Trackspeed1 UK Head Coach John Powell has wasted no time in kick-starting the campaign to save the training venue his squad have enjoyed for the past 38 years.
With Crystal Palace National Sports Centre's iconic stadium, along with the indoor track, staring demolition in the face in 2016, he and colleagues have had to act quickly to stand any chance of swaying official opinion away from current proposals.
Today (Thursday 16th) he meets with a representative of the Greater London Authority to whom he hopes to put a strong case to urge reconsideration of current plans, and on Monday (20th) a group he informally refers to at tis stage as the 'Crystal Palace Action Group' (CPAG) will meet to discuss next steps.
"We have to get key stakeholders sitting around the same table to form a solid cohesive approach to all this," he explained. "It's no good sitting in different corners complaining, because that will not get anything done.
"The key issue at the moment is that the rationale behind the plans for athletics at Crystal Palace is fundamentally flawed. The consultation that it is claimed has taken place has not - none of the athletics users knew anything about this , and are united as one against all the proposals for athletics.
"I must make it clear though that we do stay real with all this. We understand the stadium is a huge burden financially and is not itself an essential. We also accept the need locally for a new school, and see no reason why part of the site should not accommodate one.
"What we do not support is wiping out the indoor track which is crucial to dozens of athletes based there for training, let alone the competitions that still take place attracting hundreds of local sprinters, let alone the loss of an outdoor track too."
John has asked that anyone interested in being involved in the campaign contacts him urgently via trackspeed1@hotmail.com
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