Campaigners are calling on the Mayor to commit funding towards the reopening of Crystal Palace National Sports Centre’s 50-metre and diving pools as a priority.

The facilities have been closed since March 2020, when a a structural issue with the 60-year-old listed building was identified.

A petition calling for Sadiq Khan to announce funding for repairs and commit to a target reopening date has gained more than 1,500 signatures in just two days.

It reads: “The 50-metre pool is one of a very small number of indoor 50m swimming facilities in London and in the absence of this much loved pool, swimmers face long journeys to train for swimming and diving tournaments.

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

“Crystal Palace has a strong history of sporting excellence. As we move beyond the acute stage of the Covid-19 pandemic, we need to preserve sporting facilities that help the public to maintain their health, wellbeing and physical resilience, rather than taking them out of service.

“The success of the GB swimming and diving teams at the 2020 Olympics shows how 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.”

Since the closure, Greenwich Leisure Limited, which runs the centre, has been working with the Greater London Authority to find a solution.

The costs and level of repair work required were said to be significantly more than expected, due to unforseen scale and complexity.

In March, the Mayor has recently approved expenditure of up to £550,000 in order to carry out essential maintenance work at the National Sports Centre over the next two years, including work to the stadium.

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.”

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