Member

Wimbledon is one of many examples—a high-profile one—of the problem. As I understand, the Wimbledon development has already taken five years. Wimbledon’s plans were granted planning permission, and that decision was upheld by the High Court after an unsuccessful judicial review challenge. The Supreme Court decision has caused further delay and uncertainty. The All England Club disputes that the land in question was ever subject to a public trust; before the Supreme Court judgment, that was an academic issue, as the club, as purchaser, would have taken the land free from any trust under the provision of the Local Government Act. Now, the legality of the development depends on complex, expensive research into whether there was a trust and, if so, whether the local authority complied with its obligations to advertise. At best, that will further delay a much-needed development.