Members of the famous Wimbledon tennis ground will be able to continue playing indoor tennis while construction work takes place on the Somerset Road site.
Plans for five air domes over courts at the All England Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC) have been given the go ahead by Merton Council.
The AELTC in Church Road is made up of two sites on either side of Somerset Road.
The larger site, where the main club facilities are based and where the Championships are held every summer, is based on the eastern side.
Meanwhile, the smaller site, known as the Somerset Road site, has five indoor tennis courts in two buildings – used by members throughout the year and for warm-ups during the championships.
This site is being replaced with a new building with six indoor courts as well as six outdoor clay courts and an underground car park.
Main work on the site is set to start his August, so the club wants temporary air domes, for three years, over five existing courts on the main site.
In an application, Rolfe Judd Planning on behalf of the club, said: “The air domes are critical in ensuring the overall Wimbledon Master Plan is carried out without detriment to the club’s facilities and so that Wimbledon continues to be regarded as the finest stage in world tennis.”
The application had a handful of objections from residents living in Somerset Road who said there would be noise from the generators running all night.
One said: “The existing background noise levels e.g. from the odd passing vehicle at night is very different from the constant noise emitted from five generators running 24 hours a day for three years.”
But members of Merton Council’s planning committee were happy with the plans and passed them unanimously without debate.
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