Athletes are still fighting to save the facilities at Crystal Palace national sports centre.

Redevelopment plans at the site could see the indoor athletics track, 25m family swimming pool and main stadium demolished within weeks if the Greater London Authority (GLA) agrees with the shortlisted options from a report published in February.

This is despite widespread opposition from the athletics community, including a 4,000-strong signature petition organised by the Crystal Palace Sports Partnership (CPSP) against the plans.

Signatories include British 200m great John Regis, who said: “This will be a hammer blow to athletics. The indoor track is a vital facility in one of the highest areas of track and field participation in the country, developing thousands of young aspiring and elite athletes all year round.”

Results from the GLA’s six-week consultation, that took place last autumn, suggested many people have issues with the proposals.

These include the potential loss of diving facilities due to the introduction of a moveable floor, loss of the indoor athletics track, weightlifting facilities and the 25m swimming pool.

The CPSP did an audit of the outdoor and indoor tracks and found there were about 22,000 separate visits, contradicting a report by the GLA's consultants CSM Strategic that said “usage is limited”.

Your Local Guardian:

CPSP chairman John Powell (pictured above) has been an athletics coach at Crystal Palace for the past 40 years.

He said: “The GLA is only committing a finite amount of cash to this project, and unless we provide a robust assessment of sporting needs for strategic planning for the centre, the current plans could be catastrophic for sport in London, and reduce sports participation levels in south London for generations to come. What sort of legacy is that?”

Options for the sports centre include extending the current contract, and the CPSP believes things could change when London gets a new mayor next year.