A campaign group's second legal challenge against the expansion of the Wimbledon tennis site has been allowed to go to the Court of Appeal.
Save Wimbledon Park (SWP) brought High Court legal action against the All England Club over the expansion on the land of the former Wimbledon Park Golf Club. The group claims it was subject to a statutory trust under a 150-year-old law which restricted its use.
In March, Mr Justice Thompsell ruled the land was “unencumbered by any statutory trust” but the Court of Appeal has granted SWP permission to challenge the ruling.
Court grants permission
In a court order, Lord Justice Newey said: “The arguments advanced by the appellant have sufficient substance for the appeal to have a real prospect of success.”
SWP said on Wednesday that the All England Club “has been saying in public and to their members that proceeding with their plans was a foregone conclusion” but the Court of Appeal’s decision showed this to be “wishful thinking”.
A spokesperson for the All England Club said the decision was “disappointing news” but it was “confident that the Court of Appeal will recognise the strength of the High Court ruling, which found by a wide margin that the golf course land had never been held under a statutory trust”.
Plans and previous challenges
The plans could see the construction of 38 new tennis courts and an 8,000-seat stadium on the land, enabling the club to host qualifying matches for the tournament. Seven maintenance buildings, access points and an area of parkland with permissible public access are also planned, along with work on Wimbledon Lake.
The Greater London Authority granted planning permission for the expansion in 2024, a decision the High Court upheld last summer following a separate legal challenge by SWP. The Court of Appeal has also given the group the go-ahead to challenge that decision, which is yet to be heard.
