Wimbledon vow to fight for expansion plans despite major setback

Wimbledon vow to fight for expansion plans despite major setback

Wimbledon suffered a major setback in its expansion plans when Wandsworth Council rejected the plans.

The All England Club wants to build 38 new courts, including an 8,000-seat show court at adjacent Wimbledon Park.

The majority of the plans fall under the jurisdiction of Merton Council, who have already approved the plans. However, approval from Wandsworth is also required and councilors voted to uphold planning officers’ recommendation to refuse the plans last week.

This is a separate decision and will be referred to the Mayor of London’s Office for a final decision.

“We are, of course, disappointed with the London Borough of Wandsworth’s decision,” said Sally Bolton, chief executive of the All England Club.

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“Our proposals will deliver the biggest sporting transformation to London since 2012, while delivering huge benefits to local communities.”

“We are confident that the AELTC Wimbledon Park project will deliver significant social, economic and environmental improvements, including transforming 23 hectares of former private land into a new public park, while creating hundreds of jobs and economic benefits. We strongly believe it will benefit us, it will bring us millions of dollars.” Our neighbors in Wandsworth, Merton and across London.

REJECTED 🙅‍♀️ Wahoooooo!!!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🤩🎉🤩 @wandbc

A step in the right direction! Well done 👏 Team

– SaveWimbledonPark (@SaveWimbldnPark) 21. 2023 年 11 月

“In light of the council’s split decision last month, in which the London Borough of Merton decided to approve our application, our planning application will be referred to the Mayor of London’s Office for consideration .”

Meanwhile, opposition group Save Wimbledon Park (SWP) claimed a major victory, saying: “This result is very encouraging.”

“Council unanimously recognized the important point that this application does not justify significant damage to vacant land in the metropolitan area – valuable green belt.”

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Why is their opposition to Wimbledon expansion?

For most of us, Wimbledon’s spectacular views only really play a role in our lives for two weeks a year, but there is always a need to balance the tournament’s prestige with the surrounding residential areas. did.

For this reason, unlike other Grand Slam tournaments, a strict curfew is in place to minimize nighttime noise for residents.

Residents surrounding the venue are understandably concerned about protecting their area, and there are many reasons for this.

One of them will be a show court with 8,000 seats, which will be a very important structure. In reality, it is equivalent to a 10-story apartment building. The venue could also be used for non-tennis events such as concerts, and there are concerns that this could cause further problems for local residents.

Next is general confusion and construction. The ambitious plan will see construction work become a permanent feature of the site for the remainder of the decade, with major changes to transport infrastructure causing further daily blight.

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