What's on

14th October      Click here to book

Wimbledon Bookfest 5-12th October Wimbledon's annual arts & cultural festival, Click here to view the 2017 Events List and to BOOK TICKETS 2017 line up includes: Ali Smith, Chris Riddell, Salman Rushdie, Brian Moore, Tracy Chevalier, Anthony Horowitz, Fergal Keane, Elif Shafak, Jon Sopel, Chris Boardman, Rev Richard Coles, Min Kym, Jane Gardam, Nick Hytner, Alexandra Shulman, Chris Patten Evan Davis, Alan Johnson and many more...... Tel booking: 020 8543 4888 (Mon-Fri, 10am-5pm) The printed programme is out now, they are available at Wimbledon Library, Waterstones, Wimbledon, Raynes Park Library and Centre Court Shopping Centre Information Stand.  

  Pop-Up Yoga Class - Tuesday 12 September Join HAfitness in their new studio in Wimbledon Village for a relaxing yoga class! Everyone welcome. You don't need to be able to touch your toes to enjoy this session! When: 7.45pm - 9.00pm Where: Hill Place House, 55a High Street, Wimbledon Village, SW19 5BA How much: Special £10 drop-in price Book now: As we're in a studio, we have limited space, so please do book in advance There is free parking and if you're coming straight from work, there's a place to get changed into your workout gear too. Book here

  Wimbledon & Putney Commons Family Open Day -10th September 2017 10th September 2017 from 10.00am to 5.00pm The Ranger's Office ....

Scene on the Green 12.00PM - 5.00PM 50 years since the Summer of Love, the Hand in Hand is celebrating all things Sixties with their pop up Festival, Scene on the Green. The Hand in Hand will be taking a trip to it’s glory days and setting the scene on Southside Common on Saturday the 9th September for Mods, Rockers and Hippies across the capital to join hands, with a sixties family filled fun day. For more information, click here.

  Children's Summer Holiday Nature Treasure Hunt! 7th to 13th August 2017 from All Day Ranger's Office, Wimbledon Common Our first Children's Nature Trail Treasure Hunt will run from Monday 7th to Sunday 13th August! Become a Nature Trail Detective!   Search the Nature Trail and collect some of nature’s treasures, try to spot our wildlife and take the nature quiz. Nature-themed Colouring Competition in the Information Centre - prizes for the best pictures! Everyone who completes the hunt will be entered into a draw for some super prizes. Suitable for all ages but younger children may need assistance. Entry fee - £2.00 per child. Last entries 4pm  

Join us for this engaging, fun and interactive Australian Wine Dinner, with Master Sommelier Nigel Wilkinson. Including arrival canapes, three course dinner with 5 fantastic Wines from the best regions followed by coffee and petit fours. £75.00 per person.   DATE:  29th September 2017 TIME:   19.00 hrs to 22.00 hrs   PRICE: £75.00 VENUE: Hotel du Vin, Cannizaro House, West Side Common, Wimbledon Village, SW19 4UE To book please email:  Events.wimbledon@hotelduvin.com or ring 0330 0240706    

Summer Networking Evening Wednesday, June 28th June Rose & Crown Marquee 6.30pm to 9.00pm A huge thank you to the local businesses and residents that joined us.  On the night we raised £580 for the Royal Marsden.   A big thank you to Karine Torr at Darling Magazine for supplying the photos.

April 20th - WVBA meet with Cllr Alambritis This town hall meeting was an important step in addressing the commercial challenges of trading in Wimbledon Village. WVBA & Merton Council Meeting notes  Meeting of the WVBA and Merton Council meeting held on 20th April @ Village Hall Present:  Councillor Alambritis (CA), Adrian Mills (AM), Stephen Hammond MP, 40 representatives from WVBA members and affiliates. 1.0 Introduction (AM) Introducing CA and thanking CA for attending. AM gives a short overview of why there is a need for this meeting with 33 business having left in last 2 years based on; High Rents High Rates Restricted Parking 2.0 Questions from the audience (AM) and answers by Cllr Alambritis (CA) Is there a negative perception of Wimbledon Village at Merton Council? Answer No animosity. The whole borough is treated the same. Parking chargers do not go to Merton Council. Across England, Parking meters & fines generate £9million of which £8 million funds the Freedom Pass and £1million towards road maintenance. Council is very concerned with current 11 empty retail spaces. Could we look at a car park under Wimbledon Common as per Hyde Park. Answer Merton Council will entertain the idea and CA brought along the Hyde Park proposals from the 1970’s as an example. There is a huge cost element and CA happy to discuss further with WVBA. How often are the streets cleaned? Answer Currently Merton Council experiencing capacity issues with 40% budget cuts. There is now a new cleaning contract in place and the Council hope to see an improvement across the borough. Saturday Parking is draconian with not parking between rush-hours times (7-10 and 4-7 ) on the High Street which is not relevant on a Saturday, can they be removed? Answer TFL responsible for parking restrictions along major bus routes. Merton Council & WVBA will need to consult with TFL. Looking for devolutions of power down to local authority in the future to avoid consultation with TFL. Can we extend Parking from 1-2 or 3 hours? Could this be done when up-grading machines to take new £1? Answer Merton Council will consider this which will involve a consultation with Merton’s Head of Parking. Can we extend free parking to 30mins? Answer This is a cost of £75k in lost revenue. Will need to see where this gap can be made-up. 9 of the 33 free Merton Parking zones are in Wimbledon Village. Can we relocate the electric car charging bays as we never see them used? Answer Electric bays in line with Mayor of London scheme 300 electric bays in Merton Will look into having them moved to a less pinnacle place Footfall dropped since parking meters introduced on the Causeway. Can it be reduced? Answer Merton Council will look into this and the markings on the road. The current system of basing rents on rentable value is unfair as businesses do not grow at the speed of house inflation. What can be done about this? Answer Windows increase rentable value if you can see inside, hence many shops spray images on windows to reduce visibility. Rates set by central gov and currently local govt, have no powers. In 2020, local authority hoping to have more power Currently WV is the only area in Merton excluded form discounts or concessions Council will consider extending discount and hardship relief to the Village The petition to reduce the speed to 20mph has critical mass, what are the next steps? Answer WVBA need to meet with a Council Member to progress this. 3.0 Suggestions from the audience Some streets behind the High Street are quite and could look to see if extra parking bays could be created to counter the revenue lost with extending free parking. The narrowing of the street from the Rose and Crown to Dog & Fox which could: Create more parking diagonally Slow down cars 4.0 Next steps; AD to meet with CA to meet to progress the following; Remove Saturday restrictions of 7-10 and 4-7 on the High Street. Start consultation with Merton Parking dptm to increase parking from 1-2hrs possible 3hrs and 30mins free parking. Identify areas where extra parking could be created to help negate the £75k loss of rev from extending free parking. Re-look at Causeway/ Camp Road parking Look at electric bays and if they can be removed or possibility or sharing with the taxi rank as they're so infrequent and power is close. Look at shared use of resident’s bays Narrowing road between Hamptons and Dog and Fox. Discounts/ hardship relief schemes Look into next steps for 20 mph. 5.0 An up-date on the above will be on June 28th – WVBA Networking event Images are courtesy of Karine Torr from Darling Magazine         

Prudential RideLondon: an annual two-day festival of cycling - which goes through Wimbledon Village on Sunday A true legacy of the 2012 Games developed by the Mayor of London and his agencies, Prudential RideLondon is a world-class festival of cycling.   Plan your day Don’t forget to plan ahead for the Prudential RideLondon weekend on Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 August. Roads in London and Surrey may be affected on Sunday 30 July. All the information you need can be found online at prudentialridelondon.co.uk   Road closure information Road closure information for this year’s Prudential RideLondon festival of cycling is available online at prudentialridelondon.co.uk/road-closures Our interactive maps allow you to plan your journey on the weekend, taking into account the road closures and will update as the roads open. Specific local access information for a number of communities in Surrey is also available online (only) at prudentialridelondon.co.uk/community-access If you have a specific access question – about a social care or medical visit, a wedding or other planning needs – please contact our helpdesk on 0345 894 9773 (Monday to Friday 09:00-17:00). This number will also be open from 09:00 until 17:00 on Saturday 29 July and from 05:00 until 19:00 on Sunday 30 July.