A case led by Russell-Cooke’s regulation and public law team has been featured in The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases of 2026.
The case, All England Lawn Tennis Ground v Save Wimbledon Park and HM’s Attorney General, has been recognised as one of the most significant pieces of litigation currently before the courts. Its inclusion in The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases highlights both the legal complexity of the dispute and its wider implications for the rule of law and public interest litigation.
Russell-Cooke’s regulation and public law team, led by Chair and partner John Gould and partner Michael Stacey, has been closely involved in this landmark dispute, which sits at the intersection of planning law, statutory interpretation, constitutional principles and the protection of public assets.
Case overview (as featured in The Lawyer)
All England Lawn Tennis Ground v Save Wimbledon Park and HM’s
In this showdown, the expansion of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships hangs in the balance after a dispute between local residents and the All England Lawn Tennis Club. The club, which hosts the world-renowned tennis championship, has set its sights on a major £200m renovation to its facilities, including 38 new grass courts and a brand-new show court. Having also acquired the private former Wimbledon Park golf course for £5m and the golf club for £65m, the Club wants to open the 27-acre site up to the public. It plans to convert the space, which has been inaccessible for the past 100 years, into a public park.
The Club has been met by protest from residents, who argue that the golf course is subject to a statutory trust. This means it can only be used for the purposes of public recreation, and therefore Wimbledon cannot develop it at all. This litigation, which will decide whether the proposed expansion must stop, hinges on local government legislation from the 1960s that is said to have created a statutory trust over the golf course. Another legal point revolves around whether, if a trust was established, it survived the sale of the golf course to the club in 1993.
This case raises fundamental questions about how the law protects land held for public benefit, and whether those protections can be displaced by commercial ambition. We’re pleased to see it recognised by The Lawyer, as the issues extend well beyond Wimbledon Park and have real significance for the future treatment of statutory trusts and public open space.
The article is available to read online at The Lawyer, by subscription only.
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If you would like to speak with a member of the team you can contact our regulation and public law solicitors by telephone on +44 (0)20 3826 7524 or complete our enquiry form.
