Crystal Palace National Sports Centre's 50 metre swimming pool and diving pool have been out of use since early 2020. At the present time, no date for completion of repair work at the pool has been given and this iconic facility remains mothballed. 

The 50 metre pool is one of a very small number of indoor 50m swimming facilities in London and in the absence of this much loved pool, swimmers face long journeys to train for swimming and diving tournaments. The closure means the facility is no longer available for triathlon, diving, water polo and school events.

Crystal Palace has a strong history of sporting excellence. As we move beyond the acute stage of the Covid-19 pandemic, we need to preserve sporting facilities that help the public to maintain their health, wellbeing and physical resilience, rather than taking them out of service. 

The success of the GB swimming and diving teams at the 2020 Olympics shows how maintaining facilities like this can be central to nurturing the athletes of the future as well as providing local people with a place to exercise and enjoy themselves. 

We call on the Mayor of London to take the following steps to bring our pool back into use: 

- Commit to funding the repair of the 50m pool and diving pool, or putting in place a clear process to secure funding.

- Commit to a target reopening date, with regular progress updates between now and that point.

- Commit to a long term future for our 50m pool in CP and to preserve the aesthetic and character of the listed building that houses it.

Image credit: James Balston