Weightlifting and Diving Training Facilities

HL Deb 18 December 2003 vol 655 cc181-2WA

Lord Moynihan

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Where, in the absence of Crystal Palace, Britain's weightlifting and diving squads will train for the 2004 Olympic Games. [HL329]

Lord McIntosh of Haringey

The London Borough of Bromley, Sport England and the Mayor of London, and other interested parties are urgently discussing the future of the Crystal Palace sports complex, which includes the athletics track and stadium as well as the National Sports Centre. It is likely that the closure of the centre for re-development will form a part of any agreed solution.

The Crystal Palace Sports Centre is not the official training venue of the UK's weightlifting and diving squads. A number of elite athletes in these sports do, however, use the centre's facilities. The governing bodies of both sports are considering alternative training venues in the south of England.