Lower Common Tennis Court Upgrade Abandoned

Conservators announce planning application has been withdrawn

The courts have been closed for two years already. Picture: Google Streetview

September 8, 2026

Plans to refurbish the tennis courts on Putney Lower Common have been formally withdrawn, bringing an end — at least for now — to a long and often contentious process. The Wimbledon and Putney Commons Conservators and All Star Tennis announced that they had jointly decided to withdraw the planning application.

The courts have been closed since September 2024 and were originally due to start being refurbished a year ago. When the plans were announced in July 2025, All Star Tennis was appointed as the new operator and intended to carry out a full upgrade of all five courts, bringing them up to modern playing standards and reopening them in spring 2026. The company, which already runs six venues across Wandsworth, planned to offer a community-focused programme with pay-and-play access.

Although many residents supported the refurbishment — with more than 130 comments submitted in favour of the planning application, compared with 93 objections — the proposals became increasingly divisive. Concerns centred on the impact of new surfacing, fencing and lighting on the sensitive landscape of Putney Lower Common, which is protected by the Act of Parliament governing the Commons. Some residents with homes backing onto the courts employed legal representation to argue that a commercial operation could not lawfully be run on the site under the restrictions set out in the Act.

Others feared that involving a third-party operator would lead to more formalised booking systems, higher fees or increased commercial activity on land traditionally used informally by the community. Supporters, meanwhile, argued that the courts had been neglected for years and urgently needed investment to remain usable.

In their joint statement, the Conservators and All Star Tennis said they recognised “the strength and depth of local feeling” and believed it was right to withdraw the application and reconsider the options. They stressed that their intention had always been to provide a well-managed and sustainable community tennis facility “without placing unnecessary costs on levy-payers.”

The Conservators say they will continue to explore future uses for the courts, and thanked residents for engaging with the proposal, noting that all views would be taken into account as they consider the next steps.

For now, however, the likely outcome is that the already-neglected courtswill continue to decline while the Conservators decide how, or whether, to bring forward a new plan that can satisfy both community aspirations and the legal constraints of the Commons.