Save Wimbledon Park has announced that its High Court case against the All England Lawn Tennis Club’s (AELTC) expansion plans will be heard from Friday 16 January to Thursday 23 January at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.
The Wimbledon court case will determine whether the former Wimbledon Park Golf Club site remains protected by a statutory trust for public recreation, a legal question that could block the tennis club’s controversial development plans.
The campaign is calling supporters to attend the opening day on 16 January to provide visible public backing during what it describes as a “David and Goliath struggle” against the well-resourced tennis club.
“We would like to make some noise on the 16th for the benefit of journalists and (we hope) TV crews, so we need our supporters to come along,” Save Wimbledon Park coordinator Simon Wright wrote in an email to supporters on Tuesday.
A potentially decisive case
The statutory trust case is one of three parallel legal challenges Save Wimbledon Park is pursuing against the AELTC’s plans to build 39 new grass courts on the 73-acre former golf course site – what the campaign calls “triple jeopardy” for the tennis club’s development.
The tennis club has previously conceded that if the statutory trust is found to cover the land, the proposed development cannot proceed, making this case potentially decisive.
The campaign argues that Merton Council’s 1993 sale of the land to AELTC violated consultation requirements under the Public Health Act 1875, meaning the statutory trust protecting the land for public recreation still applies.
AELTC disputes this, arguing the golf course has been largely inaccessible to the public for more than a century and is not subject to such restrictions.
A four-year legal battle
The January hearing comes after a turbulent year of legal developments in the long-running battle over the former public parkland.
In July, Save Wimbledon Park lost its initial judicial review challenging the planning permission itself, with Mr Justice Saini upholding the Greater London Authority’s decision to approve the £200 million scheme.
However, in November the Court of Appeal granted permission for an appeal, with Lord Justice Holgate saying the grounds were “arguable with a real prospect of success.” That case has not yet been scheduled.
The legal battle also took a controversial turn when a member of the House of Lords attempted to retrospectively change the law to remove the statutory trust protections. Amendment 250 was abandoned after peers from across the political spectrum condemned it as an erosion of green space protection.
A third potential challenge involves restrictive covenants from the 1993 sale that Save Wimbledon Park says should prevent development on the land.
The hearing will most likely take place at the Rolls Building on Fetter Lane, London EC4A 1NL, though Save Wimbledon Park said the exact location will be confirmed closer to the date.
