Wimbledon’s plans for expansion dealt blow after council refusal

LONDON, Nov 21 — The All England Tennis Club, home to Wimbledon, expressed disappointment after the London Borough of Wandsworth rejected planning permission for a significant expansion on Tuesday.

The proposed expansion included 39 new grass courts and an 8,000-seater showcourt on the adjacent Wimbledon Park. While the plan had been approved by the London Borough of Merton, it was turned down by Wandsworth’s planning committee.

The decision will now be reviewed by the Mayor of London’s office.

In a statement, Sally Bolton, chief executive of the All England Club, expressed disappointment with the decision, emphasizing the substantial benefits the expansion would bring to the local community.

Wandsworth’s planning officers had previously recommended opposing the development, citing concerns about the impact on the openness of metropolitan open land.

A post from the London Borough of Wandsworth on X, formerly Twitter, confirmed the decision: “Wandsworth’s planning committee votes to refuse Wimbledon tennis expansion plans.”

Opposition to the plans also came from local residents and environmental groups, with 14,000 people signing a petition to stop the expansion, which would involve the removal of 300 trees. The All England Club mentioned that over 1,000 trees would be planted in return.

The All England Club has undergone significant transformations in the past two decades, and the need for an expansion was highlighted by the fact that the Wimbledon qualifying competition currently takes place off site, several kilometers away.

The club’s expansion plans aim to return private land back to the public, offering social, economic, and environmental improvements, including the creation of a new public park and the generation of jobs and economic benefits for the local area.

With the London Borough of Merton having approved the application last month, the split council decision now sees the planning application referred to the Mayor of London’s office for consideration.

Lawmaker Stephen Hammond, representing the Wimbledon constituency, expressed his satisfaction with Wandsworth’s refusal of the plans, citing concerns about the scale of the project and its impact on the public park.