Wimbledon tennis back in UK court with campaigners blocking expansion plans

Wimbledon plans to treble the size of the existing tract successful London, adding 39 courts, but campaigners question to artifact move.

Wimbledon’s ‌plans to grow the grounds for the world’s oldest ‍and astir ‍prestigious Grand Slam tennis tourney were backmost successful tribunal connected Friday, arsenic campaigners again question to artifact the project.

The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club ⁠wants to treble the size of its main site, which ​has been location to the Championships since 1877, successful ‍a 200 million-pound ($267.9m) task which would diagnostic 39 caller courts.

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The AELTC’s plans to redevelop a erstwhile play course, which it owns, are ‍supported by ⁠several starring players and immoderate residents.

But run radical Save Wimbledon Park, which took ineligible enactment to situation readying permission, argues the onshore is taxable to a statutory trust, meaning it indispensable beryllium kept for nationalist recreation.

The enlargement plans would spot 29 courts added to the existing tract astatine Wimbledon [Toby Melville/Reuters]

The AELTC is seeking a ruling from London’s High ​Court that the onshore is not taxable ‌to specified a trust, with its lawyers saying it has ne'er been utilized for nationalist recreation.

Dozens of Save Wimbledon Park’s supporters gathered extracurricular the tribunal earlier ‌Friday’s hearing, including 2 women dressed arsenic tennis balls holding a motion which said: “Balls ‌to AELTC.”

The enlargement plans were astatine ⁠the centre of a abstracted lawsuit past summer, erstwhile Save Wimbledon Park challenged readying support approved by the Greater London Authority successful 2024.

Save Wimbledon Park ‌argued successful that lawsuit that the GLA failed to decently instrumentality relationship of restrictions connected redeveloping the land. Their situation was ‍rejected, but the radical has since been granted support to entreaty against that ruling.