WIMBLEDON'S WAITING GAME OVER FACELIFT

DECISION ON 200m EXPANSION NOT EXPECTED UNTIL AFTER CHAMPIONSHIPS, AS CITY HALL TAKES CHARGE

- Matt Majendie

A DECISION by City Hall over Wimbledon's ambitious expansion plans may not be reached until after this year's Championships.

Deputy Mayor of Planning, Jules Pipe, yesterday made the decision to call in the application, with a hearing set to make a ruling on the £200million facelift.

However, because of the complexity of the plans, legal arguments and the opposing decisions by both Merton and Wandsworth councils, it will take time to put everything in place to set a date for the hearing.

The mayoral election throws a further spanner into the works. Nothing will take place in the pre-election period from March 19 to election day on May 2, making it an impossibility the hearing will be held before then. A date would then need to be agreed upon by whoever is elected. Current incumbent Sadiq Khan recused himself from the decision-making process last October because he previously expressed support for the expansion in 2021.