Comedian and writer Andy Hamilton has said he is “vehemently opposed” to the expansion of the Wimbledon tennis site, ahead of a legal challenge against the decision to approve the plans being heard at the High Court.
Mr Hamilton joined dozens of members of the campaign group Save Wimbledon Park (SWP) in a demonstration outside the Royal Courts of Justice on Tuesday, ahead of its legal challenge against the Greater London Authority (GLA).
Last year, the GLA – which is defending the legal challenge – approved the All England Club’s proposal to build 39 new courts, including an 8,000-seat stadium, on the former Wimbledon Park Golf Club.
SWP has said that Wimbledon Park, a Grade II*-listed heritage site, is subject to similar protections as the green belt or royal parks and that allowing development on the site would set a “dangerous precedent”.
Speaking to the PA news agency, Mr Hamilton, who has lived in the Wimbledon Park area for several years, said he was “vehemently” against the “absurdly huge” plans.
He said: “They are going to decimate the park, at huge cost to the local environment and the local community.”
He continued: “It’s just absurd, the scale of it, and really they float lots of spurious reasons why are they doing it.
“The real reason is the club just wants to triple the size of the current Wimbledon tennis estate so that they can bring in more visitors and make a very rich private members club even richer.”
Planning permission for the scheme was granted last year by Jules Pipe, London’s deputy mayor for planning, who said that the proposals “would facilitate very significant benefits” which “clearly outweigh the harm”.
Debbie Jevans, chairwoman of the All England Club, said at the time that the proposals would deliver 27 acres of “newly accessible parkland for the community”, and would allow the qualifying tournament for Wimbledon – currently staged at Roehampton – to be held on-site.
A spokesperson for the club said on Tuesday that the plans would “deliver one of the greatest sporting transformations for London since 2012” and were “crucial to ensuring Wimbledon remains at the pinnacle of tennis”.
Mr Hamilton said: “They are going to make everyone’s lives a misery basically, for 10 years.
“They say ‘we need it to stay at the pinnacle of world tennis’. That is nonsense.
“They are at the pinnacle, their place is assured, and the other argument is we don’t want the embarrassment of the qualifiers being off-site anymore.
“The reality is, Roehampton is a perfectly good location for the qualifiers, it’s just around the corner.”
A spokesperson for the All England Club 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 GLA spokesperson said: “The Mayor believes this scheme will bring a significant range of benefits, including environmental, economic, social and cultural benefits to the local area, the wider capital and the UK economy.
“It will create new jobs and green spaces and cement Wimbledon’s reputation as the greatest tennis competition in the world.
“An application has been made for the court to determine this matter, and it is therefore inappropriate for the Mayor to comment further at this stage.”
The hearing before Mr Justice Saini is due to conclude on Wednesday, with a judgment expected in writing at a later date.
