Putney MP Calls on New AELTC Chair To Reconsider Plans

Fleur Anderson writes to Debbie Jevans to request meeting

Fleur Anderson talks about the issue on the BBC’s Politics London show

January 27, 2023

Fleur Anderson MP has written to Debbie Jevans, the newly appointed Chair of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, asking her to reconsider plans to build an 8000 seater stadium and 37 practice courts in Wimbledon Park.

She has succeeded Ian Hewitt and is the first female leader of the organiser of the Wimbledon Championships in its history.

Jevans was formerly a tennis professional herself, reaching the fourth round of the tournament in 1979. In 2003 she was appointed director of sports for the London Olympics and Paralympics, and received a CBE in 2013 for her services to the Games.

Ms Anderson said, “I am delighted to welcome Debbie Jevans to her new role and congratulate her on her history-making appointment as the first female AELTC Chair. I have written to her to ask her to meet with me to discuss the AELTC’s plans to develop in Wimbledon Park – plans which I believe are inappropriate and would take away public access to green space, create industrial levels of noise and traffic in a residential area and impact on our trees and wildlife.

“I have been working with local residents to oppose these inappropriate plans for our precious local green space We now expect that the AELTC’s proposals will be be brought to Merton and Wandsworth Planning Committees in March or April. The petition is now nearly 8000 signatures strong. Please do sign if it you haven’t already and share it as widely as possible.”

Merton and Wandsworth Council planning committees will decide whether the proposals can go ahead and building works are predicted to take 10 years.

The proposals had been due to go to planning committee meetings for most of 2022, with the expected November show down subsequently pushed back whilst more information requested on the environmental impact was obtain.

The Labour MP for Putney has joined with the Conservative MP for Wimbledon, Stephen Hammond, in releasing a statement on the proposals.

She said, “Now more than ever, we all appreciate what our green space gives us and I want to see the maximum amount of space possible protected for public use. We only have these green spaces because people fought off developers, and this is our generation’s fight to save this green space from an industrial scale development.

“The proposed Show Court is just too big for this residential area and the plans will necessitate cutting down many mature trees. The qualifier courts will be ringed with 9km of tarmac paths and utility structures rather than green open space.  

“The public park part of the proposals sounds good and more open to the public that the golf course. However, this hides the fact that the public part of the development will still be owned by The All England Lawn Tennis Club, will be closed for several weeks in May and June every year and can be built on in the future. Earlier plans had hotels in the proposals which show that our fears are based on what AELTC could do. These proposals do not protect Wimbledon Park from future development. I want the land put into a trust, which would protect it from ever being built on.”

In 1993, Merton Council gave permission to the golf course to develop on the park with the provision that it remain a green open space. Residents who oppose the current plans argue that the facilities would be just used for a couple of weeks in the year.

Local resident Simon Wright said, “Wimbledon Park is so important to us as local people. The development proposed by AELTC is just completely inappropriate for such a residential area and doesn’t respect the local environment. Mature trees that are hundreds of years old would have to be felled, releasing all their carbon back into the atmosphere.

“This is not nimbyism. We all love the tennis. But we don’t feel as residents we have been consulted or listened to by the AELTC. We must protect this precious public space. Please sign the petition.”
  
Local objections to the proposals from AELTC have received significant media coverage, with allegations that AELTC did not properly consider the impact the developments would have on the residential areas surrounding Wimbledon Park.

In response to objections AELTC has said, “The AELTC seeks continually to ensure that The Championships, proudly a local and national asset, remains a world leading sporting event.

“Bringing the Qualifying event on-site in order to improve it to be worthy of our world class player field, enhancing practice and junior event facilities and providing a third ‘show court’ (with approximately half the capacity of Centre Court) are all measures aimed at ensuring Wimbledon remains the world’s premier tennis tournament, with all the associated substantial social and economic benefits that the event brings, locally and nationally.”