Wimbledon park plans given green light
Plans have been given the go-ahead for a new 23-acre park in Wimbledon by the Greater London Authority (GLA).
The plans were drawn up by Allies and Morrison and the GLA found they are projected to be worth in the region of £336m to the UK economy each year.
It follows a four-hour meeting convened by the GLA to resolve the issue, which arose from the Wimbledon Championships’ desire to expand the tennis tournament into the park located on the other side of the road from its current grounds.
It is subject to numerous conditions however, such as: a contribution of £10,687,893 to be used towards the delivery of a variety of works for the purpose of enhancing Wimbledon Park in heritage, recreational and amenity terms, among other conditions.
It will also require landscaping improvements in the northern part of Wimbledon Park for the purposes of enhancing the park, registered park and garden in biodiversity, heritage and landscaping terms and enhancing recreational leisure facilities.
Its attempts at expansion have been at a standstill because while the majority of the park falls under Merton Council, a small proportion falls under Wandsworth Council, so while approval was granted by the former, it could not proceed due to objections from the latter, resulting in the GLA intervening.
The current plans will also see 1.7ha of publicly available parkland and another smaller site on the south of the park.
The site was previously occupied by a golf club, whose members voted to sell to the Championships back in 2018 and has been out of use since 2022.
Sadiq Khan previously expressed support for the plans in 2021, so recused himself from the issue last year and delegated the matter to Jules Pipe, deputy London Mayor.
Jules Pipe CBE, deputy mayor for Planning, Regeneration and the Fire Service, said: “These plans for the site of a former private golf course will bring significant benefits to the local area, the wider capital and the UK economy, providing increased access to open green space and sport, new parkland and a host of new jobs.
“The scheme brings a huge range of economic, social and cultural benefits which will contribute to building a fairer, greener and more prosperous London for everyone.”
In addition to the parkland there will be an 8000 seat court installed, which would be the third biggest at the tournament, and an additional 38 courts.
At present, the tournament uses a large field in the park for queueing, as well as a small pathway that snakes down the side to a smaller field used for ticketing.
The motivations on the Championships’ side lean on a desire to hold the qualifying tournament onsite as it is the only tournament of its status to not do so, by being able to host more matches at once it would offer significant protection should too many matches be called off due to rain.
Barring the week of qualifying and the two weeks of the tournament, this initiative should increase public access to the park, as the area was previously used by a private members golf club, which ceased activity in 2022.
The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC) will also have to deliver 11.1 hectares for use by the public free of charge in perpetuity. A public access plan will be submitted by AELTC and approved by the council to establish rules of access.
“We are delighted that the Greater London Authority has resolved to approve our applications to transform the former Wimbledon Park Golf Course,” says Deborah Jevans, chair of the All England Club.
“Our proposals will deliver 27 acres of newly accessible parkland for the community and enable us to bring the qualifying competition for the Championships onsite, with all of the substantial economic and employment opportunities this presents.