The future of Wimbledon took centre stage in the High Court on Tuesday, as campaigners challenged Greater London Authority’s decision to approve plans for a £200million expansion onto its green space.
Campaigners from Save Wimbledon Park (SWP) challenged the decision by the GLA to give the green light to All England Lawn Tennis Club’s proposal to build 39 new courts, including an 8,000-seat stadium, on the former Wimbledon Park Golf Club.
More than 100 residents and campaigners gathered at the Royal Courts of Justice to follow the proceedings. Outside the court, demonstrators held placards reading “Stop the stadium” and “Green not greed,” while chanting “Save our park.”
The group contends that the GLA failed to properly consider key redevelopment restrictions tied to the land, which were established when AELTC’s parent company acquired the golf course freehold in 1993.
Representing Save Wimbledon Park in court, the group’s lawyer Sasha White said: “You could not have a more protected piece of land in London.”
He told the court that the plans involved a “remarkably large area of land” which was the equivalent of 50 football pitches and would see Wimbledon’s current total of 41 tennis courts increased to 80.
Mr White explained how the land is designated as a Metropolitan Open Land — which offers similar protections to a Green Belt — it is also protected by a covenant, while tree preservation orders are in place and the land is located within the Wimbledon North Conservation Area.
“The application site has some of the most restricted planning restraints possible,” Mr White said.
“The burden on (the All England Club) to justify the proposal[… ]was very strong.”
The Greater London Authority and All England Club dispute that the restrictions exist and said the decision to approve the scheme was “plainly rational”.
Planning permission 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, chair 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.
Several leading players have put their weight behind the plans, with Novak Djokovic describing it as a “win-win”, while Carlos Alcaraz labelled it a “great idea”.
The All England Club argues that, to remain competitive with other Grand Slam tournaments such as the French Open and the US Open, it needs to expand its facilities.
Currently, its qualifying rounds are held in Roehampton, and for those who advance to the main tournament, the club acknowledges that practice facilities are among the most limited on the Grand Slam circuit.
However, campaigners have raised strong objections, citing concerns over the site’s biodiversity, historical significance, and the strain additional development would place on local services and infrastructure.
They claim that Wimbledon Park is subject to similar protections as the green belt or royal parks and is therefore allowing development would set a “dangerous precedent” across London.
Comedian and writer Andy Hamilton has joined campaigners in their fight and said he is “vehemently opposed” to the expansion of the Wimbledon tennis site.
The Wimbledon resident 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.”
The start of the hearing on Tuesday coincides with the Wimbledon quarter-finals and is one of two cases at the High Court concerning the Wimbledon expansion plans. The other hearing will take place in January.
