Clapham Junction Insider | 13 January 2025 | Cyril Richert
(This article provides an excellent explanation of the latest situation with the Save Wimbledon Park campaign)
"Save Wimbledon Park community group put forward grounds for a Judicial Review of the Mayor of London’s planning decision to grant the Tennis Club the right to extend and build on part of Wimbledon Park.
Following the decision by Jules Pipe, London’s Deputy Mayor for Planning, on Friday 27 September to overrule Wandsworth Council’s refusal and the vast opposition from local residents to allow the extension of Wimbledon Tennis Club into the park, local campaigners warned that it was not the end of the story.
After a two-hour deliberation period, Mr Pipe decided to follow the decisions of the officers and grant permission. He made a statement, repeating multiple times: “I agree with my officers…” He said that the scheme would provide “very significant” public benefits that would “clearly outweigh” any harm done to public land.
The plans, presented by the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), aim to expand across Church Road to build an 8,000-seat stadium (104 metres wide and 28 metres high), an additional 38 grass courts, 10 other buildings including a 30,000 sq ft maintenance hub, and 9 km of roads and paths at the former location of the Wimbledon Park Golf Course. The Wimbledon Tennis site would almost triple in size.
The Save Wimbledon Park (SWP) campaign group had warned that it was not the end of the game yet and therefore the “third set” could be decided in court. They quickly sought legal advice to find the best way to challenge the legality of the plan and said:
“[The comments made by a senior barrister about the Trust] move the application on to the next stage, the review of the planning decision for legality (“Judicial Review”), the enforcement of the 1993 restrictive covenants in which the All England promised not to develop, and the enforcement of the public trust, the fourth and fifth sets of this lengthy match. Save Wimbledon Park is reviewing all options carefully and anticipates further action.”
As if to mark the start of 2025, they waited only a couple of days into the new year to announce that they had initiated legal action to challenge the validity of the Mayor of London’s decision to grant planning permission for the AELTC redevelopment of the former Wimbledon Park golf course. Time was of the essence, as they had only six weeks to challenge the planning permission with a Judicial Review."...read more about Clapham Junction Insider: "Residents’ group launches legal action against Wimbledon Tennis Club expansion"