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The All England Tennis Club, hosts of Wimbledon, expressed disappointment after the London Borough of Wandsworth refused permission for a massive expansion on Tuesday. AETC wanted to build 39 new grass courts and an 8,000-seater show court on the neighbouring Wimbledon Park.
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These plans received a green light from the London Borough of Merton, but Wandsworth’s planning committee decided to turn it down. Nonetheless, the decision will now be reviewed by the Mayor of London’s office. Wandsworth’s planning committee had decided to take this decision based on the ecological issues caused by the expansion in the areas.
Similarly, there had also been resistance from the locals and environmental groups with 14,000 people signing a petition to shut down these plans which would lead to chopping down 300 trees, although AELTC reasoned by offering to plant more than 1,000 trees.
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Attorney Stephen Hammond, who represents the Wimbledon constituency, was pleased with Wandsworth's refusal of the plans. “I think this application is too big and very difficult to justify,” he told the Daily Mail. “It is not clear that you need the 39 courts, it is not clear that they need to build the size of show court they are talking about, and it is not clear that they have thought about the building in the public park.”
