A High Court judge has ruled in favour of the All England Lawn Tennis Club in a landmark legal battle over Wimbledon Park, finding that the former golf course land is not, and never has been, subject to a statutory public recreation trust.
Mr Justice Thompsell handed down the judgment [pdf] this morning, declaring that Save Wimbledon Park’s central legal argument fails “by a wide margin.” The ruling removes what campaigners had described as their most powerful legal weapon against the AELTC’s plans to build new tennis courts on the site.
The case turned on whether 1960s local government reorganisation legislation had the effect of imposing a trust under s.164 of the Public Health Act 1875 on the former golf course. The judge found it had not. The golf course had been operated as a private club throughout: the public had never been admitted, so no public recreation trust had ever come into being, and no such rights could have bound the AELTC when it purchased the freehold in 1993.
Save Wimbledon Park’s reading of the 1960s legislation, the judge found, would have produced “absurd and unworkable” results, including the implication that a Battersea housing estate built on land originally acquired for open space would also have been impressed with a public recreation trust.
AELTC response
Deborah Jevans, Chair of the All England Club, said the ruling provided “important clarity on the status of the land” and confirmed “the land has never been held under a statutory public recreation trust.” She said the club would now move forward with plans that would “deliver 27 acres of beautiful new public parkland on previously private land” and maintain Wimbledon’s position as one of the world’s leading sporting events.
The AELTC’s proposals include 28 new grass tennis courts, a show court, desilting of Wimbledon Park Lake, a boardwalk, water sports centre, children’s playground, and a 9.4 hectare public park, though the judgment notes the park will be open to the public except during the Championships. The club says it has consulted more than 10,000 local residents and claims the majority support the plans.
Today’s ruling is, however, not the end of the legal battle. Save Wimbledon Park was granted permission in November 2025 to challenge the planning consent in the Court of Appeal, in separate proceedings that are entirely unaffected by today’s statutory trust judgment. If that challenge succeeds, the planning permission falls and the development cannot proceed regardless of today’s ruling. We have covered that case here.
LB Merton’s restrictive covenants over the land (flagged in the judgment as not in issue in these proceedings) also remain unresolved. Save Wimbledon Park notes that the AELTC has conceded its development would breach those covenants, and would need a further court application to have them removed.
Save Wimbledon Park: “We fight on”
Save Wimbledon Park said it would apply to the Court of Appeal for permission to appeal the judgment, with a decision on that application expected within about three months.
The group’s director Jeremy Hudson said: “We love tennis but we continue the fight after this news because there is a strong case for protecting this precious open space from development.”
“Wimbledon promised they would never build on this land. And Wimbledon can do better because there are existing, alternative plans which show that their scheme can be accommodated on their current site.”
Director Christopher Coombe said the judgment had national implications, warning that people living near “similarly protected green space” around the country faced greater uncertainty as a result.
He also flagged an amendment to the English Devolution Bill, to be debated in the House of Lords within the next four to five weeks, which he said would allow developers to apply to the Secretary of State to extinguish public recreation rights on statutory trust land.
Putney.news has closely covered the battle over Wimbledon Park series. We explained the legal questions at stake in January and published an overview of the proceedings on Tuesday.
Sad day for Save Wimbledon Park – but hey its not over yet! As per usual excellent reporting by Putney News.
Karen Medhurst