Campaign group Save Wimbledon Park mounted a protest on Friday as the All-England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) began a new legal battle to authorise their expansion into the neighbouring park.
AELTC, world-famous providers of Wimbledon each year, want to build 38 new tennis courts upon a golf course that forms part of the nearby park and at a new hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice set to last days, their lawyers argue that a statutory trust placed upon the land has been invalid since its sale in 1993.
Save Wimbledon Park fervently disagree and cite potential vulnerability of a huge amount of other green space across the UK if AELTC set a precedent by being able to build into the local park, as well as causing massive disruption and pollution to the neighbouring area when constructing so many new courts.
Local resident and campaigner Mary Fitzhenry said: ”I’ve lived in and around Wimbledon for almost 40 years – my family grew up using Wimbledon Park and I feel very, very strongly that it’s a public facility which an elitist private club should not restrict the access to.
”My children and my grandchildren will want to have access to this wonderful green space…my son used to play golf on that golf course!”
The All-England Lawn Tennis Club were reached out to for comment and clarified that they had, contrary to claims, reached out frequently to the Save Wimbledon Park campaign and had run several events detailing their plans for expansion for local residents.
The club stressed they had paid the campaign’s legal fees to ensure they had the opportunity to put their case to the court, that the plans would eventually open up other areas of currently-inaccessible parkland to the public, and that they were pleased with the results of local polling suggesting support for their expansion.
A spokesperson for AELTC said: “The number one piece of feedback currently from locals is that they just want use to get on and deliver the project so they can enjoy the benefits on offer, and that is a sentiment we clearly share.”
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Featured image credit: Rich Brann
