Expansion plans: The All England Club want to add 39 additional courts at Wimbledon
(Picture: Handout)Opponents have failed in their initial bid to halt Wimbledon’s ambitious expansion plan.
Proposals have been put forward for 39 additional tennis courts on Wimbledon Park Golf Course, one of which is an 8,000-seater show court.
Opposition councillors at Merton Council on Wednesday night tabled a motion calling on the council to enforce the covenants, which would effectively stop the expansion plans in their tracks.
But the motion was amended by its Labour members to state that the covenants “need to be respected” and not “enforced”. The amended motion also clarified the covenant issue was separate to the planning application, which is expected to be considered in May.
The altered motion, which was passed, is a setback for local residents, opposition councillors and environmental groups who have united to take on the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC) over the proposed build and its detrimental environmental impact.
The covenant is seen as one of the key issues. When the All England Club bought the golf course freehold for £5.2million in 1993, it was stipulated by Merton Council that “the golf course land will be retained as open space. The whole stretch has been designated Metropolitan Open Land. We have declared it a conservation area and placed strong covenants on the sale”.
The then chairman of the AELTC said “we completely understand and support everyone’s determination to keep the land open and we have purchased the land on that basis”.
Despite the setback, councillor Paul Kohler, who had tabled the motion, said: “The battle is far from over. We have at least succeeded in getting a commitment from the council to ‘respect’ the covenant and I will continue to campaign to ensure these covenants are enforced and the All England Club’s over-development blocked.”
