Crystal Palace ëNational Sports Centreí

• The nameís misleading: itís more of a local and regional facility for South London, Kent and Surrey. The NSC was built by the London County Council in the early 1960s. For many years it was owned by the London Borough of Bromley and leased to Sport England. Bromley couldnít afford it, Sport England didnít want it, the facilities are run-down and the pools will not last more than 5-8 years without major investment.
• The question is: should it be closed, or refurbished, or replaced with a modern facility, closer to Crystal Palace railway station? If replaced, what with? Bromley proposed a 25m pool for the local community.
• The NSC has the only working eight-lane 50m competition pool inside the M25. The Amateur Swimming Association, Sport England and the Greater London Authority have said there should be four or five of them. The nearest comparable facilities are in France! The Olympic aquatics centre promised for Stratford in East London (regardless of the 2012 bid result) would still leave London two or three 50m pools short.
• The NSC has the only 10m diving platform in the M25 region (the nearest is in Southampton). The great majority of current users simply could not transfer to a new facility in Stratford, much needed though that is.
• Crystal Palace is the only place capable of hosting multi-sport events such as the BAA London Heathrow Youth Games, a key focus for sports development activities for children throughout Greater London.
• Crystal Palace runs courses for swim teaching, coaching, lifeguarding, and other activities. There is on-site expertise in weight-training, gymnastics/trampolining, sports medicine/physiotherapy, and links to other sports such as athletics, amateur boxing, triathlon, judo, basketball, etc.
• In addition to the main 50m competition pool and the diving pool, there is a small teaching pool and a 25m warm-water pool which are much used by schools and for parent-and-child classes.
• The prospect of losing the only athletics stadium in Greater London that could host a Grand Prix event in July 2004 was a serious embarrassment for the 2012 London Olympic bid and so Ken Livingstone stepped in. The Mayorís London Development Agency is taking a lease on the NSC from February 2006 and has used an existing forum on the future of Crystal Palace Park to consult widely on what should happen next. The next step will be a planning framework for the park and its sports facilities to be presented by the LDA to Bromley Council in 2005.
• The LDAís Crystal Palace Park website is here. [www.crystalpalacepark.org.uk]