Ms GuyThe AELTC (All England Lawn Tennis Corporation !) for some reason or another do not think their annual tournament (probably sport's biggest money spinner outside of the Olympics or the football World Cup) can compete with the other majors (US, France, Australia and presumably soon Saudi Arabia !).They think for instance that the fact that those seeking qualification to compete - probably seeds 50 to 999 - are insulted by having to play the qualifiers on the old BoE courts at Roehampton.The AELTC now own Wimbledon Park golf course after its members (including sporting luminaries Piers Morgan and Ant or Dec) accepted 80,000 pieces of silver worth £80,000 to sell it to them.On it they want to lay 38 grass courts and also build an 8,000 seat 28 metres high stadium plus maintenance depots, player facilities and other structures including I would have thought spectator facilities such as toilets and refreshment areas.Many established trees will be cut down but....they will be replaced by new ones which I am sure will look lovely in 30 years time.They would no longer use Roehampton.BUT to compensate they are going to maintain the lake and let the peasants walk around it !NOTE planning permission only went through Merton Council planning because all three Labour candidates supported it.It still I think needs Wandsworth Council support but as that is now Labour run they should get it.So much for Labour's 'green credentials' and 'Save the Planet' !As well as a desecration of one of London's most beautiful open spaces laid out by Capability Brown, the work required to achieve their aims is likely to mean streams of lorries and heavy equipment in Putney, Southfields and Wimbledon for years. Church Road could well be closed for all of that time.A very good critiques of all this is available from admin@sccara.org.uk(Sutherland Grove Conservation Area Residents Association).It's quite mind blowing !So look up the planning document, the AELTC PR guff at www.wimbledon.com/wpp, and write to the AELTC's PR lady Ulrika Hogberg (community@aeltc.com.)Lobby your councillors - not Labour obviously but certainly Malcolm Grimston (Independent).And also lobby Putney's Labour MP Fleur Anderson and Wimbledon's Conservative Steven Hammond who thankfully are strongly against the plans.The AELTC also has a new Chief Exec Sally Bolton, so communicate with her via Ms Hogberg above.I wonder if she has been offered an incentive bonus to make sure this abomination of a scheme gets enacted ?
John Hawkes ● 596d