WIMBLEDON EXPANSION PLANS HIT A ROADBLOCK

WANDSWORTH PLANNING CHIEFS PROPOSE REJECTING 200m REVAMP OF NEW SITE, DESPITE MERTON SUPPORT

- Matt Majendie

WIMBLEDON’S ambitious expansion plans have suffered a major setback, after Wandsworth Council planning officers recommended that permission for the £200million revamp be refused.

The All England Club (AELTC) has proposed building 38 new courts and an 8,000-seater showcourt on the site of the former Wimbledon Park Golf Club.

The club had received a major boost when Merton councillors voted last month to allow the plans to go ahead, but Wandsworth planning councillors have been advised to vote against the proposal.

More than 14,000 residents have signed a petition against the rebuild, and a meeting by opposition groups will take place in Wimbledon tonight. In addition, 2,000 letters of complaint have been sent to both councils. Southfields resident Simon Wright, who organised the latest meeting, said: “Community feeling has hardened since last month’s Merton PAC [planning applications committee]. The AELTC must understand how the community feels.”