London Assembly Member for Bexley and Bromley, Thomas Turrell, is supporting ambitious plans to breathe new life into the National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace, after years of underfunding.
Before the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre (CPNSC) was home to UK athletics. Sadly, the centre suffered from a lack of sufficient investment after the new stadium and facilities were opened in Stratford, and facilities like the race track and old scoreboard fell into disrepair. This came to a head in 2021 when the Olympic-sized pool at the site was closed. The pool is one of only a handful of such pools in London and is crucial for training the next generation of Team GB swimmers.
Thomas says it is time “to bring UK athletics home” and is supporting ambitious plans being funded by City Hall. Thomas visited the centre in September 2024, where he was shown the plans and updated on progress. The track has been resurfaced, and the iconic scoreboard has been cleaned up and is no longer a large-scale pigeon coup.
In January 2025, he again met with the team to be further updated.
A summary of the update is below:
“The redevelopment of Crystal Palace National Sports Centre continues to progress well with procurement currently taking place to bring a construction partner on board. The construction partner will provide expert advice on logistics and programmes and fully develop the technical designs, including proposals to decarbonise the centre and go ‘all-electric’ in energy use.
The Green Finance Fund allocation to the project, announced earlier this year, will support the centre to go all-electric and reduce carbon emissions, eliminating the reliance on fossil fuels for the first time in its 60-year history. The additional investment will go towards energy efficiency measures at the renovated Crystal Palace National Sports Centre and a new energy network, including the proposed installation of heat pumps to serve the Sports Centre, adjacent stadium, and associated sporting facilities.
A revised planning submission date for 2025 allows for the new energy network and heat pumps to be included within the 5-year delivery plan program. The phased target openings for facilities across the estate remain for 2027 and 2028. The project is currently at the mid-point of the contractor procurement process, aiming to have a contractor on board by Spring 2025. A planning submission will follow later in the year, with works programmed to start on-site in 2026.
The reopening of the 50m and diving pools remains the key priority for the project, which is why the effective rebuild of the pools – such is the extent of the work required- is being prioritised to be delivered in the first phase of a major phased development. This work will not only enable the pools to be safely reopened but will also modernise the pools, improving access and energy efficiency.
In the meantime, the project team have been delivering some early improvements to the CPNSC estate, including repairs to the 400m and indoor athletics tracks- achieving Trackmark certification, changing rooms and gym improvements, and the reinstatement of floodlights. A new cafe and children’s soft play have opened and are proving popular. The cafe toilets and flooring have also been refurbished, the main arena flooring has been reconditioned, and new lighting across the estate has been installed.
Large parts of the centre, including the 25 metre and teaching swimming pools, the athletics facilities, the indoor sports hall and gym, squash courts and the outside courts and pitches are still available for use and it is intended that they will remain open for as long as possible during the longer-term redevelopment.”
Thomas commented on the update, saying:
“I am pleased with this project development. While there is still a lot to do, and I know local people are keen to see the pool in particular opened as soon as possible, it is good to see progress finally being made. As the local Assembly Member, I will continue to work with the relevant partners to support this project and ensure it has the resources it needs to succeed. I will also share updates with residents as often as possible.
The Centre has been forgotten for too long and I am excited by this plan. It is time to bring UK athletics home to Crystal Palace!”
