7 hours ago
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@Allies&Morrison/AELTC
The All England Club (AELTC) wants to build 39 tennis courts on the former site of Wimbledon Park Golf Club
Plans to almost triple the size of the Wimbledon tennis site are set to proceed after a campaign group's legal challenge against the decision to grant planning permission was dismissed by a High Court judge.
The proposal which had been approved by the Greater London Authority (GLA) includes thirty-eight new tennis courts and an 8-thousand seat stadium.
Save Wimbledon Park (SWP) had argued in court the development on the former Wimbledon Park Golf Club in west London was unlawful as the proposed land was protected.
Deborah Jevans, chairwoman of the All England Club, said she was "delighted" with the decision while the SWP indicated it may challenge the ruling.
Barristers for SWP told the High Court earlier this month that the decision to approve the plans was "irrational" and should be quashed, as Wimbledon Park - a Grade II*-listed heritage site partly designed by Lancelot "Capability" Brown - was covered by restrictions on how it could be used.
The GLA and the All England Club defended the challenge, with the court told that the decision was a "planning judgment properly exercised" and that the restrictions were not "material".
PA Media
SWP campaigners gathered outside the High Court earlier this month to oppose the plans
Mr Justice Saini said: "In short, the defendant's decision on the relevance of deliverability, applying to both the statutory trust and the restrictive covenants, was a planning judgment rationally exercised and having regard to appropriate and relevant factors."
The proposals would see seven maintenance buildings, access points, and an area of parkland with permissive public access constructed, in addition to the courts and associated infrastructure.
It would also allow the club to host Wimbledon qualifiers on site.
Following the ruling on Monday, SWP said it has been "advised that it should" seek to challenge the decision, and that it believed the GLA "did make a significant legal error in the way it dealt with the special legal status of the park".
The proposals would see seven maintenance buildings, access points, and an area of parkland with permissive public access constructed, in addition to the courts and associated infrastructure.
They would also include work on Wimbledon Lake, which would involve building a boardwalk around and across it.
