We are naturally disappointed by the decision taken on Friday by GLA Deputy Mayor Jules Pipe to accept his officer’s report and approve AELTC’s proposals to develop Wimbledon Park. We have never been anti tennis, or the Championships, but we remain firm in our belief that it is wrong to allow AELTC to proceed with this aggressive and environmentally damaging development.
We draw breath to consider our next steps carefully and with the benefit of professional advice. The fight goes on.
We would like to thank all the individuals and organisations who have supported us and given so generously of their time. We would like to thank our local politicians of all parties who have spoken up on our behalf over the last three and a half years – our three MPs Stephen Hammond, Fleur Anderson and Paul Kohler as well as our London Assembly Member Leonie Cooper and Ward Councillors from both Merton and Wandsworth Councils. The way their efforts, as our elected representatives, to promote dialogue and engagement have been ignored by the AELTC is disgraceful
The AELTC was allowed to buy the land thirty years ago because it gave legal undertakings not to develop it - yet they now tell us their “commercial priorities have changed” so they can break their word. Anyone who has looked at this application (as SWP has, at length) can see that the benefits, including allowing limited public access, are contingent upon the AELTC honouring new legal undertakings. How long will these new commitments last? Who knows when their “commercial priorities” will change again in the years to come, and what further restrictions and desecration of the heritage park they will “need” to make in the pursuit of the “pinnacle of global tennis”. Is it any wonder that they have lost the respect and confidence of the community?
We are very much aware that the Deputy Mayor’s decision means that other Londoners living near MOL sites should now be deeply worried. When they find they are faced with inappropriate development, we will be very happy to lend our support and advice just as others have helped us. This decision is a clear statement by the Mayor’s office that concreting over green spaces is acceptable – so much for the green credentials that they continue to vaunt.
It has been an astonishing rallying together of the SW18 and SW19 communities and we will continue together, in the stylish manner we have adopted, since we embarked on this mission in 2021. We all know and believe that it is a precious piece of land that is worth fighting for.