Plough Lane development backed

The last greyhound track in London faces extinction after mayor Sadiq Khan agreed the site should be used as a new stadium for AFC Wimbledon.

Plans for the Plough Lane development outline a 20,000-seat stadium, 602 homes and a leisure centre which would all be “of great benefit to Londoners and the wider community for generations to come”.

It would move the League One side back to Merton in south-west London from its current near-5,000 capacity ground in Kingston-upon-Thames. The club has been there after restarting as a new team in the ninth tier of English football in 2002.

However, the move would erase the last arena for greyhound racing in the capital and quicken the decline of an already ailing sport, campaigners say.

Tracks in Wembley, West Ham, Clapton and Hackney have all disappeared and when Walthamstow shut in 2008 Wimbledon was left as the final place for race-lovers.

The growing pressure from AFC Wimbledon for a bigger stadium comes as they climb the ranks of English football having been promoted six times in 13 seasons.

The original Wimbledon FC was founded in 1889 and played at Plough Lane from 1912 to 1991, …

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