Our first ground concerned the statutory trust, a major protection for all public rights in our urban We have been pointing out for a considerable time that the statutory public recreation trust on which Far from it, this is fundamental to the way in which local authorities all over England hold public trust

Courts of Justice for the opening of a pivotal High Court hearing on whether a 150-year-old statutory trust High Court case to decide whether the land the Club planned to build on was subject to a ‘statutory trust system was poor and audio barely audible." ...read more about Clapham Junction Insider: Is there a Trust

Court ruled that the golf course land in Wimbledon Park is not subject to a statutory public recreation trust Shropshire, by allowing developers to apply to the Secretary of State for a statutory trust discharge They argued that it did not become statutory trust land then and in those circumstances the land was These concerned consideration of when “public rights” under a statutory trust arise, what do “public land, the right to apply to the Secretary of State for a statutory trust discharge order.

It hinged on whether the land of the former golf club is subject to a “statutory trust” under s164 Public

There has been comprehensive press coverage of the start of the AELTC vs SWP statutory trust court case

SWP argue that the land is protected by a statutory trust for public recreation. At a hearing today in the statutory trust proceedings, the Court decided that SWP is a suitable body of representing the interests of all those in the community interested in arguing that the statutory trust

The following briefing note has just been issued today by Save Wimbledon Park Ltd (SWP). Supporters of the campaign are being asked to meet at the Royal Courts of Justice, The Strand, WC2A 2LL by 08:45 on Friday 16th January 2026 for a media-friendly demo. This is the same location as the demo of last year.

High Court decision that the former golf course in Wimbledon Park is not covered by a statutory public trust

Both sides agree on one thing: if the court finds the land is subject to a “statutory trust” for public recreation, and that trust binds the tennis club, the expansion cannot proceed.

GLA decision was wrong in law because it failed to take into account a statutory Public Recreation Trust golf course land to the club in 1993, but campaigners believe the land is still covered by a statutory trust case in Shropshire which saw planning permission for a housing development quashed because a statutory trust by Merton Council on advice, was and remains that there is not, nor has there ever been, a statutory trust that the correct thing to do ... is to put the matter before the court to establish that there is no trust

planning policy, as it failed to 1. take into account the implications of the statutory public recreation trust asking a court to decide whether the former golf course is subject to the statutory public recreation trust The AELTC deny the trust status of the land and say that “having this matter resolved is an important They were told about the restrictive covenants three and a half years ago, and about the statutory trust the question whether the GLA ought to have determined whether our client’s property is subject to a trust

exposed to renewed legal challenges — including further cases in 2026 — over public land, statutory trusts legal battles over the summer — and with further challenges looming, including an appeal and a separate trust-related