Wimbledon has won its battle to proceed with the club’s £200million expansion after the High Court dismissed a challenge from local campaigners.
The proposed redevelopment of the All England Club was granted planning permission last year, but has since faced opposition from the campaign group Save Wimbledon Park (SWP).
The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) purchased the lease of Wimbledon Park Golf Club for a reported £65million in 2018.
In September 2024, the Greater London Authority approved plans for the AELTC to carry out the wide-ranging expansion of the site.
In addition to opening up 27 acres of new public parkland, the projected £200million scheme would see 39 new tennis courts built and an 8,000-seat stadium, with the site tipped to be turned into a ‘tennis Disneyland’.
This would see the grounds will triple in size, allowing Wimbledon to host the qualifying rounds of the tournament instead of its current location in Roehampton.
The AELTC’s plans to redevelop the former golf club, which it owns, were backed by several top tennis players, including Novak Djokovic.
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 proposal has also faced significant opposition, with SWP taking legal action over the planing permission granted by the GLA.
A judicial review began as this year’s Wimbledon Championship got underway, with campaigners arguing in court that the development was unlawful as the proposed land was protected.
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the High Court earlier this month to support the objection, with the proposed expansion of the sporting venue threatening to treble the event’s footprint.
Barristers for SWP told the High Court that the decision to approve the plans was ‘irrational’ and should be quashed, as Wimbledon Park – a Grade II*-listed heritage site – was covered by restrictions on how it could be used.
But both the GLA and the All England Club defended the challenge, with the High Court ultimately ruling in their favour.
Mr Justice Saini ruled that the GLA had acted lawfully when they approved the development last year.
He said: “In short, the defendant’s decision on the relevance of deliverability, applying to both the statutory trust and the restrictive covenants, was a planning judgement rationally exercised and having regard to appropriate and relevant factors.”
Welcoming the decision, the All England Club’s chair, Deborah Jevans said: “It is clear that we have a robust planning permission that enables us to create a permanent home for the Wimbledon qualifying competition, as well as delivering 27 acres of beautiful new parkland for local people, providing public access to land that has been a private golf course for over 100 years.”
Despite the ruling, the dispute may not end there, with SWP sharing that it had been advised to challenge the latest decision.
The campaign group claimed the GLA had made a “significant” legal error over the special legal status of the park.
Christopher Coombe, a director of SWP, said: “This judgment would, if it stands, set a worrying precedent for the unwanted development of protected green belt and public open spaces around London and across the country.”
The latest development in the ongoing dispute is also set to upset locals, with many arguing against the loss of green space, as well as years of disruption to the local area.
In June, 100-year-old actress and Wimbledon resident Thelma Ruby discussed the controversial expansion plans with talkSPORT.com, where she vowed to chain herself to a tree in protest.
Ruby said: “I said I would chain myself to a tree so I could save one of the 800 trees, just as it was done in the past, I’d have to go on to watch their private property, so I might get arrested.
“I’ve been a law-abiding citizen for 100 years, and I would break that – anything to stop this from going through.”
For their part, the AELTC have stated that they are planting five times as many trees as they are removing.
And rather than the touted 800 trees, it is actually 300 poor-quality trees that are either dying or are in poor condition and were largely planted by the golf club to line the fairways that need to be removed for the expansion.