At the GLA Hearing on 27th September the AELTC’s controversial plans to build 39 new tennis courts on protected open land opposite the All England Club were approved.
The All England Club wants to build the courts, including an 8,000-seat stadium, on Wimbledon Park.
Jules Pipe, the Deputy Mayor of London, decided that “significant” community and economic benefits of the scheme outweigh the harm.
Local residents and politicians fighting the proposal are now running out of options, but could still apply for a judicial review.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has the power to hold a fresh planning hearing, but has made clear that the application “should be determined at a local level”.
The development will allow Wimbledon qualifying to take place on site, in line with the other three Grand Slams.
According to All England Club chair Deborah Jevans, it would prevent the Championships “falling behind the other Grand Slams”.
“Clearly we are very, very pleased - it has been a long journey to this point,” Jevans told BBC Sport. “Equally there is a journey to go through before we start to build. Our ambition, if everything falls into place, is that we could see tennis balls being hit on that site between 2030 and 2033.”
There has been strong local opposition from groups such as Save Wimbledon Park, which fears the area will become a “huge industrial tennis complex”.
Boos were heard from members of these groups when Pipe’s decision was announced at London’s City Hall.
Wimbledon qualifying is currently held around three and a half miles away at Roehampton’s Community Sports Centre.
The scheme would result in Wimbledon qualifying switching from Roehampton, which can cater for about 2,000 spectators a day.
With the new development in place, up to 10,000 people a day would be able to watch qualifying and up to 50,000 could enter the grounds during each day of the main fortnight. It would also represent an upgrade in facilities for the players.
The new show court would have a roof. That would meet Wimbledon’s goal for another large show court able to host matches whatever the weather.
However, Fleur Anderson, the Labour MP for Putney, told the hearing she believed revamping the existing facility at Roehampton is a “viable solution”
Many local residents have been vociferously opposed to the plans for land that used to house the Wimbledon Park Golf Club.
The Wimbledon Society describes the proposal as an “industrial tennis complex with an unacceptable environmental impact”.
A petition organised by Save Wimbledon Park has attracted almost 21,000 signatures.
Opposition centres around the environmental impact of the scheme. Fears have been raised over flood risk and air quality, plus the loss of wildlife, trees and open spaces.
People are also concerned about the traffic, noise and environmental impact of at least six years of building work.
Some residents worry about the extra spectators who will be able to visit the site every day; others believe the All England Club’s ulterior motive is to build a hotel complex on the site.
The All England Club says the plans will “provide year-round significant public benefit to our community’, adding it understands “the importance of caring for the landscape and ecology of the site”.