Published: 12:42, 27 Oct 2023Updated: 12:42, 27 Oct 2023
Wimbledon’s expansion plans to build a ‘tennis Disneyland’ have been given the green light by Merton Council following a planning committee meeting.
A 524-page document outlining its approval for planning permission had already been published by the council.
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The iconic site is set for a glow-upCredit: AFP or licensors
Permission for the controversial plans was granted on Thursday night, on the grounds of ‘Very Special Circumstances’.
It cited that substantial public benefits of the proposal outweigh harm to the significance of heritage assets.
The All England Club purchased the lease of Wimbledon Park Golf Club for a reported £65million in 2018.
The site will see the addition of 38 new courts including a third show court with a capacity of 8,000 seats and retractable roof, as well as north and south player hubs.
It means the grounds will triple in size, allowing Wimbledon to host the qualifying rounds of the tournament instead of its current location in Roehampton.
Completion of the new site is expected in 2030 and will see a huge rise in capacity for the championships from 42,000 to 50,000.
But the plans have angered some local residents with one claiming the expansion would be ‘disruptive’ with around 2,000 trees expected to be chopped down across the Metropolitan open land – a protected area of landscape and recreation.
A petition to ‘Save Wimbledon Park’ has garnered over 13,000 signatures alongside protests from other opposition groups outside the Merton Civic Centre where the committee meeting took place.
Unless Common sense prevails on Thursday @Merton_Council DPAC meeting, entire(pink) 75 acre MOL Grade II* Heritage Park will be excavated & lost forever with openness gone via a Stadium & Boardwalk, 2000 trees removed & 10000’s tonnes of concrete poured into the precious ground. pic.twitter.com/HTpPMRIhnU
— SaveWimbledonPark (@SaveWimbldnPark) October 21, 2023
The final vote came in the early hours of Friday morning when the planning permission was granted by six votes to four.
Wimbledon Park Residents’ Association (WPRA) members voiced their displeasure after learning of the decision.
“We are not at all surprised by the outcome of the vote. Most of the inconsistencies in the report were glossed over,” said WPRA chair Iain Simpson.
“Merton did not even bring their own experts into the hearing, and instead relied on the applicant to advise the councillors who were asking the questions. In addition their pronouncements on the environment still ignored their own expert advice where it didn’t suit them.
“On all that was said about the stadium and the buildings, these are still in outline, and outline designs on protected land contravene their own planning regulations. They therefore cannot be discussed in any meaningful way.
“This is just a stage in what will be a long process for which Save Wimbledon Park is well prepared.”
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