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Most of the Commons are a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a candidate Special Area of Conservation which is an important European designation. English Nature supervise the site management plan for the area.

The Commons are administered by eight Conservators five of whom are elected triennially and the remaining three are appointed by three government departments: Department of the Environment, Ministry of Defence and the Home Office. The Commons are managed by the Clerk and Ranger who is supported by a Deputy, an Assistant Ranger and a Secretary. There are seven Keepers (who deal with public safety and security), three groundsmen (for the playing fields), seven maintenance workers and one property maintenance worker - comprising some 22 employees in total. There are at least four horses which are used by the mounted patrol of the Keepers.

The Conservators are responsible for the annual budget of around £1m. Most of the revenue comes from an annual levy on houses within 3/4 mile (1.2 km) of the Commons. The levy payers are entitled to vote for the five Conservators. The levy payers fall within three London boroughs: Merton, Wandsworth (which includes Putney) and Kingston.

External website: Wimbledon & Putney Commons Conservators

Wimbledon Common in fiction

The Common is home to The WomblesThis article refers to the children's TV programme, not the radical anarchist WOMBLES group The Wombles are fictional characters created by British author Elisabeth Beresford, originally appearing in a series of children's novels from 1968. Wombles are po, the children TV characters.