Wimbledon tennis expansion: Deputy Mayor to deliver final-ish decision on seemingly endless planning application
London’s deputy mayor for planning will decide whether or not long-held plans for an expansion of Wimbledon’s tennis facilities will go ahead.
Jules Pipe, the Mayor’s planning chief, ‘called in’ the decision on the All England Club’s expansion into neighbouring land after the boroughs of Merton and Wandsworth issued differing verdicts on the plans.
The All England Club wants to build just shy of 40 tennis courts and an 8,000 seater show court on the private Wimbledon Park golf club next door, land the tennis authority bought some six years ago.
The area would serve as a public park when not being used for the flagship summer Championships.
Deborah Jevans CBE, Chair of the All England Club, welcomed the Deputy Mayor’s involvement.
“Our proposals will deliver one of the greatest sporting transformations for London since the 2012 Olympics. It will bring the Qualifying event on site, in line with the other Grand Slams, and will ensure that Wimbledon remains one of the world’s best sporting events. Crucially, these plans will also unlock year-round community benefits including a new 23-acre park created on land which has been inaccessible to the public for over 100 years.
“We are committed to delivering significant social, economic and environmental improvements, creating hundreds of jobs and generating millions of pounds in economic benefits for our neighbours in Merton and Wandsworth, and more broadly across London.”
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has recused himself from the process.
Local MPs have come out against the project, with vocal campaign groups making their presence felt ahead of the expected general election this year.
A YouGov poll commissioned by the All England Club suggested that five times as many Londoners were in favour of the proposals than opposed them.
The approval from the Mayor’s office would be binding unless central government then decided to call in the plans itself.