Permission has been granted for the Wimbledon Tennis Championships to almost triple in size by expanding onto a neighbouring golf course.
In a landmark decision at City Hall, the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC), which runs the annual event, was given the green light to build 39 new courts - including an 8,000-seater stadium - across the road from its existing site.
London’s deputy mayor for planning, Jules Pipe, reached the verdict following a public hearing on Friday morning, where residents and politicians opposed to the scheme warned it would cause unacceptable harm to the local area.
AELTC has said the project will “deliver one of the greatest sporting transformations for London since 2012” and will “create 27 acres of beautiful new parkland, free for the public to access and enjoy”.
The planning application reached City Hall after dividing opinion between the two local councils whose border is straddled by the site of the former Wimbledon Park Golf Club on Church Road. Merton Council had approved permission for the scheme in October last year, but Wandsworth Council refused to do the same in November.
Both of the area’s local MPs - Putney’s Fleur Anderson (Labour) and Wimbledon’s Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat) - were also firmly opposed to the project.
Arguments against the scheme focused on the impact it would have on the land’s biodiversity and heritage - particularly as it once formed part of landscape architect Capability Brown’s original design for Wimbledon Park.
Concerns were also raised over disruption caused by the construction works, and whether a dangerous precedent could be set for building on sites designated as ‘Metropolitan Open Land’, which are meant to enjoy the same level of protection as the Green Belt.
But in a 221-page report, planning officers at City Hall had told Mr Pipe there were “no material considerations that are considered to justify the refusal of consent”, and they recommended he approve the plan.
The report also said the project would benefit the UK economy by around £336m per year and create 40 year-round jobs and 256 jobs during the Championships.
“Local people are the losers in this deal,” said Labour MP Ms Anderson, adding that there was “no guarantee” that AELTC would not in the future look to build on the new area of parkland which it is proposes to make publicly accessible most of the year.
The MP suggested that AELTC instead explore improving its existing set of qualifying courts at Roehampton, which she said would be “really welcomed” there.
Leonie Cooper, London Assembly member for Merton and Wandsworth, said: “It is a prestigious tournament. I don’t think if the proposal fails to go ahead that the prestige is going to vanish… and I don’t think putting this very large structure into a Capability Brown heritage landscape is something we should support.”
But local resident Richard Higgs, whose home directly overlooks the golf course that would be built on, pointed out that the land has for the last century only been accessible to its members.
“You weren’t just allowed to rock up and play with Ant and Dec, and Piers Morgan,” he said, naming some of the former golf club’s members. The scheme, he argued, would at least open some of it up to the public, as well as enabling circular access round the park’s lake thanks to a proposed boardwalk.
AELTC chair Debbie Jevans warned the deputy mayor that if the project did not go ahead, “Wimbledon will fall behind all the other Grand Slam events”.
Wimbledon is one of four such events in the world - the others being the Australian Open, the French Open, and the US Open.
“We are the only Slam that doesn’t host our qualifying event on the same site as the main tournament,” Ms Jevans said. “Qualifying for Wimbledon currently takes place in Roehampton on a time-limited and rented site.
“We know that this holds us back in offering a truly world-class experience. We have a real need for a third show court, which mirrors that of the other Grand Slams, and includes a roof to mitigate against the evermore disruptive weather.”
