Wimbledon expansion plan set to proceed after High Court ruling
LONDON: Wimbledon's controversial expansion plan is set to go ahead after a legal challenge against the decision to approve the proposal was dismissed by a High Court judge on Monday.
The 'Save Wimbledon Park' campaign group took action against the Greater London Authority's decision last year to grant a planning permission that would almost triple the size of the site for the grass-court Grand Slam. The proposals 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, which would allow it to host All England Club qualifiers on site instead of across south London at Roehampton.
The campaign group's barristers told the High Court earlier this month that the decision to approve the plans was 'irrational' and should be quashed, as Wimbledon Park was covered by restrictions on how it could be used.
But Wimbledon chiefs defended the challenge, with the court told that the decision was a 'planning judgement properly exercised' and that the restrictions were not 'material'. In a ruling on Monday, Justice Saini dismissed the challenge. '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,' he said.
Planning permission for the scheme was initially granted by Jules Pipe, London's deputy mayor for planning, who said that the proposals 'would facilitate very significant benefits' which 'clearly outweigh the harm'. Following Monday's High Court 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. The latest edition of Wimbledon concluded on July 13, with Jannik Sinner winning the men's title and Iga Swiatek lifting the women's trophy. — AFP
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