Tag Archive for: Development

New Year, New Developments

Wimbledon is entering the new year with a surge in positive developments and placemaking across the town. The centre is an urban / suburban hub of good transport links, beautiful buildings, HQs, independents and cultural choice. It is recognised as a growth relocation area for businesses who want somewhere safe, convenient and affordable, the following projects will further enhance this.

Hartfield Walk Goes Green

Love Wimbledon has secured CIL funding of £120,000 from Merton Council to create an exciting new space – Hartfield Walk, to improve the area between Blacks and Robert Dyas on The Broadway. Working in collaboration with local creative business Firecracker Works, the project will see the reclaiming of an underused space being repurposed for the local community, providing a sense of escapism through an amalgamation of planting, seating, market kiosks, new lighting, environmental games and art. As well as presenting a place to sit and read a book in the afternoon sunshine, grab a bite for lunch or meet and connect with friends and family, Hartfield Walk aims to be a space which educates, informs and engages the local community. Through references to combatting air pollution and climate change, each component has been carefully considered to inspire local people of all ages to make a difference, e.g. through art, play, materials used etc.

New Homes and Workspace for the YMCA

YMCA St Paul’s Group has received planning consent from Merton Council to deliver a brand-new YMCA hostel in Wimbledon, consisting of 121 en-suite rooms to promote independent living, alongside an adjoining development of 135 new homes, plus an improved café, gym and fitness studio for wider community use. Read more about this here.

Polka Childrens Theatre Refurbishment Nears Completion 

The UK’s first children’s theatre, Polka has been awarded a Capital Kickstart grant as part of the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund, worth £253,000. This will enable the local theatre to continue with their redevelopment, despite the financial challenge caused by the Covid-19 crisis. With just over £100,000 left to raise to complete this £8.3m capital redevelopment, Polka is due to re-open in Spring with a new café and open-access play spaces, improved physical access, expanded capacity for early years work, and a new rehearsal and community space.

New Forecourt for Theatre 

A new paved front entrance to New Wimbledon Theatre, is due to complete by spring in time for the theatre reopening. The space reclaims part of Russell Road, enhancing the theatre experience by providing more room for theatre goers to meet before or spill out onto after. It creates a better sense of place for this landmark building. The works by Merton Council will also incorporate a new crossing, which had to be relocated. The project was developed through the Future Wimbledon consultation, which Love Wimbledon BID has been supporting.

We look forward to 2021 being a strong year for our town and businesses.

Check back to our news pages and LinkedIn for further developments and news.  

Cross Rail 2 Response Received

Love Wimbledon has received a statement from Crossrail2 in response to our questioning about the future development of CR2.


The full statement is below, stating that all consultancy work has now ceased and indicating that CR2 will not be progressing any development plans for the foreseeable future. However the safeguarding proposals need to be updated as they and as such we are pressurising the CR2 team to refresh these plans.

In his letter of 31 October on TfL’s emergency funding settlement, Secretary of State Grant Shapps set out that one condition of the package was that in relation to Crossrail 2, TfL “prioritises safeguarding activity and brings an orderly end to consultancy work as soon as possible. DfT will support such safeguarding activity for this project as required.”

As such, work on progressing Crossrail 2 towards a Hybrid Bill is being paused. The project team have already spent several months ‘making good’ the scheme (finishing key pieces of work and digitising all records) ahead of it being paused, and this work is now almost complete. We will work to help the SoS refresh the safeguarding directions in order to safeguard the scheme’s route from future developments. We await DfT clarification on the timetable for this work. We will also continue to work with stakeholders with developments affected by our safeguarding so that we can protect the route until such time as we can gain powers and start construction.

 Given TfL’s current finances and the requirement for us to pay for half of the scheme, we are not in a position to confirm when our Hybrid Bill work can restart.  The Mayor has confirmed that Crossrail 2 will still be needed to support London’s growth. We have clearly demonstrated the case for the scheme but need to be in a position to afford to help pay for it.

For more information click here.

Fortius Clinic Joins Wimbledon

Love Wimbledon are delighted to have Fortius Clinic join the Wimbledon business community.

Recognised as global leaders in sports and musculoskeletal medicine, Fortius Clinic are bringing world-leading doctors and state-of-the-art facilities to the heart of Wimbledon. The new outpatient, diagnostic and treatment centre will offer rapid access to orthopaedic and sports injury treatment for residents living and working in Wimbledon and the surrounding areas.

With over 80 specialists practising at clinics and surgical centres throughout Central London, the move out of the Central London market marks an important strategic step for the business and Wimbledon offers a natural location for the clinic, given the large number of high performance athletes in the area.

The £4.5million state-of-the-art clinic in Worple Road will allow private patients to see London’s leading surgeons and physicians for a wide range of orthopaedic conditions, sports and recreational injuries, and joint replacements. The clinic features a fully equipped imaging suite with the latest technology including 3T MRI scanning, X-Ray and Ultrasound.

Jim McAvoy, Fortius Chief Executive says;

“We are delighted to be bringing Fortius to South West London. Wimbledon has been on our radar for some time and we are excited to be providing facilities that will provide world-class care and first-class service to patients and referring doctors. We have a well-earned reputation for excellence, and we look forward to serving the needs of the private patient population in Wimbledon and beyond.”

Fortius Clinic Wimbledon is located on 22 Worple Road in Wimbledon Town Centre.