Some interesting analysis in his newsletter, from that most diligent and perceptive independent Wandsworth Councillor Malcom Grimston who has represented West Hill Ward since 1994.Perhaps all is not yet lost !-----------------------------------------------------------AELTC PLANNING APPLICATION FOR FORMER WIMBLEDON PARK GOLF COURSELast year the Wandsworth Planning Applications Committee unanimously turned down the AELTC’s proposal to build a new 8,000-seat Show Court and 38 other grass courts on the course of the former Wimbledon Park Golf Club, just a few days after Merton Council had accepted the plans. The decision was referred up to the Mayor of London’s office (see Wimbledon Park Golf Club Hearing | London City Hall), which this morning granted Planning Permission for the scheme, following the publication of a 221-page document from the Great London Authority planning officers recommending acceptance. This may not be the end of the story however: Merton Council has published a statement saying the following. “When the Council sold the land to AELTC in 1993, it imposed restrictive covenants to preserve the openness of the land. The covenants are intended to provide an added layer of protection for that openness over and above the protection afforded by the planning system. The planning system and property covenants are two separate things; the granting of planning permission does not override the covenants nor make them unenforceable. It is only if and when a development has been granted planning permission that the covenants can perform their intended role. The proposed development does not protect the openness of the land so it would breach the covenants. When deciding whether to enforce the covenants, [Merton] Council is not acting as a planning authority and is not bound by any planning decision. Instead, the Council is free to decide whether it believes that sacrificing the openness of the land, and thereby defeating the purpose of the covenants, would be in the long-term interests of the locality. In the context of the current proposals, the Council has repeatedly stated that it intends that the covenants be respected. Whilst we recognise that AELTC’s plans have generated a lot of public interest, the Council is unable to say any more at this stage.”
John Hawkes ● 87d