Wimbledon expansion given planning boost

The All England Club hopes to build 39 new tennis courts on Wimbledon Park

The All England Club has received a boost to its plans to build 39 new tennis courts on Wimbledon Park.

Officers at the Greater London Authority (GLA) have recommended the Deputy Mayor should grant conditional planning permission at a public hearing next Friday.

Merton Council approved the plans, but the proposal was referred to the GLA after Wandsworth Council rejected the scheme last November.

Officers say the proposal complies with most relevant planning policies and there are "no material considerations that are considered to justify the refusal of consent".

They admit there will be a loss of open space, and harm to protected Metropolitan Open Land, but conclude the "balance is clearly in favour of" approving the scheme.

The All England Club's plans include 39 new tennis courts and an 8,000-seater stadium on Wimbledon Park.

The extra courts would allow Wimbledon qualifying to take place on site - in line with the other three Grand Slams - and the All England Club has also promised to create a new 23-acre public park in the spirit of the original design of landscape architect Capability Brown.

There has been local opposition from groups such as Save Wimbledon Park, which fears the area will become a "huge industrial tennis complex".

The full planning hearing will take place at City Hall in London on Friday, 27 September, with a decision possible later the same day.

The decision rests with Jules Pipe, the deputy mayor of London, as the Mayor Sadiq Khan excused himself from the process having publicly expressed his support for the plans in 2021.

The deputy mayor's decision may not signal the end of the process. Angela Rayner - the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government - could also decide to call the application in, and hold a fresh planning hearing.

The Minister will have seven days, from the moment the decision is communicated to her, to consider her options.

Fleur Anderson, the MP for Putney, says she is "extremely disappointed" by the recommendation.

"These plans are not right for our community and are damaging for the environment, with industrial scale development and permanent loss of access to our park," she said in a statement co-signed by two local politicians.

The All England Club believes the plans will "deliver one of the greatest sporting transformations for London since 2012".

"The land that we propose to enhance has been used as a private members' golf course for well over 100 years and, as a core part of this project, we will create 27 acres of beautiful new parkland, free for the public to access and enjoy," said the AELTC chair Deborah Jevans.