Local Wimbledon residents have declared that they will stage a protest against the £200 million expansion plans at the All England Tennis & Croquet Club (AELTC).
The AELTC recently announced their plans to build 38 new courts and an 8,000-seater stadium on a neighboring golf course. This sparked outrage among local residents, who accused the AELTC of having lied about the extent of the developments.
Hundreds of residents met at St Barnabas Church in Earlsfield to voice their anger and discuss plans before declaring that they would protest against the new build, calling it "disruptive" and likening it to "Disneyland."
AELTC defends development plans
The AELTC did not attend the resident's meeting and instead rejected their accusations. Sally Bolton, the Chief Executive for the All England Club, spoke to The Telegraph to defend the plans.
"Our planning application for the AELTC Wimbledon Park Project has been under consideration by the London boroughs of Merton and Wandsworth for more than two years. These proposals have been rightly and properly subject to a very high level of assessment and consultation both prior to and since their submission.
"We are proud of the substantial community benefits included within the application, which include year-round permanent access to 23 acres of beautiful new parkland available for the free use of the local community.
"To date, we have hosted 56 guided tours of the former golf course land and a further nine events at which local residents have had the opportunity to speak to members of the project team and learn more about the plans.
"We are pleased that more than 4,600 attendees have come along to one of our consultation events, with the overwhelming majority really excited about the plans and keen to see the community benefits delivered as soon as possible," she said.
However, local politicians have supported residents by speaking out against the developments. Stephen Hammond, who is the Member of Parliament for Wimbledon, said it was "simply not right."
"It's the wrong application, it's too big, they don't need that many courts and an 8,000-seat stadium on Metropolitan Open Land is simply not right," he said.
