How ‘Nimby’ curtain-twitchers are destroying sport

Speaking to a packed room at Manchester’s newly renovated Campfield Market, Andy Burnham cut a confident figure. The Mayor of Greater Manchester was there to launch ‘The Greater Manchester Strategy 2025-2035’ and was not about to let anything undermine the unveiling of his flagship project.

No ball games signs
Renovation, renewal and expansion of sporting facilities are being thwarted by protestors

Speaking to a packed room at Manchester’s newly renovated Campfield Market, Andy Burnham cut a confident figure. The Mayor of Greater Manchester was there to launch ‘The Greater Manchester Strategy 2025-2035’ and was not about to let anything undermine the unveiling of his flagship project.

After all, his July 9 speech included a major development in Manchester United’s plans to build a £2 billion new home: the appointment of Lord Coe as chair-designate of a new Mayoral Development Corporation spearheading the Old Trafford Regeneration scheme.

This undated and computer-generated picture, issued by Manchester United, shows an exterior view of the planned new Manchester United stadium
Manchester United plan to build a new stadium to replace Old Trafford - AP/Foster + Partner

But Burnham may have been less bullish about the UK’s biggest sport-led construction project since the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics were he in London that day to witness a bitter High Court battle threatening to wreck a similar scheme. That is the planned £200 million expansion of the All England Club (AELTC), a project that has pitted Wimbledon chiefs against hundreds of local residents in a years-long dispute.

A protester dressed as a strawberry outside the Royal Courts of Justice, central London, where The Save Wimbledon Park group is taking action against the Greater London Authority (GLA) over its decision to grant planning permission for the All England Lawn Tennis Club's expansion of the Wimbledon site onto neighbouring golf course in Wimbledon Park, adding an 8,000-seat stadium and 38 new championship-sized court
Protests against the planned £200m expansion of the All England Club could result in a years-long dispute - PA/Callum Parke

Whether driven by Britain’s ‘Nimby’ (’Not in my back yard’) culture or legitimate objections about the creation of 39 new tennis courts on the site of the defunct Wimbledon Park Golf Club, the seemingly endless legal challenges against those plans has laid bare the power wielded by small but vocal campaign groups when it comes to major sporting infrastructure projects.

As the architect of London 2012 – which saw a once-neglected part of London transformed from a toxic wasteland into a bustling urban neighbourhood – Lord Coe is no stranger to such campaign groups.

The build-up to that Games was plagued by protests against the £9bn project, none of which succeeded in preventing what went on to become Britain’s greatest sporting summer.

The Olympic Stadium in the sunshine on day 3 of the London Olympics, July 30 2012
Lord Coe helped overcome local disapproval to transform a once-neglected part of East London, with the former Olympic stadium as its centrepiece - iStock Editorial/CBCK-Christine

Last year Lord Coe also threw his weight behind Wimbledon’s expansion plans amid what he branded the “misinformation and local introspection” to have engulfed the project.

Irrespective of whether Nimbyism lies behind some of the opposition faced by the Olympics, Wimbledon and – potentially – the redevelopment of Old Trafford, the impact is the same.

Those leading these projects would also be far from alone in suffering its effects. The AELTC is not even unique in encountering local opposition to redeveloping a former golf course.

Tottenham Hotspur have been in a four-year fight to build a new women’s academy on the site of the Whitewebbs Park course – adjacent to their existing training headquarters – since it shut during the coronavirus crisis.

That has included a High Court challenge from a member of a campaign group over a decision by Enfield Council to grant Spurs a 25-year lease on the land. The claim was dismissed following a judicial review in February last year. But Spurs had to wait until last week to be given the green light for the project by the Sir Sadiq Khan-led Greater London Authority (GLA), which also approved the Wimbledon expansion.

At least both developments have been able to rely on the support of the office of the Mayor of London for their proposed developments. As revealed by Telegraph Sport, Khan’s team also held talks with Chelsea last month over building a new stadium.

That was after he publicly urged the club to speak to City Hall officials about whether they wanted to leave Stamford Bridge for Earl’s Court or redevelop the site of their existing home.

An architect's image of Chelsea's new stadium
Chelsea have been in discussions with the Mayor of London over plans to renovate Stamford Bridge - Herzog and de Meuron/Ines Lalueta

Khan has refused to intervene, however, in the plight of another football club whose own stadium plans have been crushed amid opposition from campaigners.

On the same day the GLA approved Spurs women’s academy plans, Barnet Council voted to reject its local team’s application to build a 7,000-seater ground on a playing field adjacent to their historic Underhill home.

The club, who won the National League in April to end their seven-year exile from the professional game, left the borough for Harrow in 2013 after losing out to Saracens in a battle to move into what is now StoneX Stadium.

At a meeting on July 14, councillors reportedly raised objections to the “Bring Barnet Back” project that included concerns an FA Cup replay at the new stadium might go to penalties and cause noise as late as 10.30pm (FA Cup replays were scrapped last year).

Council officials had previously recommended refusing the application on several grounds, among which were that not enough had been done to assess whether any bats or otters could be impacted. Sport England, the taxpayer-funded grass roots sport quango, also issued a statutory objection to a development that would have resulted in the loss of a playing field.

Tony Kleanthous, the Barnet chairman, branded the council’s decision “appalling”. Outlining the benefits of the club’s proposal, he said: “Privately funded, millions of pounds, to support a facility to be used by everybody. Multi-sports, plenty of jobs. And we’re told we might displace an otter. I just don’t understand it. It’s just crazy.

“I think our supporters set up a time-lapse camera to capture how many people visit that bit of land over a week and I think they thought the camera was broken because no one uses it! One person and a dog. That’s it. If I hadn’t been at the club for 30 years and loved the club so much, and so much wanted the supporters to see their club back in Barnet, I would never be funding this.”

There are local elections looming in Barnet next year and Kleanthous said councillors’ seats were more under threat from opponents of the stadium project than supporters. He added: “If I had my way, I would strip planning powers from all local authorities. To me, you always get this problem. I’ll probably end up appealing but you just end up losing heart.”

The scheme could also be called in by Khan but Telegraph Sport has been told he has no plans to use powers that would allow him to overrule Barnet Council’s decision.

Burnham and Khan are both Labour mayors at a time when the Prime Minister has made “taking on the Nimbys” one of his flagship policies, albeit with a focus on the construction of new nuclear power stations, roads, railway lines and wind farms.

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham (left)and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan outside 10 Downing Street in Westminster, central London following a meeting with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and English regional mayors. July 9, 2024.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham (left) and Sir Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, have greater licence to take on the Nimbys under Sir Keir Starmer - PA /Lucy North

A new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) was launched in December to speed up development but there are already questions about what impact it is having on sports infrastructure projects.

Wasps are another big name to face local opposition to their plans to build a new 28,000-seater home since it emerged they wanted to relocate to Kent after being plunged into administration almost three years ago.

Almost a month before the launch of the NPPF, the club announced they had secured a 10-year option on private land south of Swanley. The development was promoted by Wasps as part of Sevenoaks District Council’s local plan for the area. But the council has since announced that the NPPF has forced it to revise the timetable for that plan, with the next version not due to be published until the autumn.

Wasps owner Chris Holland, who took the club out of administration, told Telegraph Sport that being allowed to build new stadia was crucial to securing sport’s financial future.

He said: “The financial landscape that supports sport has changed and the need for income-generating stadia and the enabling development that planning can offer is pivotal to the viability and sustainability of professional sport.

“We are crucially aware of the concerns that are raised by development plans and I know that this is balanced by all the stakeholders with the considerable benefits that sport delivers to schools and the local community as well as the economic value to the local area.”

The increasing use of large stadia as year-round income-generators is another battleground for sport when it comes to maintaining neighbourly relations.

The Rugby Football Union is facing opposition to an application to stage more events such as music concerts at the Allianz Stadium. In March, RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney even went as far as threatening to take England to Milton Keynes if Richmond Council refused to increase the number of non-rugby events held at what was previously Twickenham from three a year to 15.

That was after claiming the current restrictions had cost the stadium the chance to be a venue on Beyonce’s latest world tour last month. Beyonce ended up playing all six dates of the UK leg at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after Spurs received permission from Haringey Council to double the number of non-footballing events each year from 16 to 32. Wembley Stadium was given similar approval for a hike from 46 to 54 such events, despite objections from residents.

Beyonce on stage during the opening night of her Cowboy Carter tour's six dates at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, north London, June 5, 2025
Beyonce rocked Tottenham Hotspur Stadium thanks to the expediency of Haringey Council - PA/Parkwood Entertainment

When it comes to professional sport, local opposition tends to rear its head when moves are made that affect the status quo. The same cannot be said for the grass roots arena judging by a number of alarming cases to have emerged in recent years.

Telegraph Sport chronicled two years ago how a cricket club more than 100 years old faced being forced to fold following complaints from a neighbour about flying balls. Colehill Cricket Club in Dorset was told by the ground’s owners it would not be staging adult matches due to pressure from a small group of neighbours who had recently moved into the million-pound houses that bordered it.

England captain Ben Stokes was among those to support a petition opposing a move that caused such uproar that £35,000 was raised for 26ft netting to be erected on three sides of the ground to contain sixes being hit by batsmen.

Then, just last month, it emerged that three Essex cricket teams had been suspended from playing at their home venue by their parish council after someone was allegedly hit by a ball in a nearby car park. Danbury Parish Council was attacked for a lack of “common sense” and 3,000 residents signed a petition urging it to reverse its decision, which left Danbury, Oaklands and Tuskers unable to fulfil their fixtures and placed their futures at risk.

Cricketers in action at Danbury Cricket Club
Danbury Parish Council was criticised for leaving Danbury, Oaklands and Tuskers unable to fulfil their fixtures - Danbury Cricket Club

And while the row over the future of Wimbledon was raging during the second week of the Championships, a tennis club that helped produce Britain’s last women’s singles champion found itself engulfed by a row over the installation of padel courts. Tunbridge Wells Lawn Tennis Club, where Virginia Wade once won the ladies’ club championship, faced a backlash after lodging an application to build three padel courts. That was after locals compared the sound made by padel shots to “gunshots”.

This is not to say residents should never be consulted about such developments. Telegraph Sport last month revealed how tennis courts built for London 2012 were to be ripped up and replaced with padel courts, leaving locals with no indoor tennis facilities. It then emerged that a company backed by Sir Andy Murray was funding a similar project on the site of the ‘Wimbledon of the South’ in Brighton. There was no public consultation over either scheme and thousands of people signed petitions to stop the respective demolitions going ahead. There was no public consultation over either scheme and thousands of people signed petitions to stop the respective demolitions going ahead. Just this week, it was confirmed that the former project was on the brink of being shelved, while the latter is by no means certain to go ahead as originally envisaged.

All this and more could face Burnham, Lord Coe and United when they formally submit plans to transform Old Trafford and the surrounding area. Upon his appointment to spearhead the scheme, Lord Coe said: “This is about so much more than just a stadium. It’s about listening to and working with residents to create a vibrant, inclusive district, with high-quality housing, green spaces, world-class leisure and education facilities, and improved transport links.”

Having long had to put up with a different sort of “noisy neighbour” when it comes to competing for silverware, United should brace themselves for a new kind entirely.

Category: General Sports