Objection of CPRE London for GLA Stage 2
Re: AELTC application to develop Wimbledon Park Golf Course: Merton 21/P2900, Wandsworth 2021/3609
"CPRE London is a membership-based charity with 2500 members across London, concerned with the preservation and enhancement of London’s vital green spaces, as well as the improvement of London’s environment for the health and wellbeing of all Londoners.
We are writing to express our strong objection to the above planning application where planning permission was approvd by Merton Council but rejected by Wandsworth Council.
We request that the GLA planners reject the application for the following reasons:
The proposed development constitutes inappropriate development on Metropolitan Open Land (MOL) which will cause substantial harm to openness and permanence of the site. It includes a 26-metre-high covered stadium, 10 other buildings, 38 substantially engineered and protected tennis courts, 9.4kms of roads and extensive hardscape for traffic and large temporary buildings. The GLA’s own stage one report (GLA/2021/0914/S1/01) states that the proposal constitutes inappropriate development on MOL and very special circumstances have not been demonstrated. We believe the application would also set a dangerous precedent for developing other areas of precious MOL which are under threat across London.
The development will cause substantial harm to local heritage assets. The historic significance of this Grade II listed heritage asset lies in the variety of long-distance views and the openness between planting and features in the landscape, with the lake at its core. The proposals will completely transform the majority of the Golf Course into an industrial tennis complex, destroying views and the other aspects of historic significance. Local and national planning policies forbid the substantial harm to the significant aspects of the Park and the NPPF states “Heritage assets are an irreplaceable resource” (NPPF 189).
There are no significant benefits to the public. The harm which would be caused to the openness and permanence of this Metropolitan Open Land, as well as the heritage asset, cannot be seen to be outweighed by any benefits to the public. In fact, public amenity will be lost, and the public largely excluded from the site.
No special circumstances exist to justify this development. Inappropriate development can only be justified by “very special circumstances” (NPPF 147). There is no threat to the tournament itself or its status and in any event this would be a questionable justification. There are alternative sites: the club."
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