Wimbledon has kept up with the times despite sense of history but expansion impasse MUST be solved

Wimbledon will come and go but the battle over its expansion plans drags on — and many expect it to rumble on for several summers more.

Any visitor to qualifying at Roehampton last week will have noticed the transformation of the site. What used to have the homely feel of a county fair now almost feels like a regular tour event, with added courts and beefed up facilities for players and spectators.

Something it tells you is that the All England Club — who once harboured hopes of bringing the preliminary rounds on to their new land across the road by the end of this decade — are now having to take a longer-term view.

The lease of the Bank of England Sports Ground has been extended well into the 2030s and the former Wimbledon Park golf course is unlikely to be transformed into a tennis facility any time soon.

The latest from Merton Council is that the main planning application will not be heard until at least September, with the date now having been pushed back repeatedly from early last year. 

Wimbledon’s expansion plans are widely expected to continue rumbling on in the coming years

Qualifiers at Roehampton last week will have noticed the transformation of the site to what now feels like a normal tour event

Whatever the outcome, it is fully expected that this will not be the end of it, with the matter being referred upwards to higher authorities and then possibly the courts. Given the glacial pace of UK planning processes, it could take years to resolve.

Among the many complexities associated with the delay has been the emergence of a potential precedent from up in Shrewsbury, with the Supreme Court ruling against the council in their sale of some public recreational land to developers.

Whatever the implications, this saga and the local feelings it has aroused have proved very problematic for the All England Club.

With justification, Wimbledon feel it is imperative to grow its site to maintain its position in tennis. As ever in life, competition has been the driver for the Grand Slams to better themselves in what they offer.

Melbourne Park has become a jewel in the heart of the city. Roland Garros, which went through similar planning agonies, was gleaming this year and Court Suzanne Lenglen is soon to get a roof. Even Flushing Meadows has improved enough to suggest that a certain version of a silk purse can be made out of a sow’s ear.

When it comes to the dispute over Wimbledon’s plans, positions have become entrenched between the club and the alliance of local objectors.

There has always been a certain lack of worldliness at the All England Club and its initial approach was remarkably cavalier.

The lack of any tennis provision for the community in the original application was one of the smaller but more astounding mis-steps. Locals are justifiably uneasy about the disruption which will be caused over many years by tens of thousands of lorry journeys going to and fro.

Wimbledon 2023 began on Monday at the iconic venue although rain has disrupted early play

Court Suzanne Lenglen at the French Open will be getting a roof installed in the near future

Even Flushing Meadows – home of the US Open – has improved enough to suggest that a certain version of a silk purse can be made out of a sow’s ear 

Some of the objections, however, have a far more spurious ring to them. For example, it is not as if the former private golf course was a public space, although they sometimes seem to suggest it was.

Local MP Fleur Anderson popped up on Twitter last week with a video entitled ‘Save Wimbledon Park’. The impression conveyed was that the wider park is under some sort of threat from its wealthy neighbour, which clearly it is not. They are generous benefactors to the locality.

You cannot help wonder if it might be possible at this stage, even after years of bickering, that common ground could be found between the parties, with a compromise reached to most people’s satisfaction (you can never please everyone all the time).

The large majority of locals, even some staunch objectors, recognise the value of the tournament to the area and its businesses and are proud of how it puts SW19 on the map.

Its reputation for organisational excellence has frayed somewhat in recent years — see Monday’s events — but it remains a rare sporting gem. A way forward could be a community partnership to oversee the new land, at least the proposed new park which is being offered.

Two courts at SW19 – No 1 Court (left) and Centre Court – have modern roofs that can be retracted

Representatives from outside the club would get a say in how it is managed and how the benefits to the wider population could be maximised, while environmental concerns would also be taken into account.

Something vaguely similar happens with the nearby expanses of Wimbledon Common, which is looked after by Conservators who go through a public election process.

For now the 73 acres in question has some temporary marquees and buildings on it. Away from the tournament it is now slightly overgrown, sitting across from the existing site, which at other times of year usually appears to house all the activity of the Mary Celeste.

One of the great tricks that Wimbledon has pulled off over the years is to keep up with the times while retaining a sense of history. The importance of this project for the future can hardly be understated. Hemmed into its current acreage, the sense of paralysis setting in over its expansion plans will become unsettling.