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Putney News: Minister who blocked Wimbledon Park amendment now officially backs it - Lords Vote 13 April
Putney News | 31 March 2026 | Kieren McCarthy "Lords vote on 13 April [2026] as opposition mounts from three parties and conservationists." "The House of Lords will vote on 13 April on an amendment to the English Devolution Bill that would remove the legal protections keeping Wimbledon Park in public use – and the government minister responsible is now formally listed as a co-sponsor. Baroness Taylor of Stevenage, the Housing Minister, had her name printed on Amendment 248
Apr 2
Invitation to Save Wimbledon Park Public Meetings on 16th April and 22nd April 2026
YOU ARE INVITED TO A PUBLIC MEETING: Save Wimbledon Park (SWP) would like to update you on progress made in opposing the current plans put forward by the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC): SWP believes that AELTC should stop and think again. It’s been a busy few weeks with court cases and the intervention of the House Of Lords, whilst still to come are the local elections and their impact on the restrictive 1993 covenants. There is much to say! At these meetings local arch
Mar 30
Putney News: Wimbledon Park: what the High Court ruling actually means – and what happens next
Putney News | 20 March 2026 | Kieren McCarthy Planning challenge, Lords amendment and Merton covenant all unresolved after Thursday’s ruling. "The All England Lawn Tennis Club won yesterday’s High Court ruling by a wider margin than almost anyone expected. But Save Wimbledon Park’s response, issued within hours, reveals a fight that now has more fronts than a single court case, and one of those fronts moves to the House of Lords within weeks. Yesterday’s judgment resolved on
Mar 21
Debate on Clause 222C of the English Devolution Bill, House Of Lords, 5th March 2026 (Call a Spade a Spade)
House Of Lords: Call A Spade A Spade (All quotes from Hansard) You will recall that back in November 2025 Lord Gus O’Donnell (director of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, AELTC) together with Lord Banner, Lord Grabiner and Lord Pannick attempted to insert a clause into the Planning and Infrastructure Bill which would have neutralised the legal case mounted by Save Wimbledon Park (SWP) to oppose AELTC’s plans to build on Wimbledon Park. The clause was Not Put in the face of c
Mar 6
SWP Briefing Note on Amendment 222C to the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
See this Save Wimbledon Park briefing note on Amendment 222C to the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill :
Feb 21
Clapham Junction Insider: Wimbledon extension: The latest developments ahead of 2026 challenges
Clapham Junction Insider | 18 December 2025 | by Cyril Richert "A Lords amendment aimed at clearing the way for Wimbledon’s expansion has fallen, leaving the project exposed to renewed legal challenges — including further cases in 2026 — over public land, statutory trusts and historic community promises." "Following the loss of the first round of legal battles over the summer — and with further challenges looming, including an appeal and a separate trust-related case expecte
Dec 21, 2025
AELTC’s cynical attempt to change the law rejected emphatically by the House of Lords
Late on November 3rd Lord Gus O’Donnell, a director of the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) was forced to drop his proposed amendment 250 to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill after receiving strong criticism from peers of all political parties. The amendment sought retrospectively to remove 45 years’ worth of public rights over open spaces, effectively favouring private landowners in general and AELTC in particular. It would have undone 150 years of statutory protectio
Nov 5, 2025
Putney News: "Wimbledon Park amendment abandoned after peers condemn ‘erosion’ of green space protection"
Putney News | 4/11/2025 | Kieren McCarthy "Lord O’Donnell’s controversial law change dropped following government rejection and cross-party opposition." "Lord Gus O’Donnell’s controversial amendment to retrospectively validate the All England Lawn Tennis Club’s Wimbledon Park land purchase was abandoned in the House of Lords last night after the government rejected it and peers condemned it as an “erosion” of public rights. Amendment 250 to the Planning and Infrastructure Bi
Nov 4, 2025
Planning and Infrastructure Bill Amendment 250 Report Stage House of Lords - SWP briefing note about a proposal to remove vested public rights by retrospective legislation
Below are 2 briefing notes (a short bullet point briefing and a longer form briefing) about a proposal to remove vested public rights by retrospective legislation which favours a private landowner. It sweeps away 150 years of Parliamentary protection of public open space in public ownership as a valuable community asset. We urge all members of the House of Lords to reject this cynical and unconstitutional amendment.
Nov 2, 2025
Putney News: Lords to debate controversial amendment government rejected six weeks ago
Putney News | 29 October 2025 | Kieren McCarthy "Wimbledon Park expansion could proceed if retrospective law change passes today." " (Updated: The debate on Amendment 250 has been postponed and is now expected to take place next week.)" "A controversial law change that could clear the way for the All England Lawn Tennis Club’s massive Wimbledon Park expansion was due to be debated in the House of Lords today but has been postponed until next week – despite government ministe
Oct 31, 2025
Open Spaces Society: Public rights on green spaces to be expunged?
Open Spaces Society | 30 October 2025 | Kate Ashbrook "An amendment[1] to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, due to be debated in the House of Lords on Monday 3 November, aims to remove long-standing public rights on green spaces when the land is sold by a local authority. We are urging peers to oppose it. The amendment would make it much easier for local authorities to sell open spaces to developers, ignoring and negating public rights, reversing the recent Day case[2]
Oct 31, 2025
Paul Kohler MP Letter to The Telegraph Re Article on House of Lords Amendment and the AELTC
Please see this letter from Paul Kohler MP to The Telegraph :
Oct 30, 2025
Putney News: "Lord tries to rewrite law to rescue Wimbledon from court battle. He sits on the AELTC board"..."MPs slam ‘scandalous’ conflict"
Putney News | 25 October 2025 | Kieren McCarthy "MPs slam ‘scandalous’ conflict as Lord O’Donnell’s amendment would kill Wimbledon Park legal challenge." "A member of the House of Lords is set to sponsor legislation next week that could directly benefit the All England Lawn Tennis Club’s ongoing legal battle over Wimbledon Park – while simultaneously serving as a director of three companies controlled by the club. Lord Gus O’Donnell, the former Cabinet Secretary, is one of f
Oct 25, 2025
New Planning Legislation Would Have Profound Impact on AELTC Wimbledon Development…Proposed by Lord O’Donnell, a Director of AELTC
A proposed amendment change (Amendment Number 250) to appear after clause 108 of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill is to be discussed next week in the House of Lords on Monday (Oct 27) or Wednesday (Oct 29), proposed by Lords Banner, Grabiner, O’Donnell and Pannick. This would potentially have a profound impact on the development proposed by the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) not to mention countless other open spaces designated for public use and recreation. In addi
Oct 25, 2025
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