5th January 2024 | The Standard | Stephen Hammond MP & Fleur Anderson MP
"Wimbledon's expansion plan is not a 'win-win,' it is bad for Londoners."
"Our shared view as local MPs is that the project should not go ahead."
In September 2022, as the two MPs representing the Wimbledon heritage parkland, we put out a statement on behalf of our respective constituents (Wimbledon and Putney, Roehampton & Southfields) jointly expressing our concerns about the All England Lawn Tennis Club’s Wimbledon Park project.
We stated our agreement back then on various important issues: protecting green spaces, climate emergency, rigorous scrutiny around all the proposed developments.
As many Londoners may be aware, Merton council has since voted in favour of the development, but Wandsworth voted against late last year, leaving the plans in the balance. Last month, Debbie Jevans (Chair of All England) argued in the Evening Standard that the expansion must go ahead, writing "Wimbledon’s expansion is a win-win for everyone".
But her arguments do not hold true. To claim, as Jevans does, from such a tiny survey (1,029 respondents), that five times as many Londoners support the expansion is entirely misleading. Our shared view, as it goes to the Mayor’s office for him to likely decide on the plans (and which may also be ruled on by the Secretary of State), is that the project should not go ahead.