A group of SW19 residents challenged the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) at the High Court on Tuesday, in the middle of the second week of the Wimbledon Championships.
Save Wimbledon Park (SWP) are pushing back on the Greater London Authority’s (GLA) decision allowing the AELTC’s plans to build 38 new courts, including an 8000 seat show court, on the Wimbledon Park Golf course.
The activist group accused the GLA of ignoring the golf course’s statutory public recreation trust, meaning the site has to be open to the public for their own recreational use.
The group also criticised the environmental impact of the plans, with an estimated loss of 300 trees, as well as the infrastructural damage to the surrounding area of Southfields.
SWP insisted on a family-friendly and peaceful protest outside the court, claiming they are not anti-tennis, just opposed to the expansion.
Southfields resident and SWP member Susan Cusack said: “It’s utterly obvious that this area can not cope with any more people.
“The infrastructure is simply not there.”
The AELTC claim there are community benefits to the Wimbledon Park Project expansion.
They estimate a 50% increase in green space, open to the public, through the renovation of the golf course.
As well as this, their plans propose a four-acre public park next to the already existing Wimbledon park, accessible to the public year round.
To combat the estimated loss of 300 trees, the AELTC insisted 15,000 new trees will be planted to support the biodiversity of the area.
Through their CrowdJustice campaign, SWP have raised £120,000 from public donations, aimed at covering their legal costs for the High Court appeal.
Cusack said: “The support is very encouraging …. the local community have really put their money where their mouths are.”
Support for the high court appeal and SWP’s rejection of the plans has been backed by high-profile individuals including Wandsworth MP Fleur Anderson and TV writer Andy Hamilton.
Awaiting the High Court’s judgement, SWP continue to doubt the benefits that AELTC claim the expansion will bring to the community and local area.
Over the recent Wimbledon Championships, the group called into question the infrastructure of Southfields, and question the AELTC’s decision-making to attract bigger crowds into an already congested area.
Cusack claimed SWP witnessed multiple days of Southfields underground closures, residents’ road closures, supermarket delivery slots cancelled due to traffic, as well as multiple electric bikes blocking pavements.
The group even claim to have seen people queuing for the Championships in Wimbledon Park defecating and urinating in the surrounding woods.
Cusack said: “I think that’s an absolute recipe for disaster for the local area.”
The final verdict in the most recent hearing is expected by the end of July.
An AELTC spokesperson said: “Our proposals will deliver one of the greatest sporting transformations for London since 2012.
“They are crucial to ensuring Wimbledon remains at the pinnacle of tennis, one of the world’s best sporting events, and a global attraction for both London and the UK.
“On offer are substantial year-round benefits for our community and the delivery of significant social, economic, and environmental improvements.
“This includes more than 27 acres of new public parkland on what is currently inaccessible, private land. Our plans will increase the size of Wimbledon Park by a third and create spaces for people and nature to thrive.
“There will be a very significant increase in biodiversity across the site and our proposals are underpinned by more than 1,000 hours of ecological surveys which are endorsed by the London Wildlife Trust.
“We have spoken to more than 10,000 people as part of our consultation events, and we know that the vast majority of people just want us to get on and deliver the many benefits on offer.”
Feature image: Emily Edge
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