Wandsworth Council has rejected plans by the All England Lawn Tennis Club to build a new 8,000-seat stadium and 38 further tennis courts on a Grade II*-listed park in Wimbledon.
The plans would substantially increase the size of Wimbledon from 17 hectares to 46 hectares. The expansion would have been located on a Registered Park and Garden (RPG), grade II* listed, situated within the Wimbledon North Conservation Area and Metropolitan Open Land (MOL), which is treated as green belt, as well as being a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC).
Wandsworth Council's planning committee voted unanimously to reject the plans.
The report by planning officers states: "It is not considered that the need for the permanent facilities proposed have been sufficiently justified, only that it is desirable to keep up with the AELTC's competitors. Nor has it been demonstrated that alternative sites for the whole development have been clearly considered and discounted."
Planning officers also felt that although the proposals may improve the overall experience for spectators and competitors at Wimbledon, the application would "cause substantial harm" to the openness of the Metropolitan Open Land.
Guy Humphries, a Conservative councillor for the Southfields ward, said he could not recall any other "planning application that has upset so many people for so many reasons".
The Mayor of London will now further deal with the matter, as the plans are for Metropolitan Open Land and would involve the construction of a building with a floor space of more than 1,000 square metres.
