to fight this," said Christopher Coombe from Save Wimbledon Park."The Supreme Court has now made it clear that local authorities need to look after public land like this and do the right thing, in the right way. Merton failed to do that."He added: "We all love the tennis. They do a great job across the road - they don't need to be here as well. We have had 22,000 petitioners, 1,100 separate donations to our fighting fund and serious local support from all the councillors and the MPs."But Ms Jevans said she was confident with the plans it put to the GLA. "When the court assesses them, they'll be able to see the due diligence we've gone through," she said.
AELTC said it recently conducted a survey of about 10,000 residents in Merton and Wandsworth which found support had increased from 50% to 62% in the last six months.It said the strongest support was among residents aged under 44, with 74% in this group in favour of the plans. The strongest reasons cited for supporting the project was its "commitment to protecting and enhancing local green spaces", it added. "The environmental impact is to the benefit, the biodiversity gain is 10%," she said. But many are concerned the project would cause an increase in flood risk as well as the loss of wildlife, trees and open spaces."If the plans go through, there is still the possibility this entire 73 acres would be dug up to a depth between one and nine metres, 300 trees would be felled, 500 further trees uprooted, releasing 500,000kg of carbon into the atmosphere," said Susan Cusack from Save Wimbledon Park."Every single grass tennis court takes 105 tonnes of concrete and eight millimeters of heavily pesticised grass on top. It's about 5% organic material, so the only "green" thing about a tennis court is the colour."Simon Wright, also a member of Save Wimbledon Park, said: "We are looking at about 44,000 lorry movements over eight to 10 years. The results on air quality are going to be disastrous. "We've already done the work that shows the routes the lorries will take will be going past primary schools and nurseries at a time when we are much more aware of how air pollution affects young lungs."But Ms Jevans said that they would be "bringing a lot of the equipment necessary on site, so there is less back and forth - there are more 493 buses going up and down the road than there will be lorries."
The AELTC made a covenant - a formal agreement - when they bought the land in Wimbledon Park in 1993 that they would not build on it.Ms Jevans insists that covenant should not prevent their planned development."A covenant is fundamentally to protect the public interest and what we are now doing is very much in the public interest," said Ms Jevans. "We are able to demonstrate ably the benefits to the community and environment in repurposing the land."Mr Wright disagrees."This case has huge significance. AELTC are trying to build on Metropolitan Open Land (MOL), that is the same as green belt. "If they are allowed to build, that sets a really bad precedent for the other 50 MOL sites in the London area."
Mr Wright added he had further concerns regarding the use of the park."AELTC are talking about creating a new park, but the majority of this land is going to be permissive access. It will only be open when AELTC permit it to be open."This is the only Grand Slam which is run by a private members' club. There is no public scrutiny, there is no governance. We think it's wrong that a private members' club is allowed to have such a negative effect on so many people's lives for two weeks a year."Responding, Ms Jevans said: "Most of the park will be open in perpetuity to the public."There will be no hotel, no railway station, just a 23-acre public park."She added: "I don't dismiss people's concerns and respect their point of view. I want to ensure the basis of their concerns is based on facts."
Aside from the judicial review, a separate court case is scheduled for January which will determine whether the land is protected by a statutory trust for public recreation.The court action has been brought by AELTC which believes no such protection exists.If the court finds against them it's unlikely they could proceed with their current plans.
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