The House of Lords will vote on Amendment 248 to the English Devolution Bill this coming Monday. If it passes, it will effectively remove legal protections from Wimbledon Park and open the way for extensive development by the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC).
The government minister responsible, Baroness Taylor of Stevenage, is now formally listed as a co-sponsor alongside Lord Banner and Lord Grabiner on the printed amendment paper, published on 20 March, one day after the High Court rejected Save Wimbledon Park’s claim that the golf course was held on statutory trust.
It is the last step in a journey that began with Taylor opposing it in November 2025, moved through verbal backing in March, and has ended with her name printed on the paper. If it passes, MPs will consider the legal change on 21 April.
When the earlier version was tabled in October 2025, Putney MP Fleur Anderson called it “a desperate attempt” by the AELTC to change the rules. Her government now co-sponsors essentially the same amendment.
But as the government has moved towards the amendment, opposition has crystallised from four directions.
Wandsworth Council Leader Simon Hogg has publicly urged AELTC to “suspend its challenges in the courts and through retrospective changes to national legislation” and described the pressure behind the amendment as coming from “some of the most powerful commercial interests in the country.” Wandsworth’s planning committee voted unanimously to reject the AELTC’s development application in 2023.
His statement, published on the council’s website on 13 March, frames the amendment not as a neutral piece of legislation but as something sought by the tennis club to override decisions made locally.
In the Lords, three cross-party moderating amendments have been tabled.
Amendment 249, from Baroness Pinnock and Baroness Miller, would require the consent of the relevant council and meaningful public engagement before any statutory trust could be discharged. Amendment 250, from Baroness Scott and Baroness Jamieson, would block any discharge order until the government completed its promised review of open spaces. A further amendment from Lord Lucas would require the Secretary of State to consult other government departments and publish the outcome before Parliament.
The review has not started. When asked in March why, Taylor told peers she had been “a bit busy with other legislation.”
The Open Spaces Society, founded in 1865, published a statement on 30 March calling for Amendment 248 to be withdrawn. Helen Monger, the society’s General Secretary, described it as “premature and flawed.”
The society warned that the amendment goes “much further” than the Wimbledon Park dispute that prompted it, and “could damage green spaces far into the future.”
Save Wimbledon Park is responding with public meetings to present alternative proposals for the golf course site, drawn up by architect Ken McFarlane and tennis facilities planner Richard Rees. The campaign says the plans “offer a better solution to AELTC’s requirements while causing less environmental harm and allowing greater public access.”
The first meeting takes place on Thursday 16 April, 7 to 9.30pm, at St Barnabas Church, 146 Lavenham Road, SW18 5EP. The second is on Wednesday 22 April, 7 to 9.30pm, at St Marks Church, St Marks Place, SW19 7ND.
What the amendment does
Amendment 248 would create a mechanism for the Secretary of State to discharge the statutory trusts that protect land originally set aside for public use under Victorian and Edwardian legislation. If a council cannot confirm compliance procedures within 28 days, the Secretary of State must presume non-compliance. The amendment would apply retroactively, covering disposals “before or after commencement,” which would reach back to Merton Council’s sale of the golf course to the AELTC in 1993 for £5.2 million.
Our 17 March analysis explains the full legislative mechanism. The High Court ruling is covered separately.
What happens next
The Amendment 248 debate is scheduled for Monday 13 April, the final day of the Lords Report stage. If it passes, the House of Commons will consider it on 21 April. The bill must complete its full parliamentary passage before the State Opening of Parliament on 13 May.
Local elections take place on 7 May. The outcome in Merton has implications for covenant enforcement, a separate question from the statutory trust argument resolved in March.
Residents can write to peers ahead of Monday’s debate via parliament.uk, or contact their MP ahead of the 21 April Commons consideration. Fleur Anderson is the MP for Putney; Paul Kohler is the MP for Wimbledon.
Putney.news has covered the Wimbledon Park dispute since March 2025. The full series is here.
