Forum Topic

Wholly dishonest PR from the AELTC on their Wimbledon Park megaextension

A friend saw this poster at Tooting Bec tube station today.  "A new park," they falsely claim,  where they plan to build on an already existing park and make just a small part of that into a permissive park. What a deceitful inversion of the truth, he rightly says!

Richard Carter ● 400d11 Comments

Not sure much  if any, of the golf course area was in capability b towns mind when he originally designed the area. Unless of course his designs included tgecsand bunkers as a natural feature or golf.Things change, times change and sometimes wd old buggers should embrace and welcome change. Its not about where I live as I see it as a development of a national sports centre.

Andy Pike ● 400d

deep breath before answering Andy.Richard we live live close and a private a golf course changes property use, what is the issue?  Clearly l am missing something.

Robert Wheeler ● 400d

So that's all right then, and the fact thatcthe AELTC is breaking the covenant covering Metropolitan Open Land to build an 80,000 comnercial stadium and endless practice courts doesn't bother you? I suppose not, as you don't live anywhere near it.

Richard Carter ● 400d

In fact during the tournament the existing public park will hopefully be more accessible than it currently is. At the moment every year it is turned into a camp site and a massive queuing area. Particularly in recent years when the previous practice of sleeping on the pavements in the queue was banned.

Andy Pike ● 400d

But the existing public park will be unchanged. The new permissive park is on the site of the previously private golf course.

Andy Pike ● 400d

Not true, because the use of the Park is "permissive", depending on the grace and favour of the AELTC.This is what Iain Simpson, chair of campaign group Save Wimbledon Park said: “AELTC’s proposed minor modifications are extremely disappointing and change nothing. The area will still become exactly what we said three years ago – a huge industrial tennis complex. And for what is such an enormous development on protected land, the AELTC continue in failing to justify their specific needs for expansion.The park will still be used for set-up and take through the key summer months and public access will still be ‘permissive’. This means that they can close it at any time denying access to important open green space that is there for people’s recreation and wellbeing.The application, as it stands, would overturn all of the excellent promises the mayor and assembly members have made only recently to preserve, among many issues, London’s open green spaces and their work to make our air cleaner, particularly around schools. This is a city-wide issue and we continue to campaign on behalf of all Londoners."

Richard Carter ● 400d

So no change to the public park then

Andy Pike ● 400d

Sorry in advance for the long pist, but thus is the situation asset out by the Wimbledon Society:The celebrated landscape architect, Capability Brown, created the Park design in 1764/8, and its lake and many of the ‘veteran’ trees still remain from that time. Previously much larger, it is now reduced to 60 hectares, with three ownerships: the Council owns the public Park and Lake, the Wimbledon Club is privately owned, and the former Golf Club lands are owned by the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), an exclusive private Club with around 375 full members.The former Borough of Wimbledon acquired this land in 1915. A Golf Club had already been established on part of the land and this continued under a succession of leases from Wimbledon Council. In 1965, Wimbledon was merged into the London Borough of Merton and the Golf Club continued to lease their land from them. The entire Wimbledon Park Estate, including public park, lake and golf course, was legally designated as public open space, held in trust by Merton for the people of Wimbledon.In 1993, Merton sold the freehold of the 29 hectares of Golf Club lands to the AELTC. Golf continued under the new landlords. It insisted, and the AELTC promised that it would be used for recreation and would not bedeveloped. Golf continued under the new landlords.  In 2018, the AELTC acquired the outstanding lease (which would have run to 2041) from the Golf Club.The Park is all that we have left of the original Brownian layout. Not surprisingly, it is designated by Historic England (HE) as an Historic Park, Grade 2*. HE also classes it as ‘at risk’ and states: “Divided ownership results in differential landscape management. A masterplan exists for the public park, but a shared vision for the whole historic landscape is needed.”The Park is a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation, it is in a Conservation Area and, very importantly, it is designated as Metropolitan Open Land (MOL) in the Local Plan. MOL is given the same planning protection as Green Belt in national, London-wide and local planning policies.National planning policy is clear, as are the London-wide and local plans: Green Belt/MOL land should be retained and protected as open land and not be built on. “Preserving the openness of the Green Belt” is the wording used.

Richard Carter ● 400d

They are not building a new park then.

Ivonne Holliday ● 400d

Could be wrong here but I didnt think any of the existing park was included in the scheme.It's the golf course , which has always been private, where the building takes place.Obviously if I'm wrong can someone let me know what parts of the ,, 'existing, public Wimbledon Park are being built on.

Andy Pike ● 400d

Totally outrageous!

Ivonne Holliday ● 400d