Lawyers from both sides in the Wimbledon park dispute will meet today before Friday’s High Court hearing over whether the All England Lawn Tennis Club can build 39 new grass courts on former golf course land.
Mr Justice Thompsell will then spend two days reading legal documents before the public hearing begins on Friday.
Contrary to Save Wimbledon Park’s argument that the land has been protected for public recreation since 1915, the tennis club will argue that the golf course was always treated as private land with commercial value.
AELTC points to a 1950s agreement between the Ministry of Health and Wimbledon Corporation stating the golf course “had development value and was held for revenue purposes, rather than for public statutory powers.”
The club also highlights a 1961 lease that gave Wimbledon Park Golf Club exclusive use of 94 acres for 38 years. AELTC argues this lease was too large and too long to fall within the powers of the Wimbledon Corporation Act 1914, meaning no public recreation rights were ever created.
The tennis club draws a distinction with Wimbledon Park itself, on the east side of the lake, which “had been laid out for the public as a park since the 1920s.”
Save Wimbledon Park disputes these arguments. The campaign points to evidence of public use despite the golf club’s lease, including an angling club that has fished on the lake since 1948.
The six-day hearing is expected to conclude by 23 January, with a written judgment within two to three months.
The tennis club has already conceded that if the statutory trust is found to exist, its proposed £200 million expansion “cannot proceed.”
We will publish a full explanation of both sides’ legal arguments tomorrow.
