Lib Dems call on Merton’s Labour Council to allow proper debate of “outrageous” plan to build on Wimbledon Park
The decision to limit discussion on the AELTC's plan to concrete over parts of Wimbledon Park has been criticised by Wimbledon's Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate, Cllr Paul Kohler.
Merton Council has finally confirmed that the AELTC's planning application to build an industrial scale tennis complex on Wimbledon Park will be heard by Merton's Planning Committee on Thursday 26 October.
The huge scheme comprises a 10 storey stadium, 38 tennis courts, over 9 km of roads and 10 further buildings including a large maintenance hub.
But despite the complexity of the application and receiving over 2,000, mostly hostile, submissions from stakeholders and members of the public, the Labour Chair of the Planning Committee, Cllr Aidan Mundy, is proposing to treat the case like any other planning application and will not be allowing either the applicant or objectors any more time to address the numerous issues raised by the application.
This is contrary to the precedent set during the last major planning application involving a sports stadium in the borough, when much longer time for oral submissions was given to all the parties involved - when AFC Wimbledon were granted permission to build the Cherry Red Records Stadium on Plough Lane in December 2015
This means that only two, randomly selected, residents will be allowed to speak for a maximum of 3 minutes each along with a maximum of three councillors limited to 2 minutes each (despite the development site extending across two wards represented by six councillors). Campaign groups such as Save Wimbledon Park will not be given any preference or rights of audience and if more than 7 residents apply to speak the allocation will be made randomly.
Wimbledon Conservative MP will only be allowed to speak for a maximum of 2 minutes, but Putney's Labour MP, who also opposes the scheme, will not be permitted to do so at all.
The hearing will be open to the public and take place in the Council Chamber at Crown House in Morden starting at 7.15pm.
Wimbledon Lib Dem Parliamentary candidate, Cllr Paul Kohler said:
"I am pleased the application is finally being heard although I am dismayed at how little time the Labour Chair of the Planning Committee is giving residents to raise their objections.
"I cannot understand why he is treating this application as if it were no more than a modest extension to a house. This will be the most consequential Planning Committee decision in Merton's history, and the Wimbledon AFC precedent should have been followed, with much more time allocated to the parties.
"The AELTC's plan to concrete over huge swathes of Metropolitan Open Land would be a travesty for Wimbledon Park and have serious consequences for the future of green spaces across London. Capability Brown's masterpiece would be turned into an industrial tennis complex, with local residents consigned to 8 years of building work, the felling of hundreds of mature trees and the destruction of precious wildlife habitats including those of endangered species.
"When the AELTC bought the land in 1993 they promised they would never build upon it and gave watertight legal guarantees to Merton Council not to do so. That's why they paid so little for the freehold and why the Council would be grossly negligent if they failed to enforce the AELTC's solemn undertakings.
"Even if planning permission is granted, the legally binding promises the AELTC gave not to build on the land are still enforceable - and I am calling on Merton Council's Labour bosses to make clear they will indeed ensure those promises are kept."
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NOTES
For more information about Paul, including photographs, see https://www.mertonlibdems.org.uk/paul-kohler
For more information and background on this planning application, please see https://www.mertonlibdems.org.uk/news/article/aeltc-development and here https://www.swlondoner.co.uk/news/02022022-lib-dems-set-to-force-showdown-vote-on-all-england-club-development ("Lib Dems set to force showdown vote on All England Club development")
For the Liberal Democrat petition demanding that Merton Council enforce the legal covenants agreed to by the AELTC, see https://www.mertonlibdems.org.uk/our-campaigns/aeltc-petition