Young athletes to lose indoor track to new gym

A charity says hundreds of young people will have nowhere to train in winter after a council decided to turn an indoor athletics track in north-west London into a gym.

Brent Council plans to redevelop the track at Willesden Sports Centre as part of a £1.4m upgrade it says will create more gym space.

Track Academy, which runs three sessions a week for people aged five to 23, said it was told in June that the track would close within weeks.

Patrik Ewe, who runs the charity, said the track was "a vital safe space for our community" and that the council had not provided a suitable alternative to the indoor space.

"Track Academy engages with more than 500 people a year," he said, adding that 60% of its athletes were from low-income backgrounds and come to the centre to "do athletics, have fun and see their friends".

The charity, founded in 2007 by former international triple jumper Connie Henry, can still use the centre's outdoor track, but Ewe said he expected numbers to fall over the winter.

The council said there would still be provision, both indoors and outside, for athletics, and that it was working with Track Academy to find a solution.

Ewe said the offers were not "like for like".

"They're ripping up an indoor track, and yes there is a sports hall, but our kids can't do athletics there," he said.

"There is an outdoor track, but when it's raining, when it's hailing - when can our young people go?"

Three-time British Olympic sprinter Adam Gemili has come out in support of the club, and told BBC London the UK really needed to support indoor facilities.

Their closure was "making it harder for our athletes to train in those really hard, cold winter months", he added.

Bernard Olive has two children who attend sessions, and said the space was "really important" to them.

"I've got a boy who has special needs, and coming here helps his self-esteem and confidence," he said.

"When they're inside the gym, they feel so safe and comfortable."

And Evelyn Sozi's daughter has been coming to the track since she was three, and has been training with Track Academy for five years.

"It's vital for her mental health, her fitness, time away from the screen, dare I say, and socialising with others," she said.

Megan Omoya-Broad, 19, said the track has been there for ages and she was "really sad" about the decision.

"I feel like I've grown up on the indoor track," she said.

"Aside from being a home for athletes, [Track Academy] really creates good athletes as well."

Brent Council said its decision was based on site-specific evidence, an independent review and its wider leisure estate, and that it had discussed winter provision, alternative spaces and possible financial support with the charity.

Liz Dixon, cabinet member for community safety and public health, said the gym had faced "capacity and layout constraints".

She added: "Track Academy will continue to have access to indoor provision, while the outdoor 400m athletics track is entirely unaffected."

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