Wimbledon: All England Club’s controversial expansion plans for 39 new courts approved by Greater London Authority

Wimbledon: All England Club’s controversial expansion plans for 39 new courts approved by Greater London Authority | Tennis News

September 27, 2024:

The All England Club’s plans to expand into Wimbledon Park have been approved by the Greater London Authority.

The decision taken by Jules Pipe, London’s deputy mayor for planning, means Wimbledon’s controversial proposal to build 39 new courts, including a new 8,000-seat show court, on the former Wimbledon Park Golf Club – and nearly triple the size of its current site – looks set to go ahead.

The decision had been expected after GLA planning officers recommended permission be granted, and Pipe cited the benefits to both the tournament and the community.

“In summary, the proposed development would facilitate very significant benefits,” he said. “I agree with my officers that these benefits clearly outweigh the harm.”

Earlier this month, a report by officers at the GLA said “very significant” economic benefits and enhancing the Wimbledon brand were two of the reasons why conditional planning permission should be granted, with “no material considerations that are considered to justify the refusal of consent”.

The All England Club had bought the lease of the neighbouring Wimbledon Park Golf Club for a reported £65m in 2018.

Across the site – which also encompasses Wimbledon Park Lake and a section of Church Road – designated north and south player hubs would be built, as well as a new 23-acre public park created.

The grounds would almost triple in size and allow Wimbledon to host the qualifying tournaments in SW19, rather than their current home a couple of miles away in Roehampton.

Completion is projected for 2030, which will see an increase in the capacity of the championships from 42,000 to 50,000 and also deliver “benefits relating to heritage open space, recreation and community”.

The £200m project, though, was thrown into doubt when Wandsworth Council, some of whose land the application also straddles, subsequently announced it intended to refuse it.

A revised bid was submitted to the GLA in May 2024, and the decision was then down to the deputy mayor – with London mayor Sadiq Khan not involved having publicly supported the initial plans in 2021.

Irrespective of Pipe’s decision, Deputy Prime Minster Angela Rayner – the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government – will still have seven days in which to rubber-stamp or reject the application.

A number of local groups, residents and politicians have protested against the proposal, saying it is too large for the area and that there will be considerable environmental damage.

Around 2,000 trees are expected to be removed across some 75 acres of Metropolitan Open Land, which is intended to be protected as an area of landscape, recreation, nature conservation or scientific interest.

The All England Club maintains the project “offers significant social, economic and environmental improvements”.

Liberal Democrat MP for Wimbledon Paul Kohler said in a statement on X, supported by other local politicians, if Pipe did approve the plans to “turn much of Wimbledon Park into a concrete industrial tennis complex”, then he would be “showing complete contempt for the people of Wimbledon”.

“There is a huge amount of animosity and bitterness because the risk of loss of this open space – important to people’s well-being and recreation – is so significant,” Save Wimbledon Park spokesperson Christopher Coombe told PA.

“This land has been protected forever, never built upon – a decision to approve this application will see it lost forever.”

Watch both the China Open and Japan Open this week, live on Sky Sports Tennis and Sky Sports+, with coverage starting at 3am each morning.

What’s on Sky Sports Tennis in September?

Japan Open – ATP 500 (September 25-October 1)
China Open – ATP 500 (September 26-October 2)
China Open – WTA 1000 (September 25-October 6)

Sky Sports+ has officially launched and will be integrated into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.

Source link

tags

Abkhazia Afghanistan Africa Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Curacao Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic East Timor Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Fiji Finland France French Polynesia Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guam Guatemala Guinea Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Korea North Macedonia Northern Cyprus Norway Oman Pakistan Palestine Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Republic of the Congo Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Lucia Samoa San Marino Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Korea South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Uganda UK Ukraine United Arab Emirates Uruguay USA Uzbekistan Vatican City Venezuela Vietnam Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe