13/11/2025
This Saturday is the last opportunity for the community to speak directly with the GLA and ask them to reconsider plans that would, in practice, remove climbing from the National Sports Centre.
They will be presenting their final consultation in the NSC this Saturday 15 November from 11am to 2pm, showing their proposals and answering questions before the plans are submitted early next year. What is said on Saturday will shape the final version.
If you can, please take a few minutes to go along, look at the plans and share your concerns. Direct, in-person feedback carries weight at this stage and it is one of the few moments where individual voices can influence the outcome.
Key issues with the current proposal:
• The space is essentially a large sports hall with climbing along half of the perimeter rather than a dedicated climbing facility.
• The footprint is too small to support a safe or financially sustainable climbing centre.
• The centre would be forced to close around ten times a year so it can revert to use as an athletics hub, making stable programming and financial viability impossible.
Taken together, these factors make it unlikely that any serious operator would invest hundreds of thousands of pounds in building a wall in a space this constrained.
It would also help if the petition, created by climbers from the community, can reach 2,000 signatures before Saturday. Numbers matter, and a larger total makes it harder for decision-makers to dismiss concerns about the viability of the proposed space.
If you haven’t already, please add your name and share the petition, link in bio x