AELTC  proposed redevelopment of Wimbledon Park Golf Course


Background


In 2021, the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) submitted a very controversial planning application to expand its tennis complex onto the heritage land of Wimbledon Park. The former Wimbledon Park golf course is Metropolitan Open Land (MOL) and in a Conservation Area.


The plan envisages an 8,000-seat stadium, 38 courts, ten other buildings and 9km of roads and paths, defies multiple planning policy protections and ignores the AELTC’s 1993 covenanted promise not to develop the land.  The golf course is mainly in Merton but a section of it is in Wandsworth. In October 2023 the application was approved by Merton Council but in November 2023 was refused by Wandsworth Council. The Greater London Authority (GLA), having decided to 'call-in' the application, decided in favour of AELTC's application on 27 September 2024. 


Recent developments


Public meetings

Save Wimbledon Park (SWP) organised two public meetings in April 2026 at which an update on progress and the legal situation was provided and local architect Ken McFarlane and tennis ‘master planner’ Richard Rees (RR) presented their alternative proposals for the former golf course site. An account of the public meetings can be found on SWP’s website here including the presentation slides. A video presentation of the alternative plans can be viewed here.


Alternative proposals

The proposals presented at the meeting build on RR’s experience as a tennis ‘master planner’ and in particular his assertion that AELTC do not need all the additional courts they are seeking to build on the golf course site; one imagines that AELTC will take issue with the suggestion that they should reduce the total number of courts from 71 to 50. In RAWW’s view, a major improvement in the alternative proposals is to locate the new covered court on the existing Church Road site, thereby avoiding the construction of an ‘industrial tennis complex’ on Metropolitan Open Land.

                   

Below are two of RR’s slides one compares the main elements of the two schemes and the other gives a visual plan:


Whether AELTC take any notice of the alternative proposals is likely to depend on the outcome of the legal challenges and the restrictive covenants described below.


Legal challenges

The various legal challenges against AELTC have not, so far, produced a result favourable to SWP. These challenges comprise:


Appealing the GLA’s decision to grant planning permission

The challenge was unsuccessful but SWP has been granted leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal, this is likely to take place later in 2026.


Statutory public recreation trust

Following a Supreme Court ruling in the Day v Shropshire case it was thought that the circumstances surrounding the golf course site might mean that a statutory public recreation trust existed over the golf course land. To test the law on this AELTC took action against SWP in order to clarify the position, with AELTC paying SWP’s costs. The judgement in this case went in favour of the AELTC but SWP have applied for permission to appeal the decision to the Court of Appeal.


The last resort

If all the legal challenges fail, AELTC still has to get over the problem of the restrictive covenants that were attached to their purchase of the golf course land from Merton Council in 1993. These covenants, if enforced by the Council, would preclude the proposed development as currently structured. As yet, Merton Council has not confirmed whether it will enforce the covenants.


Why is all of this important to RAWW?

There is a considerable amount of Metropolitan Open Land (MOL) in the RAWW area and the former Wimbledon Park golf course site is MOL. If other developers perceive that they can get round the restrictions on using MOL for buildings, there is little doubt that they will try to do so. RAWW has already seen a planning application to build on MOL in a local area being tried using some of the arguments that were put forward by AELTC in their planning application.


For further information on the current status of the campaign visit the following website at https://www.savewimbledonpark.org/ 


Flood prevention in Raynes Park Centre


After repeated flooding in Raynes Park centre over many years, we had only one brief episode of flooding in 2023. That was in June when there was exceptionally heavy rain but only for about half an hour. That was enough to cause surface water flooding in the centre of Raynes Park. A partnership of Thames Water, Merton Council, and the Environment Agency is working on a Raynes Park FIood Alleviation Scheme. Pending the outcome of the review a small ‘rain garden’ was installed in 2023 as a trial and to help alleviate the repeated flooding under the railway bridge. Rain gardens are designed to help slow down the flow of water into the sewer system and improve the street scene. 

Rain garden at north end of skew arch

Tree protection 


A number of mature trees have been lost in West Wimbledon during recent years. Trees can be protected through the planning system if they are identified  in time. Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) 'should be used to protect selected trees and woodlands if their removal would have a significant negative impact on the local environment and its enjoyment by the public'. Where such trees are at risk due to the potential sale of a property to a developer protection should be sought before the site is sold. 
 
Trees which meet the criteria for a Tree Preservation Order will:

  • be visible from a public place (e.g. from a road or park).
  • appear healthy
  • make a significant contribution to the street scene/visual amenity (e.g. be well established, attractive, improve the view)


They can be trees of any species. If you have noticed any trees in the RAWW area you think might meet these criteria please email enquiries@raww.org.uk with details including the tree location, species (if known), a photo and any risk to it that you think there might be. 
 
You can check whether a tree is already protected with a TPO on Merton Council's online list of TPOs where they are grouped by road names, which are listed alphabetically. The list includes details of the tree’s location within the road and the species.

West Wimbledon is still losing trees

 

Street trees that have been lost are not being replaced. Trees on private land are still being lost, or having canopy severely reduced due to development, lack of protection, and owner preference.

 

Empty Street Tree Pits are not being filled

 

In the 2024/25 planting season the Council planted 500 trees but none in our area. We concluded that the Council should at least be aware of all our empty tree pits before the planting plan for the coming season was prepared. We didn't want to be at the bottom of the list to get Council funded trees and suspected their data on empty street tree pits was poor. We carried out a survey of the pits in our area and reported our findings to the Council. The accuracy of Council data on empty pits was indeed very poor. We also found that some pits had been tarmacked over, and that some streets could accommodate more trees in new pits or grass verges. 


The Council has pledged to plant 1000 trees in the 2025/26 planting season but these, and those planted in the following 3 planting seasons, will be targeted towards wards with lower tree canopy cover. That will put our area well down their priority list. This pledge prompted us to ask whether we can expect to see any of the pits in our area filled in the 2025/26 planting season, or in any of the following 3 planting seasons. We await a reply.

 

Council street tree sponsorship scheme ‘on hold’

 

Until recently the Council had a scheme for residents to sponsor a tree to be planted. Residents were asked to request the tree through ‘Trees for Streets’. The only news of its closure was on the Trees for Streets website which says 'Merton Council is not running a street tree sponsorship scheme'. The Council were still advertising it. Trees for Streets told us 'We are currently discussing the future plans for Merton and as such their page and other website information has currently been put on hold.’ The Council has now removed mention of the scheme on its website but hasn't reported its closure or said why or how long it might be ‘on hold’.

 

RAWW had hoped that some empty pits could be filled through sponsorship, and had told residents we were prepared to share the sponsorship cost with them to boost take up, but sadly even that option isn’t currently available. 


Our Aims

RAWW aims to protect and enhance the local environment and promote the interests of the local community. This includes responding to planning applications and issues raised by local residents and taking part in consultations on all major building development projects and events held in the area. These activities involve liaising with Merton Council, our MP Paul Kohler, local councillors and with local groups including the Raynes Park Association, Raynes Park Community Forum, Friends of Morley Park (FoMP), the Wimbledon Society and the Wimbledon Union of Residents Associations.

 

RAWW also delivers an annual mailing to all households in the area, sends regular email updates on local issues to members and holds an AGM.

 


The area we cover

The RAWW area is shown as shaded on the above map (Copyright Google).