Latest news with #SaveWimbledonPark
Independent Singapore
2 days ago
- Sport
- Independent Singapore
Wimbledon expansion plan approved after High Court dismisses legal challenge
Photo: Instagram/wimbledon Wimbledon's plan to expand will move forward after a judge dismissed a legal challenge against it. The plans include building 38 new tennis courts and an 8,000-seat stadium on the old Wimbledon Park Golf Club land. This will allow All England Club qualifiers to be held there instead of at Roehampton in South Lond on. However, the 'Save Wimbledon Park' campaign group challenged the Greater London Authority's decision last year to approve the permission that would nearly triple the size of the grass-court Grand Slam venue. Justice Saini dismissed this campaign and stated: '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.' London's deputy mayor for planning, Jules Pipe, also originally approved this project and stated that it would 'bring significant benefits' that will 'clearly outweigh any negative impact.' Following the High Court ruling, the campaign group admitted that it had been 'encouraged to challenge the decision.' In a statement, the group stated: '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.' The 2025 Wimbledon tournament ended on July 13, just days before the High Court ruling. Jannik Sinner made an incredible comeback by winning this year's title, dethroning the defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the final match. With his win, Sinner expressed: 'It's mostly emotional, because I had a very tough loss in Paris… But at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter how you win or how you lose at important tournaments; you just have to understand what you did wrong and try to work on that, and that's exactly what we did. We tried to accept the loss and just kept working. This is for sure one of the reasons I am holding this trophy here. I am just so grateful that I am healthy and have great people around me, and holding this trophy means a lot.' Read more about Jannik Sinner's 2025 Wimbledon victory here. Moreover, Iga Swiatek delivered a commanding win over Amanda Anisimova at the Wimbledon finals to secure the women's title. Swiatek admitted: 'The fact it's on grass, this makes it even more special and more unexpected, so the emotions are bigger. At Roland Garros, I know I can play well… Here I wasn't sure, and I had to prove that to myself. I'm not going to rank [my Grand Slams]… Here and the US Open feel better because no one expected them. It was just good tennis. There wasn't any baggage on my shoulders.' Read more about how Wimbledon keeps surprising Iga Swiatek here. () => { const trigger = if ('IntersectionObserver' in window && trigger) { const observer = new IntersectionObserver((entries, observer) => { => { if ( { lazyLoader(); // You should define lazyLoader() elsewhere or inline here // Run once } }); }, { rootMargin: '800px', threshold: 0.1 }); } else { // Fallback setTimeout(lazyLoader, 3000); } });
The Sun
2 days 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
The Guardian
3 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 the campaign group Save Wimbledon Park (SWP) 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. Welcoming the ruling, the All England club's chair, Deborah Jevans, said: 'It is clear that we have a robust planning permission that enables us to create a permanent home for the Wimbledon qualifying competition as well as delivering 27 acres of beautiful new parkland for local people, providing public access to land that has been a private golf course for over 100 years.' On Monday, Mr Justice Saini dismissed the challenge, saying: '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.' In response to Monday's ruling, the campaign group said it had been advised it should challenge the decision, and claimed that the GLA had made a 'significant' legal error over the special legal status of the park. Christopher Coombe, a director of SWP, said: 'This judgment would, if it stands, set a worrying precedent for the unwanted development of protected green belt and public open spaces around London and across the country.' The campaign group said there were other legal protections for the park that would be 'insurmountable' for property developers, including future action in January brought by the All England club that will determine whether the land is for public recreation or protected by a statutory trust. Coombe said: 'The [All England club] will surely have noted the considerable public outrage about this development, most recently expressed outside the law courts, and we continue to hope that they could be persuaded to engage constructively with us, with a view to achieving a resolution of this four-year-old dispute.' 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, straddling the boroughs of Merton and Wandsworth, would be on metropolitan open land, which has the same protected status as green belt. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion 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. The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, welcomed the ruling. He said the plans would 'cement Wimbledon's reputation as the greatest tennis competition in the world and London as the sporting capital of the world. 'This scheme will bring a significant range of economic, social, cultural and environmental benefits to the local area, the wider capital and the UK economy, creating new jobs and green spaces.' Planning permission for the expansion was first granted by the London deputy mayor Jules Pipe, who said the proposals would deliver benefits that 'clearly outweigh the harm'.
RNZ News
3 days ago
- Sport
- RNZ News
Wimbledon expansion planning permission cleared by UK court
All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, England; Wimbledon Tennis Tournament. Photo: Shaun Brooks / PHOTOSPORT Wimbledon's plans to expand the grounds for the world's oldest and most prestigious Grand Slam tennis tournament overcame its first legal hurdle on Monday, as London's High Court rejected a challenge to the project by campaigners. Campaign group Save Wimbledon Park took legal action over planning permission granted to the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, which wants to treble the size of its main site in a 200 million-pound (NZ$451-million) project. The expansion would feature 39 new courts, including an 8,000-seat show court, could increase daily capacity from 42,000 to 50,000 people, and allow qualifying rounds to be held on site, which has been home to the Championships since 1877. The AELTC's plans to redevelop a former golf course which it owns are supported by several leading players, including Novak Djokovic, and some local residents. Planning permission was approved by the Greater London Authority last year, but Save Wimbledon Park argued at a hearing this month that the GLA failed to properly take account of restrictions on redeveloping the land, agreed when the AELTC's parent company bought the golf course freehold in 1993. Judge Pushpinder Saini rejected Save Wimbledon Park's challenge to the lawfulness of planning permission, but Wimbledon's plans still face another legal hurdle about the status of the land, which will be heard early next year. AELTC chair Debbie Jevans said she was delighted with the ruling, adding that the club will "now turn our attention to separate legal proceedings" about the former golf course land. Save Wimbledon Park director Christopher Coombe said the group will seek to appeal Monday's decision, which he said would set "a worrying precedent for the unwanted development of protected green belt and public open spaces". -Reuters
The National
3 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Wimbledon to triple in size as expansion clears the courts
Wimbledon's dramatic expansion plans are set to go ahead after a judge threw out a legal challenge mounted by local residents attempting to derail the development. Efforts to almost triple the size of the grand slam venue in Wimbledon were fought by a campaign group seeking to use protected status against the planning authorities. Save Wimbledon Park (SWP) took legal action against the Greater London Authority's (GLA) decision to grant planning permission last year. The £200 million ($260 million) proposals cover construction of 38 new tennis courts and an 8,000-seat stadium on the grounds of the former Wimbledon Park Golf Club, allowing it to host Wimbledon qualifiers on-site. Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam tournament that holds its qualifying rounds at a completely separate location. There are also too few practice courts in the current set-up, requiring some of the world's best players to share courts. Debbie Jevans, chairwoman of the All England Club, has also claimed that the proposals would deliver 27 acres of 'newly accessible parkland for the community,' having previously operated as a private members golf club. In written submissions, the petitioner's barrister Sasha White said that the All England Club acquired the freehold for the golf course in 1993 and the leasehold in 2021. The barrister told the two-day hearing in London that the land was subject to a 'statutory trust requiring it to be kept available for public recreation use'. When the freehold was acquired, the club entered into 'restrictive covenants' governing its use. He said this meant any plans could not 'restrict its use so as not to impair the appreciation of the general public of the extent or openness of the golf course land'. In court, he said: 'You could not have a more protected piece of land within the planning system, frankly.' Mark Westmoreland Smith, for the planning authorities, said that the decision was a 'planning judgment properly exercised and having regard to the appropriate and relevant factors'. In his 31-page ruling, Mr Justice Saini agreed, stating that the authority 'properly considered the implications of the development on public open space'. The All England Club maintains it has consulted extensively with the local community to build local support. 'We have spoken to more than 10,000 people who have taken the time to come in person and understand our plans in detail,' said Ms Jevans. 'The vast majority of people just want us to get on and deliver the many benefits on offer as soon as possible.' Separate High Court proceedings are continuing over whether a statutory trust existed, and that if it does, the All England Club has 'accepted' that this is 'incompatible with the development of the proposal'. A hearing in that case is due to take place in January 2026.
