All England Lawn Tennis Club Moves Closer to Expansion Approval

The All England Lawn Tennis Club, home of Wimbledon, is in position to build 39 new courts on Wimbledon Park after the Greater London Authority recommended that the project should be approved.

The expansion will allow the All England Club to host the qualifying competition for Wimbledon on site instead of the Roehampton community sports center a few miles away. The club has proposed building a third 8,000-seat show court, along with 38 other grass courts, despite local residents who oppose the construction, saying it will cause environmental damage and a loss of green spaces on protected metropolitan open land.

The full planning hearing will take place at City Hall on September 27, with a verdict potentially the same day by Jules Pipe, the deputy mayor of London, after the Greater London Authority made its recommendation on Thursday.

The 221-page GLA report said there were “no material considerations that are considered to justify the refusal of consent.” The report also said the proposal would bring in $447 million of annual benefits and would result in the creation of 40 year-round jobs and 256 event jobs.

Merton council initially approved the plans, but the proposal was referred to the GLA after Wandsworth council rejected the plans last November as the land in question straddles the two boroughs.

“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 according to BBC News.