Stock car racing fans have made a last-ditch plea to Mayor Boris Johnson to stop the redevelopment of Wimbledon stadium.
The stadium is scheduled to close this June, to make way for a new 20,000-seat football ground and 600 homes on the site.
It follows a decision by Merton Council last December giving the go-ahead to Gaillard Homes and AFC Wimbledon to demolish and re-develop the area.
But those who oppose the decision want the Mayor to get involved.
“It all comes down to Boris,” explained Peter Gray, who races at the stadium and helped form Save Wimbledon Stadium Action Group.
He said: “I’m asking Boris to please give us a seat at the table to at least ask the question of what options are available.”
The 8,000-seat stadium has been home to greyhound racing for nearly 90 years.
In 1962, the first stock car meeting took place, and the two sports have shared the space – along with several other motor formulas – ever since.
London originally had 33 greyhound tracks, but Wimbledon is now the last one that remains.
Following the December 10 announcement, several groups joined forces in a bid to save the racing track.
After gathering over 12,000 signatures on an online petition, Mr Gray’s organisation wrote to local politicians and submitted a presentation to the mayor.
Their main grievance is with Merton Council, which they say did not fairly consider the opinions of those who regularly use the track.
The leader of Merton Council, Stephen Alambritis, disagrees.
He said: “Our planning officers have been consulting with local residents and groups in relation to the Plough Lane site since 2012.
“By the time we received the application in November 2014 from Galliard Homes and AFC Wimbledon we had already carried out more than nine months of public consultation on the principle of redeveloping the site.”
Now, Mr Gray awaits the Mayor’s decision, which is expected sometime this week.
