Here’s how Wimbledon expansion could look after High Court ruling

Plans to nearly treble Wimbledon’s size will proceed after a judge denied a legal challenge against the expansion’s planning permission.

The proposals will see an additional 39 courts, including an 8-000-seat stadium, called the Parkland Show Court, to be added.

Space will be created on the grounds of the old Wimbledon Park golf club.

As well as the new court infrastructure, seven new maintenance buildings and access points will be built around the site.

The conversion of the private golf course will also open up around 27 acres of parkland with public access.

Meanwhile, parts of Wimbledon Lake will be remodelled, including the addition of a boardwalk around and across it.

The works will increase the daily spectator capacity for the annual summer tennis tournament from 42,000 to 50,000.

As a result, the qualifying event for the competition will be able to move back to the site from nearby Roehampton.

The 120-year-old Wimbledon Park golf club was sold to the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), which owns the site and runs the tournament, for £65 million in 2018.

Wimbledon’s expansion is thought to have been driven by fears that it could start to trail rival Grand Slam venues in Australia, France and the US who have invested hundreds of millions in state-of-the-art upgrades in recent years.

Bosses hope the park will be able to partly open next year, with the grass courts completed by 2027.

They would enter use for the qualifiers and championships by 2029 after the grass has matured.

The Parkland Show Court is expected to be complete by 2030.

Save Wimbledon Park’s (SWP), the campaign group behind the High Court challenge, suggested it will appeal, adding: ‘SWP is not taking this step lightly but believes that the GLA did make a significant legal error in the way it dealt with the special legal status of the park.’

Christopher Coombe, director of SWP, said: ‘This judgment would, if it stands, set a worrying precedent for the unwanted development of protected green belt and public open spaces around London and across the country.

‘The (All England Club) will surely have noted the considerable public outrage about this development, most recently expressed outside the law courts, and we continue to hope that they could be persuaded to engage constructively with us, with a view to achieving a resolution of this four-year-old dispute.’

Deborah Jevans CBE, chairwoman of the All England Club, said: ‘We are delighted that Mr Justice Saini has dismissed the challenge to the GLA’s decision to grant planning permission for our plans to transform the former Wimbledon Park golf course.

‘It is clear that we have a robust planning permission that enables us to create a permanent home for the Wimbledon qualifying competition as well as delivering 27 acres of beautiful new parkland for local people, providing public access to land that has been a private golf course for over 100 years.

‘We have spoken to more than 10,000 people who have taken the time to come in person and understand our plans in detail.

‘The vast majority of people just want us to get on and deliver the many benefits on offer as soon as possible.

‘We now turn our attention to separate legal proceedings to give everyone reassurance that there is not, nor has there ever been, a statutory trust over the former golf course land.

‘This hearing is due to take place in January 2026.’

Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan added: ‘This is welcome news that will cement Wimbledon’s reputation as the greatest tennis competition in the world and London as the sporting capital of the world.

‘This scheme will bring a significant range of economic, social, cultural and environmental benefits to the local area, the wider capital and the UK economy, creating new jobs and green spaces.’

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