Gym proposals spark Commonwealth legacy concerns

The Commonwealth Games was held in Birmingham in the summer of 2022

Proposals for a new gym next to Birmingham's main Commonwealth Games venue have been recommended for approval despite concerns over a "legacy for athletics".

Birmingham City Council has submitted plans to use part of the High Performance Centre (HPC), within the Alexander Stadium complex in Perry Barr, as a public gym.

The HPC is a facility for elite athletes and provides a range of tracks and equipment, according to a council officers' report.

An online petition against the proposals stated: "There are numerous gyms in the area so this is not necessary and not a legacy for athletics."

The report said the plan, if approved, would provide social and economic benefits and meet Birmingham's wider aspirations, including a post-Commonwealth Games legacy.

But more than 2,300 people have signed the petition so far, calling for the HPC to be saved for athletics.

One signatory said: "We need good indoor training facilities for high-performance athletes if we are to continue to do well at the Olympics and World Championships."

"This was not the legacy we envisioned," another wrote. "We need to look after the general population but not at the cost of the elite."

GB triple jumper Ashia Hansen, pictured at Birmingham Indoor Arena in 2003, used to train at the facility

Retired triple jumper Ashia Hansen, who used to train at the facility daily, called the plan "crazy" and predicted its impact would be "terrible" for athletes.

"Why are you trying to make it tougher for athletes to come through?" she asked. "You haven't got the facilities, then you're not going to have the athletes."

She added it was "sad" to see it the HPC not being used to its full potential and suggested the gym be built on disused space elsewhere in the complex.

"We've got a sandpit in there, it’s still empty. We used to have a gym in there, that's empty," she said.

The council's report did not address the petition directly but said a plan to reconfigure the layout meant pole vault and sprinting could not be practised at the same time.

"This is not considered as unacceptable to England Athletics who have not objected," it continued.

England Athletics concluded revised plans retained "all of the current elements of indoor track and field provision at the HPC," it added.

In addition, the report said Sport England had concluded the loss would "have minimal impact on the usage for athletics".

The application will be considered by the council's planning committee on 5 August.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.