Clapham Junction Insider | 28 October 2024 | Cyril Richert
"On Friday 27 September, Jules Pipe, London’s Deputy Mayor for Planning, decided to overrule Wandsworth Council’s refusal and the vast opposition from the local residents to allow the extension of Wimbledon Tennis Club into the park.
The plans, presented by the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), aim to expand across Church Road to build an 8,000-seat stadium (104 metres wide and 28 metres high), an additional 38 grass courts, 10 other buildings including a 30,000 sq ft maintenance hub, and 9 km of roads and paths at the former location of the Wimbledon Park Golf Course. The Wimbledon Tennis site would almost triple in size.
Merton Council approved the application last year after an extended debate where 6 Labour councillors voted in favour while 4 others (including one Labour, the 2 Liberal Democrats and the single Conservative councillor) voted against. The decision was based on the benefits they think it would generate. In the words of Merton’s officers’ reports, the development would be “inappropriate” and cause “physical harm” to the Metropolitan Open Land, but all of that could be outweighed by the “very substantial public benefits” of the proposal.
A few weeks later, Wandsworth Planning Committee had to consider the application too, as the land in question straddles the two boroughs. Councillors took the opposite view and refused planning permission, following the recommendation of Wandsworth’s officers who disagreed with their colleagues from Merton."