Plans to expand the All England Club and build 39 new tennis courts for Wimbledon could be thwarted by a 99-year-old woman, who has threatened to chain herself to the grounds in protest.
British actor Thelma Ruby, known for her work with fellow actors Orson Welles and Judi Dench, lives in a flat that overlooks Wimbledon Park in London, UK. She is one of many who are opposed to expansion plans of the All England Club.
In the last couple years, plans to build new tennis courts for the world-famous grand slam tournament have sparked outrage from residents and environmental activists.
Whilst the All England Club argues it needs a third 8,000 seat show court – plus 38 additional grass courts for qualifying matches and practice – in order to keep Wimbledon as the world’s greatest tennis tournament, those against the plans say the decade-long construction plans will cause significant damage to the environment.
On Monday, advocacy organisation Save Wimbledon Park arranged a public meeting on the grounds of the proposed construction site, where Thelma Ruby, 99, addressed the meeting.
“This beautiful view I get when I look out of my window is not only going to be a building site, but there are going to be polluting lorries passing my window every 10 minutes,” Ruby said.
“And we know, in this day and age, how important trees are. I look several times a day out of the window and enjoy my view. And it gives me strength to carry on.”
Ruby said she would “chain myself to the grounds” if the plans were given the go-ahead. Asked whether she was afraid of being arrested by authorities, she responded with a nothing-to-lose attitude.
“No, I’m 99,” she said. “Let them arrest me.”
A decision will be made on Friday as to whether the plans will go ahead, if given the green light from a public hearing with the Greater London Authority on Friday. More than 20,000 people have signed an online petition on change.org opposing the proposed construction plans.
‘Climate protection is a human right.’
More and more older women are taking a stand on environmental action to protect the next generation from the ever-present climate crisis.
Earlier this year, a group of 2500 older women in Switzerland fought and won a landmark case in Europe that links climate inaction to human rights violation.
The group, known as KlimaSeniorinnen or the Climate Seniors Association, brought the case to the European Court of Human Rights. The court ruled Switzerland had violated the rights of the older Swiss women by failing to deliver a decent strategy for cutting emissions.
Anne Mahrer, Co-President of the Swiss Senior Women for Climate Protection, said following the ruling that it comes after nine years of fighting for climate justice, with the support of Greenpeace.
“After the Swiss courts refused to hear us, the ECHR has now confirmed that climate protection is a human right,” she said.
“This is a huge victory not only for all the older women, but for access to justice across Europe,” the group said in a press release following the victory.