Wimbledon Expansion Receives Grand Slam Game Changing Approval

The All England Club have been granted permission to build 39 new courts, including a new 8,000 seater show court, on the site of the former Wimbledon Park Golf Club that sits across the road from the current Grand Slam grounds in SW19. After three hours of heated discussion at London’s City Hall, Wimbledon now has the go-ahead to almost triple in size.

The battle between supporters and objectors has revolved around economic, environmental and community benefits. The endgame could still be fought through a judicial review, although Friday’s development has cleared some significant hurdles for the AELTC. CEO Sally Bolton outlined the advantages of a three-week Wimbledon tournament on one site, opening up closer access to the players for fans while improving facilities for players.

“These plans for the site of a former private golf course will bring significant benefits to the local area, the wider capital and the UK economy, providing increased access to open green space and sport, new parkland and a host of new jobs,” said Jules Pipe, the deputy mayor who passed the project after a fractious few hours on the south bank of the River Thames.

“Hosting qualifying events on the same site as the Championships will put Wimbledon on a global footing with other Grand Slam tournaments and ensure it remains one of the world’s top sporting events” he continued. Pipe was making the final call as the Mayor, Sadiq Khan, had already withdrawn from the process having declared positive backing for the scheme previously.

This landmark decision has been three years in the making since the AELTC proposed the original plan in 2021. Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, had already dropped a holding notice on Friday morning meaning that she would not be calling in the proposals. The obstacles for the AELTC will now come through purely legal challenges.

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There was a general expectation that the AELTC would get the nod for approval, especially in the light of the Greater London Authority’s verdict on 19 September which found there were “no material considerations that are considered to justify the refusal of consent". The GLA report acknowledged that there would be a loss of open space and harm to Open Metropolitan Land but this was more than counterbalanced by the significant benefits, such as $450 million of annual benefits and job creation.

Deborah Jeavons, chair of the All England Club, was keen to highlight the positive overall benefits of the decision: “Our proposals will deliver 27 acres of newly accessible parkland for the community and enable us to bring the Qualifying Competition for The Championships onsite, with all of the substantial economic and employment opportunities this presents. Every stage of this project will be delivered with a meticulous attention to detail and the utmost respect for both our neighbors and the environment,” she said.

This statement didn’t salve the ire of those who are not convinced by the sustainability claims of the proposals. The campaign group Save Wimbledon Park has rejected many aspects of the GLA’s report, saying it has “shallow and poorly thought-out planning analysis, “ CPRE London, the countryside charity working for greener spaces in Greater London tweeted views that summarized the major reservations by many groups opposed to the project: “A park gone forever. Unrecognisable. The public’s rights completely ignored, the natural surface ripped out, replaced with engineered surface, roads, pathways and buildings; heritage and trees trashed.”

The application had reached City Hall after Merton -where the vast majority of the designated development and the existing tennis complex lies – accepted the plans but the neighboring Wandsworth Council rejected it, citing "the loss of green open space at Wimbledon Park and the loss of mature trees that was at the heart of this application.”

Opponents have argued that there will be a loss of about 300 mature trees with a negative effect on the local habitat and nature. However, Alison King, a landscape architect engaged by the AELTC, stated that the most mature tress would be preserved while only 300 out of 1,000 trees would be removed, and most of those being of a lower-grade category.

The MP for Wimbledon, Paul Kohler, wrote a letter to the deputy mayor just before the decision was announced, reminding him that when Merton Council sold the freehold of the Wimbledon Golf Club site to the AELTC both parties gave assurances they would not build on the land. Christopher Coombe from the Save Wimbledon Park group added: “Approval at this stage would be really shocking. The land has been protected forever.”

The All England Club has previously stated that "a mix of the special and unique cultural, sporting and socioeconomic interest and value of the AELTC and The Championships" would provide the special circumstances to build on protected land. Should legal challenges fail to reverse the current schedule, completion is expected in 2030 with an increase of capacity from 42,000 to 50,000.