Wimbledon Expansion Approved after High Court ruling

Wimbledon’s plans to expand its facilities are set to proceed after a High Court judge dismissed a legal challenge against the decision to approve the proposal.

The ‘Save Wimbledon Park’ campaign group had taken action against the Greater London Authority’s decision to grant planning permission for the scheme, which would see the construction of 38 new tennis courts and an 8,000-seat stadium on the grounds of the former Wimbledon Park Golf Club.

The campaign group’s barristers argued that the decision to approve the plans was “irrational” and should be quashed, citing restrictions on how Wimbledon Park could be used. However, Wimbledon chiefs defended the challenge, stating that the decision was a “planning judgement properly exercised” and that the restrictions were not “material”.

In his ruling, Justice Saini dismissed the challenge, stating: “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.”

The planning permission was initially granted by Jules Pipe, London’s deputy mayor for planning, who said the proposals “would facilitate very significant benefits” that “clearly outweigh the harm”.

Despite the ruling, the campaign group said it had been “advised that it should” seek to challenge the decision.

“SWP is not taking this step lightly but believes that the GLA did make a significant legal error in the way it dealt with the special legal status of the park,” a statement said.

VANGUARD