Details of AFC Wimbledon’s plans to return to its spiritual home on Plough Lane with the development of a 20,000-capacity stadium were revealed yesterday.
Merton Council released the details of the plans which include the stadium itself, 602 houses, shops and a squash and fitness club to all be built on the site, with the existing greyhound track demolished.
If successful, the plans would see the club return to Wimbledon FC’s original home in Merton after leaving it 20 years ago when it was demolished.
The plans, submitted on behalf of AFC Wimbledon, Galliard Homes and the Greyhound Racing Association Acquisitions Ltd, will be brought before the planning committee in February while the public are able to comment on them until 19 January.
A new public path to run through the site is also included in the plans, to allow for safe crowd movements on match days.
The application also includes plans for new accommodation for Christopher’s Squash Club, who are already on the site, as well as a hydrotherapy and physiotherapy suite for St George’s Hospital.
AFC Wimbledon’s plans will contest with a proposal put forward in October by Irish businessman Paschal Taggart to keep a greyhound track on the site.
The news comes days after AFC Wimbledon were drawn against Liverpool in the third round of the FA Cup, a repeat of the famous 1988 final which saw the Dons lift the trophy whilst still based on Plough Lane.
In the club’s manifesto about the plans, Chief Executive Erik Samuelson said: “Returning to a stadium in Plough Lane would not only be the culmination of an astonishing rebirth for Wimbledon’s football club, it would also create a significant community asset for Merton.”
