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| Plans to expand Wimbledon can go ahead, judge rules | |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| The All England Club (AELTC) wants to build 39 tennis courts on the former site of Wimbledon Park Golf Club | The All England Club (AELTC) wants to build 39 tennis courts on the former site of Wimbledon Park Golf Club |
| Plans to almost triple the size of the Wimbledon tennis site are set to proceed after a campaign group's legal challenge against the decision to grant planning permission was dismissed by a High Court judge. | Plans to almost triple the size of the Wimbledon tennis site are set to proceed after a campaign group's legal challenge against the decision to grant planning permission was dismissed by a High Court judge. |
| Campaign group Save Wimbledon Park (SWP) had taken legal action against the Greater London Authority (GLA) over its decision last year to approve the plans. | Campaign group Save Wimbledon Park (SWP) had taken legal action against the Greater London Authority (GLA) over its decision last year to approve the plans. |
| SWP had argued in court the proposal for 38 courts and an 8,000-seat stadium on the former Wimbledon Park Golf Club in west London was unlawful as the proposed land was protected. | SWP had argued in court the proposal for 38 courts and an 8,000-seat stadium on the former Wimbledon Park Golf Club in west London was unlawful as the proposed land was protected. |
| The GLA and All England Club disputed that the restrictions exist, and in a ruling on Monday, Mr Justice Saini dismissed the challenge. | |
| Barristers for SWP told the High Court earlier this month that the decision to approve the plans was "irrational" and should be quashed, as Wimbledon Park - a Grade II*-listed heritage site partly designed by Lancelot "Capability" Brown - was covered by restrictions on how it could be used. | |
| The GLA and the All England Club defended the challenge, with the court told that the decision was a "planning judgment properly exercised" and that the restrictions were not "material". | |
| SWP campaigners gathered outside the High Court earlier this month to oppose the plans | |
| Mr Justice Saini said: "In short, the defendant's decision on the relevance of deliverability, applying to both the statutory trust and the restrictive covenants, was a planning judgment rationally exercised and having regard to appropriate and relevant factors." | |
| The proposals would see seven maintenance buildings, access points, and an area of parkland with permissive public access constructed, in addition to the courts and associated infrastructure. | |
| It would also allow the club to host Wimbledon qualifiers on site. | |
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