Who are we?
We are a grassroots organisation of people who love Wimbledon and want to see it thrive and become an even better place to live, work and visit.
Our mission is “to shape a better, more sustainable Wimbledon to enhance the lives of future generations of residents, businesses, workers and visitors“.
We come from diverse backgrounds yet have 3 things in common:
- We all care about Wimbledon and want to take a constructive stance in how it evolves
- We believe we can have a significant effect on the way our neighbourhood develops by joining together collaboratively to produce a Neighbourhood Plan
- We all either work, live or have a business interest in the Wimbledon neighbourhood
Why does Wimbledon need a Neighbourhood Plan?
Wimbledon is changing rapidly.
Wimbledon is facing a period of unprecedented change and development from new planning legislation, the climate emergency, and now the changes the pandemic has made across every aspect of our lives.
It has been identified as an opportunity area for development in the London Plan published by the Mayor of London.
The anticipated rate of change is reflected in the new Local Plan produced by the Borough of Merton.
The new power for communities to create neighbourhood plans gives us a chance to come together as a community in successfully shaping the Wimbledon we all want for the future. Such a plan, prepared by the people of Wimbledon through a democratic process, will give statutory weight to our vision of a sustainable neighbourhood.
The Localism Act 2011 ensures that our plan’s policies, if successfully approved at a referendum, will be applied as part of the legal framework used in deciding whether a planning application is approved, rejected or modified. Working together to prepare a neighbourhood plan for Wimbledon is an opportunity we can not afford to miss.
What is a Neighbourhood Plan?
A neighbourhood plan empowers the local community to determine policies that future developments and planning applications would need to meet in order to be approved.
A central government initiative introduced in 2011, Neighbourhood Planning has been encouraged in order to bring greater local democracy to the planning process. The Localism Act 2011 ensures that our plan’s policies, if successfully approved at a referendum, will be applied as part of the legal framework used in deciding whether a planning application is approved, rejected or modified.
The plan, once passed through external examination and a public vote, would sit alongside Merton’s Local plan, and carry equal legal weight.
Whilst the Neighbourhood Plan cannot contradict anything in the Local Plan, it can add important detail affecting materials, design and aesthetics, building type and location and public safety. It also allows us to identify, protect and improve green spaces, views and buildings which we regard as part of the character and heritage of Wimbledon.
For more information, see FAQs here.
If you would like to be kept up to date on our progress and participate in our surveys, please join
The PlanWimbledon Steering Committee 2021
PlanWimbledon is a community project. The Steering Committee consists of local professionals donating their time and committed to delivering a better future for Wimbledon.
Augustin Bataille
Augustin joined the PlanWimbledon Steering Committee as co-opted member in June 2020. He started his career in financial services before turning to customer centric operations in technology companies and therefore brings extensive organisational skills to the group.
Augustin has a business mindset combined with an interest in green spaces and sustainable transportation. A relatively new addition to the neighbourhood, Augustin believes the community can prosper sustainably and Wimbledon maintain its iconic reputation by having a built environment that is guided by the community’s own preferences.
Rob Cowan
Rob, a long-standing resident of Wimbledon, has been a member of the PlanWimbledon Steering Committee from its start, and he is a committee member of Friends of Wimbledon Town Centre. He is editor of Context, the journal of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation. His many books include The Dictionary of Urbanism; By Design (the UK government’s ground-breaking urban design guidance) and Designing Places (the Scottish Government’s equivalent); Urban Design Guidance; and Essential Urban Design.
He was the first director of the Urban Design Group, and has been editor of Town and Country Planning, editor of Shelter’s housing magazine Roof, and deputy editor of the Architects’ Journal. He is a cartoonist and illustrator and presents the Plandemonium series of online videos.
Deborah Crosby
Deborah has lived in Wimbledon for over 30 years and loves the sense of place and community it offers.
A sociologist by background, she has worked in marketing for most of her career. Specifically, in the understanding OF people’s attitudes, needs, wants, values, behaviour and translating these into strategies which organisations can deliver against. She is very keen to do this in her own neighbourhood of Wimbledon, working together with the local community here. If we all work together and share our views, she can help prioritise the most pressing things which people want and ensure they are built into the Neighbourhood Plan.
Deborah believes in the power of collaboration, local democracy and that diverse views often provide the stimulus for better, stronger solutions. She very much wants to make Wimbledon a better place to live, work and visit.
Tim Day
Tim is interested in all matters relating to the built environment particularly those which are about his hometown of Wimbledon. He is a member of a local amenity society and has been involved in a number of community run projects including the successful residents plan called “The Future of Wimbledon”. More recently Tim assisted and presented at a community meeting, proposals for the urban design improvement of Wimbledon Chase which have now been implemented by the Council. Tim has a professional interest in sustainable architecture and was involved in the construction of the Millennium House at the BRE.
He feels that the creation of a neighbourhood plan will be an effective way of embedding our community vision for the area in the Council’s planning procedures and would like to help in this process.
Regina Denton
Regina is a long-term resident of Wimbledon. She is passionate about our Wimbledon neighbourhood and how we leave it for future generations, the challenges we face with regards to sustainability and climate change. Regina trained as an accountant and has been working in Administration and lately in International Relations. Regina has been involved with St Andrew’s Church and was Secretary to the PCC for a number of years.
Lynne Gordon – Secretary
Lynne is currently the Chair of the Wimbledon East Hillside Residents Association (WEHRA). She has had a long career in the advertising business where she was responsible for creating and managing major research contracts at both a technical and board level. Given the tremendous changes facing all communities she believes that it is essential that local communities have an effective say in how their areas develop.
Suzanne Grocott- Chair
Suzanne has lived in Wimbledon since 2007 and sat as a local Councillor on Merton Council for 8 years (2010-2018). She was one of the founding members of the Wimbledon Neighbourhood Planning Group when it started in 2017, believing that genuine community engagement in the future of their local area will result in better overall decision-making.
Suzanne has a long history of volunteering including six years as Honorary Treasurer for a national charity. She is a qualified Chartered Accountant with 30+ years’ experience working in financial services in roles covering Finance, Operations and Portfolio Management. She retired at the end of September 2020 giving her the time to stand as Chair of PlanWimbledon at the 2021 AGM.
Sue Hale
Spanning a period of over 23 years Sue was provided with opportunities in various areas of the global firm, JPMorgan Asset Management, London including Associate Vice President, UK Institutional Team – responsible for Business Management Support/Production and Events/Marketing for which strong organisational and planning skills are required.
In 2010 Sue took early retirement and went to live in Hong Kong which gave her the opportunity to travel extensively in Asia and Oceania. She also did voluntary work for two well-known HK charities, Mother’s Choice and Crossroads Foundation.
She returned to Wimbledon in 2019 where she has lived for 35 years. She believes in “building better, building beautiful” – beauty, community, history, landscape – values that matter to people, promoting health, well-being and sustainable growth.
Nigel Headley – Business Member
Nigel was born in Wimbledon and has lived here ever since. He went to school locally and has been running a dental surgery in the high street since the early 80s.
Nigel has been an active committee member of the Wimbledon Village Business Association for much of that time in an effort to promote the business environment and stimulate residents’ support and footfall. In an era of depression and sometimes opposition he believes it is important to fight for the life of an area under threat.
Alan Maries
Alan has lived in Wimbledon for nearly 40 years. He is currently on the Wimbledon Society’s Planning & Environment Committee and has recently been appointed as a Trustee of Sustainable Merton. He believes strongly in the need for concerned individuals to help shape the future of their immediate locality.
After a career working mainly in materials research and the environmental management of major road and rail construction projects, Alan is keen to use his professional experience in improving the outcome of local planning developments.
Mark Morgan
Mark has lived in Wimbledon for nearly 20 years and is a born and bred a Londoner.He is a Chartered Surveyor and is passionate about our built environment and leaving a legacy that we can be proud of.
Mark has been involved in the evolution of a number of town centres both in London and around the country, his particular specialism is in retail and leisure advising both landlords and tenants. He believes that we are now experiencing the most rapid changes in how we live and work that we have ever seen and is very keen that we have a role in future proofing and trying to improve where we live.