Latest news with #WimbledonPark
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
Telegraph
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Golf club at centre of Wimbledon expansion row is an overgrown eyesore
The first thing you notice is the weeds. Wherever you turn, it seems little has escaped the clutches of nature's graffiti. Then there are the 'EXCLUSION ZONE' signs and their dire warnings to keep out of the most overgrown regions for your own safety or that of the local wildlife. Smaller patches of land deemed hazards are encircled by wooden or ugly plastic-mesh fencing. Even the accessible areas are unkempt, sun-scorched or dust-ridden. You have to remind yourself that you are standing on what once was Wimbledon Park Golf Club, a place of pristine fairways, sculpted bunkers and manicured greens that had stood proudly for more than a century opposite the grass tennis courts of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC). If this is what has become of that 73-acre strip of land in the two-and-a-half years since the golf club closed, what ravages will be wreaked upon it while a bitter legal battle over its future rages on? This decaying landscape is usually closed to the public, kept under lock and key behind fences and signs that warn 'Patrol Dogs on site'. But it is opened up during Wimbledon fortnight, primarily as home to the Championships' famous queue and as a car and cycle park. This year, that has coincided with a two-day judicial review into plans to transform the defunct golf course into 39 tennis courts – including a new 8,000-seat show court – as part of a £200 million expansion of the AELTC. Those plans, which would allow the Wimbledon qualifying tournament to be brought in-house and extend the existing event staged at the grounds by a week, have pitted the AELTC against hundreds of local residents behind a campaign called Save Wimbledon Park (SWP). The warring factions have been on a collision course ever since the AELTC acquired the leasehold of the golf club for £65 million in 2018 and arguably even since it bought the freehold from Merton Council a quarter of a century earlier – when it also agreed to a covenant restricting future development on the site. 'You could not have a more protected piece of land in London,' SWP's KC, Sacha White, told the High Court hearing into last year's approval of the AELTC expansion plans by the Greater London Authority. And yet, as Telegraph Sport found when patrolling it the following day, this piece of land is far from being 'protected' thanks to a dispute which has left its future shrouded in uncertainty. That future will be a bleak one unless the AELTC is allowed to develop some sort of tennis facility on the golf club. For, what is the alternative? What use is that land to the AELTC otherwise? Why would it commit tens, or hundreds, of millions of pounds to develop it into anything else? And who would buy that land from the AELTC if they, too, were prevented from commercialising it? Merton Council certainly could never afford to buy it back. And, even if it could, would taxpayers really want hundreds of millions of pounds of public money spent transforming the golf club? Especially when the AELTC is offering to fund such a project in its entirety, convert 27 acres of private land to public parkland in the process, and even clean up the park's lake in a move that has won the support of legendary sailor and local resident Sir Ben Ainslie. Never mind scrolling through the various artists' impressions that have been released by the AELTC, you only need look at the current Wimbledon grounds to see what expansion could look like. There is surely not a more beautifully-maintained facility in all the land. It is perfectly legitimate to question whether as many as 39 new tennis courts are needed to bring the Wimbledon qualifying tournament in-house, or the extent to which local residents have been consulted about those plans, or whether moves should have been made to sweeten the deal for them. After all, Wimbledon Park Golf Club members got £85,000 each when the AELTC bought a leasehold for the land that was due to expire in 2041. But the idea that it has a viable future that excludes enough tennis courts to incentivise the AELTC to invest in it is pure fantasy. Typically, each side of the legal row has effectively blamed the other for the land being left in limbo, with senior figures at the AELTC privately questioning the motives of some of the opponents of expansion and pointing out no one had put forward an alternative plan to its own. A spokesperson said: 'Our proposals will deliver one of the greatest sporting transformations for London since 2012. 'They are crucial to ensuring Wimbledon remains at the pinnacle of tennis, one of the world's best sporting events, and a global attraction for both London and the UK. On offer are substantial year-round benefits for our community and the delivery of significant social, economic and environmental improvements. 'This includes more than 27 acres of new public parkland on what is currently inaccessible, private land. Our plans will increase the size of Wimbledon Park by a third and create spaces for people and nature to thrive. 'There will be a very significant increase in biodiversity across the site and our proposals are underpinned by more than 1,000 hours of ecological surveys, which are endorsed by the London Wildlife Trust. 'We have spoken to more than 10,000 people as part of our consultation events, and we know that the vast majority of people just want us to get on and deliver the many benefits on offer.' A spokesman for SWP, Simon Wright, told Telegraph Sport that one of the opponents of the AELTC's plan, Richard Rees, had been working on an alternative proposal for the site. But he said Rees, who was previously the lead planner for the building of Wimbledon's Court No 1 and the development of Henman Hill, was not ready to share details of that publicly. He added: 'We at Save Wimbledon Park are not anti-tennis – we love tennis and love Wimbledon. We love Wimbledon the way it is and we do not want to see it triple its current size, moving from 'tennis in an English garden' to an industrial tennis complex. 'For the last four years, the AELTC have said that the development scheme they have put forward is the only possible scheme that is acceptable to them and that there is no Plan B. 'Repeatedly, we have called for AELTC to withdraw their plans and to come up with a revised plan having consulted meaningfully with local groups and key stakeholders. We are only taking action in the High Court because AELTC have refused to engage with us in any other way. 'Despite these two days in court, we remain convinced that conversation is better than litigation. Guided by highly experienced tennis master planner Richard Rees and working with other architectural and development experts in the SWP group, we believe that alternative schemes should be possible which would allow AELTC to achieve the overwhelming majority of their original goals with a reduced environmental impact and less loss of net biodiversity. 'However, SWP are not the property developers, and the onus must therefore be on AELTC to suggest an alternative way of using the former golf course land. We urge them to do so, and to base this on a truly independent consultation with the local community. 'The local community has lost significant trust in AELTC. Withdrawing these plans and beginning again would be a good way to begin to restore that trust.'
The Sun
09-07-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
Wimbledon faces calls to MOVE part of iconic SW19 venue
WIMBLEDON is facing calls to move parts of its iconic queue – to save bats. A short section of the lengthy path to The Championships, where 10,000 people a day have camped or waited to get in, runs through a Wimbledon Park bat protection zone. 3 3 Queuers are not allowed to stand in the zone and are moved through quickly to avoid disturbing the nocturnal mammals. Activists claimed that tournament bosses should shift the queue entirely over fears it could be disturbing the protected animals. Simon Wright, of the Save Wimbledon Park group, said the queue was defeating the point of a conservation area. The campaigner, who is contesting the All England Club's planned expansion, added: 'The queue could be on their own land. 'Every year, we lose more of the park to the queue, and every year, they start building it earlier. 'There has not been a consideration of the impact of their plans on wildlife all the way through, so I'm not particularly surprised that they're doing this. 'I'm a big fan of the bats of Wimbledon Park because it's a lovely thing to do to go and sit by the lake at dusk and watch the bats feeding on the insects as they fly around. 'It's completely ridiculous to have a bat protection zone and then put a load of people through it. BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK 'Just walking through will still disturb the bats' natural environment, and they're very sensitive creatures.' No WiFi is available in the zone as critical wireless hardware used to beam signals to fans' phones is not allowed. But hopeful queuers are permitted to walk through the zone despite a drive to conserve the eight protected bat species in the 67-acre Wimbledon Park. The move is not linked to WiFi signals, though previous studies have claimed radio waves can damage bats' 'magnetic compass'. It can prevent the animals from remembering where their shelters are. A 2017 study found birds, insects and plants are likely being harmed by electromagnetic radiation from Wi-Fi, cell phone towers, broadcast transmitters and power lines. Birds and insects affected by radio waves can become disorientated, though generally most are unaffected. There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Wimbledon 's organisers, who were asked to comment. 3
Telegraph
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Sir Ben Ainslie is Wimbledon's trump card in expansion row
Sir Ben Ainslie is a trump card for Wimbledon 's proposed expansion on the eve of the High Court hearing into the plans. Ahead of Save Wimbledon Park's challenge on Tuesday of the All England Club's £200 million development proposals, it can be revealed Britain's most successful Olympic sailor has thrown his weight behind the scheme. Ainslie's involvement centres around the sailing club on the sculpted lake that stands at the centre of the park, with the local resident saying: 'I would love to muck in and see it become a real success.' And the AELTC believes Ainslie's potential assistance could be a huge boost to a scheme that has been mired in legal and planning disputes since 2018, when they announced plans to build 39 new courts on Wimbledon Park Golf Course – land they already owned. 'The problem with the lake is that the water quality is so low,' Ainslie told Telegraph Sport, in reference to the fertilisers and pesticides that have accumulated through more than a century's worth of golf-course maintenance. 'If you capsize there, it's not a nice thought, and I personally wouldn't consider taking that risk. 'The investment required to clean up the lake is not going to happen through local government. It will require private means – and that's where the All England Club comes in. 'It's a great opportunity and a beautiful lake. There's a small sailing club there, next to where my son went to nursery, and the AELTC would spend a considerable amount of money on upgrading the club and its facilities. They would also desilt the lake, clean up the water, and extend the boardwalk around the perimeter. It would be a huge positive, not only for sailors but for anglers and swimmers as well.' Ainslie added: 'With two young kids in the area under the age of eight, I would be there in a heartbeat if it suddenly becomes a much more pleasurable place to sail. At the moment, the closest venue is probably Queen Mary Sailing Club, out past Heathrow.' The AELTC says that Ainslie's possible involvement in a rebooted Wimbledon Park Sailing Club would be another advantage in a long list of benefits to the local community 'With this weather, you think, how wonderful would it be to have that park clean for people just to paddle in it, swim in it,' said the AELTC's chair Debbie Jevans. 'The sailing club use the lake at the moment but the area they have access to is greatly reduced because of the silting up. We are planning to restore it to its original shape, which means expanding the surface area by almost 3000 square metres.' Emblematic of a broader problem in Britain In many ways, talking about a sailing club as being integral to the development of a tennis facility sums up the faintly ludicrous nature of the debate over Wimbledon's plans. The AELTC owns the land, and in 2018 paid £65 million to buy out the remainder of Wimbledon Park Golf Club's lease, which would have run to 2041. That it has not progressed its plans is emblematic of a broader problem in Britain: a turgid planning system, which so often seems to work against anyone attempting to build or grow anything, big or small. In this case, the objectors say that the expansion will create an 'industrial-scale tennis complex' on the old golf-course land. They also claim the erection of a proposed 8,000-seat 'Parkland' stadium breaks a covenant established under the reign of John Curry, the last-but-two chairman, that the AELTC would not build on the site. The AELTC, which is nonplussed by the emotive language used by the protestors, sees it as a sensitively designed expanse of tennis lawns, plus a maintenance hub that will be dug into the ground at no little expense to reduce its visual impact. Tennis insiders agree that the club desperately needs new facilities to keep up with the galloping pace of development at the other three major tournaments: the Australian, French and US Opens. In particular, the AELTC is frustrated by its inability to host qualifying – a preliminary event in which 256 lower-ranked men and women are whittled down to 32 main-draw entrants. Grand slam events are mostly becoming three-week affairs thanks to the increasing appeal of these qualifying events, which most recently attracted 219,000 spectators in New York, 116,000 in Melbourne and 102,000 in Paris. In addition, Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz's much-anticipated pairing in mixed doubles will take place at Flushing Meadows the week before the US Open, an event that promises to bring a younger audience into the grounds. But Wimbledon cannot consider either qualifying or a doubles equivalent on site, because it would exhaust the grass courts before the start of the tournament proper. As a result, their qualifying event is held at Roehampton, on what used to be the Bank of England Sports Ground. The site cannot handle more than 5,000 fans per day, which adds up to 20,000 in total. 'That third week is an opportunity for the community,' explained Jevans. 'Our ballot is oversubscribed, with more than a million applications for a tournament that can accommodate a little over 500,000 across the fortnight. Were qualifying to move onsite then more of the public would be able to come in, see the players, engage, walk around. 'Also, you could have community events, like the Kid's Day that Tennis Australia puts on. The US Open has now moved its mixed-doubles event to that preliminary week. To me, it's a win-win. Things don't stand still, and at the moment, we have an inability to evolve.' Nimbyism a common feature of planning dramas This week's judicial review will not debate whether the AELTC's plans are the best use for the land. Instead, the SWPs crowd-funded case is arguing the Greater London Authority failed to follow the proper procedures when it granted planning permission for the Wimbledon expansion in September. Whatever the result, it can still be appealed to the Supreme Court at a later date. And this is not the only hurdle that the AELTC must clear, before initiating work on land that was vacated by golfers as long ago as December 2022. A separate case is due to be held in January, in order to decide whether the golf course is subject to a 'statutory trust' that precludes development. The problem for the AELTC is that Wimbledon Park is considered to be Metropolitan Open Land (MOL), which is subject to similar legal protections to the green belt. This does seem illogical, given that the proposed development is scheduled for land that hasn't been open to the public in living memory, thanks to the gates of a private golf course. But that is the state of the planning system in Britain, one that is seen time and again for schemes well beyond the manicured lawns of SW19. A report by the Home Builders' Federation last month warned the number of new homes in England given planning permission had slipped to a 'disastrous' low. The figures pointed to both a decline in planning applications and a slow decision time on those that are made. At the other end of the scale, ambitious infrastructure projects have found themselves mired in costly delays for years. More than half end up in the courts, causing an average hold-up of 18 months and adding millions of pounds in expense. So-called nimbyism is a common feature of these planning dramas, with local residents and campaigners mounting time-consuming challenges similar to those affecting the ongoing Wimbledon case. 'The idea that you can't build tennis courts at Wimbledon is probably the most extreme example of our planning system not working,' says Sam Dumitrio, head of policy at Britain Remade, a campaign to promote economic growth. The obstacles the scheme has faced are symptomatic of the various ways in which the system can seem rigged against development. In Wimbledon's case, an application for the proposed development was originally accepted by Merton Council but the fact that a 'tiny bit' of the land fell within Wandsworth boundaries enabled that council to block it – a mark of how many different players are able to exert a veto and 'throw sand in the gears of the development', according to Dumitrio. The listing of the proposed expansion site as Metropolitan Open Land has another important impact – opponents of the plans have their legal costs capped due to MOL legislation. 'So it's very easy to bring these legal cases,' says Dumitrio. 'The thing I really find concerning is the ability of people not accept[ing] a legal decision on planning who will fight it to the highest courts in the land. This is a problem not just in Wimbledon but in general.' 'They're putting things out there that are untrue' There could be a short-cut in the offing in this case. Jevans told Telegraph Sport that she has been engaging with the government over the upcoming planning and infrastructure bill, which is currently passing through the Houses of Parliament. But the chances of a useful extra clause being inserted, specifically to deal with this anomaly, seem slim. 'They've got a lot on their plate,' she said. Her suspicion is that it will take until the end of 2026 to resolve all the remaining legal issues and start work on the long-abandoned site. Even then, it would still take five or six years for the new grass courts to bed down, leaving us with a best-case opening date of 2033. It could be argued that the AELTC should have done more to disarm any potential critics early in this process. It could perhaps have offered more enticements to locals – in terms of access to facilities – which might have offset the nuisance value of extended building works. But the plans have stopped a long way short of some of the more outlandish suggestions – which saw one newspaper mock up a graphic of the site featuring a helipad, a multi-storey carpark and a shopping centre – and they also restore public access to land which is now little use to anyone, being locked away behind iron gates while the planning battle chugs on. Furthermore, Jevans disputes some of the objectors' claims. 'I've read today that all of a sudden we're cutting down 2000 trees,' she said. 'It was 800, it's now 2000, and so it's not based on any data. 'When the chap from the Wildlife Trust stood up at the GLA hearing and said that the developments were going to deliver ecological improvement, it turned out that Save Wimbledon Park group hadn't submitted any data at all. They just said there was going to be environmental damage. 'Even the name of the group isn't accurate, because we're actually increasing Wimbledon Park by 30 per cent. The rest of the plans involve taking over a private golf course, and then hosting qualifying on it. So I think that's the challenge. They're just putting things out there that are simply untrue.' Ultimately, Tuesday's High Court date is easily the biggest match the AELTC is involved in during this year's Wimbledon. Whether it emerges victorious could have a huge impact on whether Wimbledon remains one of Britain's pre-eminent events.
The Independent
07-07-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Wimbledon's expansion plan in High Court after local residents react with fury
Novak Djokovic calls it a 'win-win.' Carlos Alcaraz says it's a 'great idea.' They have a point - Wimbledon's major expansion plan is impressive. It includes adding an 8,000-seat stadium with a retractable roof, to start. Then there's 38 other grass courts at a former golf course across the road from the main site that would allow the All England Club to move its qualifying event and hold it on-site. This is what the other Grand Slam tournaments do and it would boost attendance and revenue for the Club. Some local residents did a deep dive on the details, though, and they're not as convinced as the major champions are. That is why the proposal goes to the U.K.'s High Court for a judicial review Tuesday and Wednesday as the quarterfinals are held at the tournament that concludes next weekend. Opponents say they love tennis as much as the 500,000 or so fans who flock to SW19 — Wimbledon's well-known post code — over the course of the two-week event. 'But we're also lovers of the environment and of trees and greenery and open spaces,' said Susan Cusack, a member of Save Wimbledon Park. That's the group challenging the Greater London Authority's approval last September of Wimbledon's project, and they say they have raised more than $270,000 to pay for lawyers to fight against what Cusack and others call an 'industrial tennis complex.' 'They're a massive developer. On their current site, all they do is build, build, build,' Cusack said. Aside from concerns about the environment and overall scale, opponents argue the adjacent property that was a golf course when the All England Club bought it in 2018 is subject to restrictions that favor preservation of open space for the public. Wimbledon's case for expansion The oldest Grand Slam tournament is the only one of the four that holds its qualifying rounds at a completely separate location. There are also too few practice courts in the current setup, requiring some of the world's best players to share courts. 'Wimbledon needs to stay at the pinnacle of world sport, and to do that, you have to evolve both on the court but also off the court with the infrastructure,' Debbie Jevans, chair of the All England Club, told The Associated Press. Wimbledon's attendance numbers trail the other three majors. The Australian Open sold 1.1 million tickets for this year's main draw — more than double Wimbledon's 2024 tally — after bringing in more than 115,000 the week of qualifying. Wimbledon's qualifying, three miles away at Roehampton, has 8,000 tickets total. The French Open pulled in 80,000 fans for its qualifying. Fans could watch star players practice, in addition to the mini-tournament in which competitors play for coveted spots in the singles brackets. Wimbledon's project would allow 8,000 spectators at qualifying — per day. 'If you look at the other Grand Slams, they will have community events during that first week ... and, of course, the serious tennis,' Jevans said. 'So we always start with the tennis but, yes, I want the opportunity to embrace more people. The demand for our tickets is off the charts.' An 8,000-seat arena would become Wimbledon's third-largest stadium after Centre Court and No. 1 Court; it would be located just across the street from No. 1 Court. Wimbledon's plan, which incorporates space now used for the famous Queue, would more than double its total number of grass courts — there are currently 18 for the tournament, plus 20 for practice. Jevans said 'at least seven' of the proposed new courts would be made available for community use. The plan also includes two public parks, one that would be 23 acres. The club declined comment on the project's price tag, which British media has reported will be about $270 million. Djokovic and Alcaraz support Wimbledon's plans If the plan survives legal challenges, there's still an eight-year construction window. That should rule out the 38-year-old Djokovic's chances of competing on the new courts. But the seven-time Wimbledon champion still wants the plan to succeed. 'It's great for the community, for London, for our sport. It's a win-win, to be honest. If it doesn't go through, it will be a shame,' he said Thursday. Belinda Bencic, who was 17 when she made her Wimbledon debut in 2014, said Saturday she likes that the club 'is investing and trying to do the best for the players." Two-time defending champion Alcaraz said putting 'qualifying really close (to) where we are now — I think it's a great idea.' Whatever happens, Djokovic noted, Wimbledon's future is secure. 'Wimbledon, as it is already, is a sacred tournament, a tournament that everybody wants to win or play in,' he said. 'This is only a bonus. It's something that will get it to even a higher level of recognition.'
