After a long wait, London, England mayor Sadik Khan has agreed to proceed with a £50million (~$67m USD) facelift and repair package to enable the storied Crystal Palace pool to eventually reopen.
Although there are no confirmed timetable or funding sources identified at this time, the financial support will enable the over half a century old facility to once again host both leisure and competitive swimmers in its 50m pool and diving facility. Crystal Palace represents one of the only long course pools in southeast London.
As we reported, more than 40,000 constituents signed a petition calling for the urgent reopening go Cyrstal Palace after they were closed in March 0f 202 due to structural issues. Closures were extended due to coronavirus concerns, with pools drained and no action plan in place for reopening.
A spokesperson for the Mayor told Inside Croydon today, “Sadiq completely appreciates the frustration of all those who love using the pools and has asked his team to urgently contract a firm to plan and carry out the necessary renovation works, with the goal of maximising the time the pools are available for use.
“The National Sports Centre is a hugely important sporting and community facility for the capital and this decision will secure its future for decades to come.”
According to the Mayor’s spokesperson, further consultation on the development plans will take place in “the coming months”, to ensure, they say, “the local community, centre users and key stakeholders can fully input their views”.
So happy to hear this. I’ve missed the place. A bit scruffy, but £50m should do nicely. Can’t wait to jump in, to be fair!