Olympic stars and aspiring talents fume at reopening delays to Crystal Palace diving pool

By Alice Neil, Local Democracy Reporter

A petition to reopen a pool has been signed by a colossal 36,000 people after its closure left divers high and dry.

Campaigners want London’s Mayor to take the plunge and fund the £1.3 million repair bill for the Crystal Palace 50-metre and diving pools to their former glory.

The pool, where nearly half of Team GB’s Olympic diving squad took their first dive, has been out of action since March last year when a leak was found in the 50-metre pool, caused by a crack in an underwater window.

Training home to many Olympic stars, including Streatham’s Eden Cheng, the 18-year-old diver who finished 7th at the Tokyo Olympics, the world-famous facility has been drained for over a year.

Some athletes like Eden have been able to train at the Olympic Park while the site is out of action, but the three-hour journey to and from the pool meant she spent a lot of time studying for her A-Levels in the back of a car.

The SE19 centre has some of the best transport links in the country, it is currently served by 12 bus routes, a tram and 5 train stations all within a mile of the pool, making it one of the most accessible training centres in the country.

Other pools in London are closing or due to close, making Crystal Palace a yet more critical facility.

Father of three, Duncan John from Beckenham, has been driving his 12-year-old daughter Juliette, an elite junior diver, to Southend-on-Sea and Tunbridge Wells to train while the pools have been shut.

Juliette has been diving at the pool for the last seven years and her father said, “We’ve been driving to Southend and Tunbridge since the pool closed, but we’re really worried, because if the pool remains shut permanently then it’s just not sustainable to keep going.

“Juliette’s spirits are high, but there is so much uncertainty around everything.

“The dates keep getting pushed back and in the back of our minds we are thinking- what if it never opens again.

“We’re really desperate for The Mayor to commit to at least an interim solution that will allow us to keep going.

Juliette added, “Diving is great for my mental well-being.

“I’ve made really good friends there and it would be such a shame to lose it.”

The club’s world class diving programme, set up by Gill Snode and her Olympic diver husband Chris – who runs a talent agency in nearby Church Road – has nurtured hundreds of young divers.

Many have gone on to represent Team GB, including actor Jason Statham, who was a member of Britain’s national diving squad for 12 years.

Other athletes whose athletics careers have been launched at the Crystal Palace pool include triathlon Olympic gold medal winner Alex Yee, who trained at the pool twice a week as a junior with the Crystal Palace Triathletes.

John Powell, former sprinting coach and chair of the campaign group Crystal Palace Sports Partnership said: “The centre has been in managed decline over a period of years – there are rats on the indoor track, trees growing out of the stadium and now you’ve got empty pools.

“Now is an opportunity to make a massive difference to thousands of Londoners by saving one of the most celebrated venues in Europe.

“As things stand, a world class diving programme and critical training base for aquatic sports in this country will be lost for years to come.

“We can’t ignore or close one of the most iconic sporting facilities in Europe, the centre houses over 40 sports and it would be one of the biggest sporting devastations in the country.

“One or two of the elite participants have been allowed access to train at the Olympic Park, but that’s not an option for the vast majority of divers and swimmers who use our facilities.

“Crystal Palace is one of the most accessible sports centres in the country.

“Athletes are now having to travel hours to find places to train, but many do not have the time or money to do this.

“Team GB’s successes in Tokyo included a number of athletes whose careers were launched at Crystal Palace, not least double Olympic medallist in Tokyo Alex Yee, who has already heaped praise on Crystal Palace as a venue that was critical to his development.

“Many more aspire to follow in his footsteps and shine in Paris 2024, but those hopes and dreams stand to be shattered unless urgent action is taken.

“We understand The Mayor’s priority is health and safety, but there are short term, mitigating options, which could be installed while the long term issues are taken care of.

“Demand is massive and the impact on the community in every respect will be disastrous.

Ellie Reeves, MP for Lewisham West and Penge, together with Swim England London have also written directly to The Mayor with concerns of the harm prolonged pool closures will have on the community, and the lasting harm to future Olympians.

In her letter to The Mayor, Mrs Reeves asked him to commit to funding and a timeline for the reopening of the pool and said: “The 50-metre pool is one of a very small number of indoor 50m swimming facilities in London.

“In the absence of this much-loved pool swimmers face long journeys to train.

“The closure means the facility is no longer available for triathlon, diving, water polo and school events.

“The reopening has been pushed back with no time frame of when we can expect this community asset to be back in full use.

“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, especially as we ease back to normality following what was, and still is a very difficult time for many people.”

A spokesperson for The Mayor of London said: “Whilst The Mayor appreciates the frustration of all those who would love to be using the Crystal Palace pools during this Olympic summer, safety must always come first and unfortunately survey work carried out over the last 18 months has identified a number of issues with the pool that require attention.

“The Mayor remains committed to securing a sustainable future for the centre, which is an important sporting and community facility for the capital.

“Further assessment work is now being carried out to allow plans to be drawn up for the future of the site.”

 

Main Photo: Crystal Palace Diving pool (photo credit. Howard Kingsnorth)