Wimbledon wins key vote

The All England Club took a crucial step towards a massive expansion of its grounds last night, when the members of Wimbledon Park Golf Club agreed to consider an offer of £85,000 per member in exchange for their 73-acre site.

The land occupied by the golf course sits directly across Church Road from Wimbledon’s 42-acre site. It is already owned by the All England Club, but the golf club’s lease extends until 2041. If the offer – which will go to a vote in December – is accepted, the land will revert much faster, so that development can begin as early as 2021.

Yesterday’s vote was a significant stage in a complex process, which has lasted several years. Previously, the obstacle was a clause in the club’s articles of association that prevented members of less than 10 years’ standing from benefiting from any windfall. The last time the club voted on a similar offer was in 2015, when the members rejected a proposed package of £25million, or just under £50,000 each.

Now the All England Club has put forward an offer of £63.75million, which would apply to all members. What happened yesterday is that the golf club agreed to remove that awkward clause, so that all its 800-odd members – who include celebrities Piers Morgan, Ant Mcpartlin and Declan Donnelly – will benefit from the payment. A 75 per cent majority was required to make the change, and now that it has gone through, the December vote looks likely to pass as well.

Briefing reporters last month, the All England Club chairman, Philip Brook, said: “We’d like to move our qualifying event on site. Most of the people who play qualifying lose and don’t ever make it inside of the gates of SW19. We think that’s a shame. This isn’t about building new big stadia, but there might be a second Henman Hill.”

Meanwhile, British No1 Johanna Konta has sacked her coach, for the third time in as many years. Konta’s ranking has declined sharply since she started working with Michael Joyce, from No 9 in January to No 45 now, although her results have been on the slide since last summer.