Tie-break looms as mayor’s office considers Wimbledon redevelopment
"As both sides wait for the next stage of the process, there seems little chance of a compromise over the plans" (mayor’s office considers Wimbledon redevelopment)
"To use a tennis analogy, we’re at one set all but we’ve got a long way to go,” says Christopher Coombe, a member of Save Wimbledon Park, as he reflects on the latest plot twist in the fight between local residents and the world’s biggest tennis tournament. “This is a five-set match with no tie-break.”
Coombe is speaking the morning after Wandsworth council unanimously rejected the All England Club’s plans to build 39 grass courts, including an 8,000-seat stadium, on the Grade II-listed Wimbledon golf club site. But last month Merton council, which has an equal say in the decision, approved the same controversial plans by 6-4. Hence the impasse – and the sense of battle lines being redrawn on the streets of Wimbledon and Southfields.
We won’t have long to wait for the next development. On Wednesday the London mayor’s office confirmed it will decide in the next fortnight whether to kill the plans entirely or call them in for review. That decision now rests with the deputy mayor for planning, Jules Pipe, after the mayor, Sadiq Khan, recused himself because of his previous support for the expansion."...read more
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