IT has unrivalled views of the London skyline and allows residents to watch The Championships live from the comfort of their living room.
But a couple living next to Wimbledon tennis complex say they are getting fed-up of the infernal racket caused by the annual competition.
Tim and Karen Chambers live in Burghley House and their flat overlooks the Wimbledon tennis courts
The couple love the view from their top floor flat, but say living so close to the tournament has its problems
Tim and Karen Chambers are one of a growing number of residents who complain that tournament organisers are not playing by the rules.
They live in a two-bedroom flat on the top floor of Burghley House, which should be every fan’s dream overlooking the grass courts on which the world’s top players compete each summer.
But retired research scientist Karen, 62, has considered selling up in recent years to get away from the noise pollution the contest generates.
She said: “We love the Championships and there’s a terrific buzz while they are on.
“But it’s not the Wimbledon everyone knows and loves any more. It’s become industrialised. It is like a tennis factory now.
“There’s been a huge amount of building work and it’s incredibly intrusive, with the air full of dust.
“We now have queues of traffic starting at 7am when the workers arrive in their cars and the coaches start coming in.
“We complained about the noise and they said they would turn it down, but nothing has happened. It regularly wakes us up at 4am.
The Chambers can watch games from the comfort of their living room (pictured: the view from their lounge)
The block of flats can be seen in this aerial view of Wimbledon
“We either close the windows and it’s too hot to sleep, or open them to the din.
“The air conditioners in the site’s media room sound like a jet taxiing to a runway and the noise rises and fills our apartment.
“We have complained to the council, who were very supportive and agreed the noise was unacceptable, but so far nothing has been done.”
Karen and her retired doctor husband Tim, 74, paid £540,000 for their flat in 2005 and they believe it is worth close to a million pounds now.
That number, however, is probably a conservative estimate given the picture-postcard vista that greets them in their living room.
Tim said: “We never get bored of the view. My favourite is when the sun rises in the morning and you can see Canary Wharf on one side and the City on the other.
Karen and Tim paid £540,000 for their flat in 2005 and believe it is worth close to a million pounds now – largely thanks to its enviable view
“It’s annoying that it’s such a lovely view and at the same time, it’s such an annoying view.
“We would never complain about the Championships because it’s nice to see some tennis and the atmosphere is great.
“We suddenly become very popular at this time of year because people want to share the atmosphere and our view, directly overlooking Centre Court and No 1 Court and Henman Hill.
“But we pay a high price for it for the rest of the year.
“We have to put up with an absolute racket at night and that’s not just when the tennis is on, it’s all year round.
“The noise regularly gets up to 58 decibels – I have tested it – and it’s really intrusive.
“The tennis club owners say they are environmentally friendly, but the staff use leaf blowers and Land-Rovers fuelled by diesel, which is not.
“I only moved here because the building is close to St George’s Hospital, where we both used to work before we retired.”
Tim says the noise from the All England Club gets up to 58 decibels
Karen says the new way in for vehicles at Gate 20, designed to reduce traffic, hasn’t helped the queues
Karen added: “Wimbledon used to be a small complex with a village-like feel, but it’s changed enormously since we moved in. They keep on building and extending.
“Last year they rebuilt the Broadcast Centre, next year they’re rebuilding the Millennium Building.
“Recently they built a new way in for vehicles at Gate 20, with a site for broadcast trucks which would become a plant nursery the rest of the year.
“The intention was to stop queues blocking Somerset Road on a dangerous blind bend, but there are still queues.
“We thought about moving three years ago but we just couldn’t give up the view.”
With its association with Pimm’s and strawberries and cream, Wimbledon is not only quintessentially English, it is also the oldest – and arguably most prestigious – tennis contest in the world.
This year’s Championships, hosted by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC) of which The Princess of Wales is a patron, gets into swing on Monday.
The tournament has been held in affluent Wimbledon, south west London over two weeks in late June and early July since 1877.
Wimbledon typically generates profits of £60m each year from an income of £320m and it is under pressure to hold its place as the top tennis contest in the world.
Mother-of-two Sophia Browning is part of the Save Wimbledon Park organisation fighting against the building of a new £500m tennis complex on the site of an old golf course
Nearby Wimbledon Park is used for parking and ‘the Queue’ during the tournament
The Chambers, who have watched the rapid expansion of Wimbledon unfold from their living room, are not alone in their complaints.
Mother-of-two Sophia Browning is part of the Save Wimbledon Park organisation that is fighting against the building of a new £500m tennis complex on the site of an old golf course.
Five years ago AELTC paid £85,000 to each member of the Wimbledon Park golf club, including Piers Morgan and Ant and Dec, so it could take it over and build an 8,000-seater ‘Parkland’ stadium.
The development would allow the tennis club to triple its acreage and provide extra parking spaces for fans as well as 38 grass courts, allowing capacity to climb from 42,000 to 50,000.
But standing next to an imposing ‘Car Park 10’ sign at the edge of Wimbledon Park, Sophia is distraught.
She claims the plans are destroying much needed green space and – ironically – preventing local school children from participating in sport.
The Save Wimbledon Park campaign has amassed almost 12,000 signatures on an online petition and has succeeded in holding back the bulldozers until now.
PHD student Sophia, 50, said: “We often get painted as Nimbies who don’t like things happening on their doorstep, which is incorrect because most people here like the tennis.
“But traffic is horrendous for two weeks every year and despite having talked to AELTC for so long about reducing traffic, they keep encouraging people to come here and park.
Sophia worries the proposed plans will destroy much needed green space in the area
“I live on Wimbledon Park Road, which has become like the front-line in this. I can’t open my windows for two weeks over summer because there is so much noise.
“I’ve lived here for 20 years and the volume of traffic is getting worse. Now they are talking about turning it into a four-week tournament, which will be horrendous for the people living here.
“They say they need to expand to stay at the pinnacle of tennis. It’s an 1980s-style arms race between the various grand slams.
“AELTC is commandeering a huge amount of green space and that is why we are fighting so hard to stop them destroying the old golf course.
“They are sitting on 30 acres of green space right now.
“People think of Wimbledon as being full of millionaires with big houses. But there are a lot of people living in high rise apartments that don’t have gardens and we are getting to the point where the kids don’t have anywhere left to exercise and play.”
Viv Trevitt is also fiercely opposed to the traffic chaos
Pensioner Viv Trevitt, 77, was collecting signatures on her mobility scooter when we bumped into her.
She is also fiercely opposed to the traffic chaos and fears Merton Council has taken the side of the tennis organisers.
Viv said: “The council has done two consultations, but they don’t listen to us. A total of 93 per cent objected during the last one but they just swept those objections aside.
“I don’t mind the tennis but they’ve literally taken over the area. It’s getting too big.”
Elliott Roberts manages the Windmill Tearooms on nearby Wimbledon Common and has mixed feelings about the tennis tournament.
Elliott, 30, said: “It used to be chaos and, while it’s better organised now, most locals try to avoid it.
“A lot of people make sure their holidays coincide with the tournament and leave town.
“Wimbledon totally takes over for two weeks and it’s hard to do anything. If you want to buy a coffee you have to fight your way past fans and tourists.
“The other reason people leave is because they can rent out their flats. Someone I know just rented theirs for £4,000 for two weeks.
“People also rent out their driveways for £25 a day. It’s good money so I might do the same next year.”
A small section of Church Road is closed between 9am to 11.30pm during the tournament, and surrounding roads are restricted access, on the strong advice from the Metropolitan Police
A spokesperson for the All England Club said: “Road closures linked to The Championships are operating on the same basis as they have done for the past two years. This is on the strong advice from the Metropolitan Police.
“These restrictions are advertised weeks in advance and we have a number of traffic marshals and signage in place to keep traffic moving.
“Wimbledon Park has been used for decades to support The Championships and to enable the Queue to operate successfully. Access to facilities in the park such as the running track, children’s play area and other sporting amenities are unaffected.
“We regularly meet with residents and talk to them about our plans and invite their feedback.
“We understand The Championships puts increased pressure on local infrastructure and are absolutely committed to doing everything we can to minimise the impact for residents where we can.”
On the Wimbledon Park Project, they added: “Our planning application is still in the process of being considered by both Merton and Wandsworth Councils.
“We believe our application is a once in a generation opportunity to deliver the greatest social and economic benefits that world-class sport can bring since the 2012 Olympics.
“It is fundamental to our application that our plans will provide significant community benefits as well as enhancing The Championships for the future.
“More than 4,500 people have attended one of our consultation events and the overwhelming majority of people are extremely excited at our plans and looking forward to seeing them realised.”
SE has reached out to Merton Council.
