Latest news with #GreaterLondonAuthority
The Sun
21 hours ago
- Sport
- The Sun
World-famous UK sporting attraction set for £200million expansion after huge legal battle
THE All England Lawn Tennis Club - home to the Wimbledon Championships - is expected to triple in size in a £200million expansion. The news comes after a High Court judge dismissed a legal challenge against planning permission at the much-loved sporting venue. 4 4 4 The Wimbledon Park Project is expected to create 38 new grass courts, including an 8,000-seat show court. Excitingly, this will allow the club to bring the Wimbledon Qualifying event to the site for the first time. In addition, the project will transform the former Wimbledon Park Golf Course into a 23-acre public park. The site has been inaccessible for the past century, yet has been maintained by Wimbledon. There will also be a new four acre green space adjacent to Wimbledon Park. And Brits can also get the chance to experience what playing tennis is like at the Championships, as there are expected to be at least seven new Championship-standard grass tennis courts open for community use. Other parts of the project include restoring Wimbledon Lake and creating a new 1.8mile boardwalk around and spending £8million to refurbish the boat house. More tickets to the Championships will be made available for people living in the local area, including local schools, and 1,500 new trees will be planted. In total, the expansion project is expected to contribute over £300million to London 's economy. The Save Wimbledon Park (SWP) campaign group took legal action against the Greater London Authority (GLA) last year, after it made the decision to grant planning permission. New $1bn stadium in Miami rapidly takes shape and set to open in 2026 The group argued that the project was unlawful as the proposed land at the former Wimbledon Park Golf Club was protected. According to the BBC, Deborah Jevans, chairwoman of the All England Club said she was "delighted" with the decision made yesterday. However, following the ruling, SWP have said that they plan to appeal the decision. The Wimbledon Tennis Championships have been held at the site since 1877 and it is the oldest tennis tournament in the world. It is also the only major tennis tournament still played on grass. The UK's top 15 attractions for 2025 have also just been revealed, including six which are totally free. Plus, five tennis-themed holidays across Europe. 4
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Business
- Washington Post
Wimbledon's expansion plans boosted when judge dismisses legal challenge
LONDON — Wimbledon's expansion plans , which would almost triple the size of the tennis tournament grounds, received a boost Monday when a judge dismissed a campaign group's legal challenge. The Save Wimbledon Park group took legal action against the Greater London Authority's decision to grant planning permission last year.
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Wimbledon expansion plan set to proceed after High Court ruling
Wimbledon's controversial expansion plan is set to go ahead after a legal challenge against the decision to approve the proposal was dismissed by a High Court judge on Monday. The 'Save Wimbledon Park' campaign group took action against the Greater London Authority's decision last year to grant planning permission that would almost triple the size of the site for the grass-court Grand Slam. The proposals would see the construction of 38 new tennis courts and an 8,000-seat stadium on the grounds of the former Wimbledon Park Golf Club, which would allow it to host All England Club qualifiers on site instead of across south London at Roehampton. The campaign group's barristers told the High Court earlier this month that the decision to approve the plans was 'irrational' and should be quashed, as Wimbledon Park was covered by restrictions on how it could be used. But Wimbledon chiefs defended the challenge, with the court told that the decision was a 'planning judgement properly exercised' and that the restrictions were not 'material'. In a ruling on Monday, Justice Saini dismissed the challenge. 'In short, the defendant's decision on the relevance of deliverability, applying to both the statutory trust and the restrictive covenants, was a planning judgement rationally exercised and having regard to appropriate and relevant factors,' he said. Planning permission for the scheme was initially granted by Jules Pipe, London's deputy mayor for planning, who said that the proposals 'would facilitate very significant benefits' which 'clearly outweigh the harm'. ALSO READ | Venus Williams returns to tennis and wishes Serena would come out of retirement to join the fun Following Monday's High Court ruling, the campaign group said it had been 'advised that it should' seek to challenge the decision. 'SWP is not taking this step lightly but believes that the GLA did make a significant legal error in the way it dealt with the special legal status of the park,' a statement said. The latest edition of Wimbledon concluded on July 13, with Jannik Sinner winning the men's title and Iga Swiatek lifting the women's trophy. Related Topics Wimbledon
France 24
2 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
Wimbledon expansion plan set to proceed after High Court ruling
The 'Save Wimbledon Park' campaign group took action against the Greater London Authority's decision last year to grant a planning permission that would almost triple the size of the site for the grass-court Grand Slam. The proposals would see the construction of 38 new tennis courts and an 8,000-seat stadium on the grounds of the former Wimbledon Park Golf Club, which would allow it to host All England Club qualifiers on site instead of across south London at Roehampton. The campaign group's barristers told the High Court earlier this month that the decision to approve the plans was "irrational" and should be quashed, as Wimbledon Park was covered by restrictions on how it could be used. But Wimbledon chiefs defended the challenge, with the court told that the decision was a "planning judgement properly exercised" and that the restrictions were not "material". In a ruling on Monday, Justice Saini dismissed the challenge. "In short, the defendant's decision on the relevance of deliverability, applying to both the statutory trust and the restrictive covenants, was a planning judgement rationally exercised and having regard to appropriate and relevant factors," he said. Planning permission for the scheme was initially granted by Jules Pipe, London's deputy mayor for planning, who said that the proposals "would facilitate very significant benefits" which "clearly outweigh the harm". Following Monday's High Court ruling, the campaign group said it had been "advised that it should" seek to challenge the decision. "SWP is not taking this step lightly but believes that the GLA did make a significant legal error in the way it dealt with the special legal status of the park," a statement said. The latest edition of Wimbledon concluded on July 13, with Jannik Sinner winning the men's title and Iga Swiatek lifting the women's trophy. © 2025 AFP
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Wimbledon tennis site expansion can go ahead, high court rules
A proposed expansion of the Wimbledon tennis site will go ahead after the high court ruled in favour of an original decision to allow a further 39 courts, including an 8,000-seat show court, on the grounds of the old Wimbledon Park golf club. A judicial review, which started as this year's 138th championship was under way, came after campaign group Save Wimbledon Park took legal action against the Greater London Authority (GLA) over its decision last year to allow the All England Lawn Tennis Club to almost triple its size. Campaigners asked the judge to quash the original decision made in September 2024, and order it to be sent back to the GLA for reconsideration. Residents have argued against the loss of green space as well as 10 years of disruption to the local area. They have also questioned its legality, as the proposed expansion would be on metropolitan open land, which has the same protected status as green belt. The club's counterargument is that what was once a private golf course will be converted into land that will offer access to the public, including a 9.3-hectare (23-acre) park, with further green space open through the year outside the championships. The scaling up of facilities is necessary for players and to maintain the prestige of the grand slam tournament, it says. The dispute goes back to 1993 when the All England club bought the golf course land from Merton council for £5.2m. It signed a covenant agreeing it would not use the land other than for leisure, recreational purposes or as open space. The campaign group, which raised £200,000 before the review, believes the proposals have violated that pledge. Aside from the judicial review, a separate court action brought by the All England club will determine whether the land is for public recreation or protected by a statutory trust.
