BATTLE LINES DRAWN OVER WIMBLEDON EXPANSION

ANGER GROWS AHEAD OF COUNCIL DECISION

- Matt Majendie

ORANGE and white cones circle an expanse of what was once the fairway of Wimbledon Park Golf Club's fourth hole.

Trees are marked up for removal except for a giant oak, which has stood for hundreds of years and is known as one of the 41 veterans which have a safe future.

Within the outline of the cones will stand an 8,000-seat tennis court, with a working title of Parkland Show Court, one of 38 courts the All England Club are planning to build to bring Wimbledon qualifying on site and also expand the boundaries of the annual Championships.

Looming imminently is the recommendation from Merton Council officers ahead of a much-delayed planning committee meeting in March or April, which will go a long way to deciding whether the controversial plans can go ahead. It had first been pencilled in for September, but has been steadily pushed back by the council.

Opponents to the plan have described it as a "David versus Goliath" battle against what they view as the might of the All England Club, and they claim that objection is growing. A petition against it has reached nearly 10,000 signatures, while 10,000 leaflets have been distributed in the local area.

The anger is at odds with the feel-good factor of Henman Hill, strawberries and cream and the Wimbledon fortnight.

Residents and campaign groups have come together - partly helped by a meeting in the back garden of Wimbledon MP Stephen Hammond's home against the expansion, while Hammond and Putney MP Fleur Anderson have been unified in their objection, despite coming from rival political parties.

Anderson said: "This feels like a David versus Goliath campaign, but the tide is turning. [The club] can't run roughshod over the objections. And the delay [to the planning decision] is giving cause for hope that they're starting to listen and that changes can be made."