Demolition for century-old weightlifting club site

Plans to knock down the home of Bethnal Green Weightlifting Club have been approved.

The east London club, which is based at the council-owned Professional Development Centre, is under threat because of a plan to rebuild the site and replace it with a library and 44 homes, including 24 for social rent. The proposals were voted through by Tower Hamlets councillors on 5 November.

The council said the club, which has been at its gym in Turin Street and Bethnal Green Road since 1948, can stay until June 2027 and will not have to move until a suitable new location is found.

But weightlifting club members warned that, without a long-term solution, relocation "would quietly end" it.

Speaking for the club at the meeting, Eleanor Smith told councillors: "We've been part of Tower Hamlets for 100 years and we're asking for your help to stay part of it.

"This is not a commercial gym – we're a registered charity run by volunteers."

Smith said club members included schoolchildren and people in their 70s, disabled athletes including Paralympic medallists, ex-servicemen and women "rebuilding their lives", young women recovering from eating disorders and people with depression who have found "a coach-supported place to heal".

Smith said that if it lost its home, the club would need a new long-term base because a "makeshift solution" would "quietly end us".

She told councillors: "You have the chance to be the council that protected a 100-year treasure of this borough and to be remembered for it."

Tower Hamlets Council is controlled by the Aspire Party, led by executive mayor Lutfur Rahman.

Councillors said that policies protecting sports facilities meant the council would have to find an "equivalent or better" replacement.

Planning officers said this meant that "securing an alternative location for the weightlifting club is therefore fundamental to ensuring that the scheme is acceptable".

They said the council and the club had yet to agree on a new location, but that "discussions are ongoing".

A legal planning agreement would also ensure the building could not be demolished "unless and until suitable alternative accommodation has been made available".

A Tower Hamlets Council spokesperson said they were in discussions with the weightlifting club about relocation to Tent Street, near Bethnal Green Station, and were negotiating the details.

"We have granted them an extension to remain at the current site until June 2027 and will extend further if the new facility is not ready," they said.

"We value the club and recognise its importance to the local community and will continue to work with them."

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk