"Let them arrest me" - Wimbledon's £200 million-expansion plan finds opposition from angry 99-year-old local threatening protest
The All-England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) has found major opposition from locals when it comes to its £200 million worth expansion plans, with one 99-year-old former actor threatening to chain herself to the grounds if they go ahead. The proposed plan, which has been given the green light already by the Greater London Authority (GLA), will see WImbledon get 39 new grass courts and create hundreds of new jobs.
Regardless, the work is set to disrupt the availability of open space in London and likely bring harm to protected lands in the city. Even though Wimbledon and AELTC officials have promised fans that they will undertake the planting of 1,500 trees along with the construction of the courts, residents of Wimbledon have not taken kindly to the idea.
Speaking at a public meeting organized by 'Save Wimbledon Park,' a group created to push against the proposed expansion, 99-year-old Thelma Ruby proclaimed that she was ready to risk arrest if it meant stopping the plan before it took off the ground.
"No, I’m 99. Let them arrest me,” Ruby said about the idea of chaining herself to AELTC grounds, as reported by the Guardian.
Ruby emphasized the enviromental impact the expansion would entail, arguing that she was not ready to sacrifice the beautiful view of Wimbledon she got looking out of her window for the pollution that was set to come her way if work started there.
“This beautiful view I get when I look out of my window is not only going to be a building site, but there are going to be polluting lorries passing my window every 10 minutes. And we know, in this day and age, how important trees are. I look several times a day out of the window and enjoy my view. And it gives me strength to carry on,” she said.
'Save Wimbledon Park' group confident that the expansion plans will not go through
Christopher Coombe, another member of the 'Save Wimbledon Park' group, also echoed Thelma Ruby's sentiment in a conversation with the Guardian. Coombe did not think the green light from the GLA mattered too much, stating that the expansion was still not a done deal and that there are bigger authorities to whom the group will take up their case.
"The GLA stage was always the third set, with Merton the first and Wandsworth the second,” he told the Guardian. “It’s not a done deal. We are just entering the third set tiebreak, and have plenty of aces to serve. The fourth set is the secretary of state and the fifth the courts. We are in it for the long haul.”
This year, Wimbledon had a grand finish, with Carlos Alcaraz winning the men's singles title and Barbora Krejcikova taking the women's singles trophy.