Weightlifting club faces axe after almost 100 years

An east London weightlifting gym faces imminent closure after almost 100 years due to being handed an eviction notice by a council.

Bethnal Green Weightlifting Club, which claims to be the oldest in London, opened in 1926 and runs as a non-profit organisation.

Club members marched from the gym down to Brick Lane on Sunday afternoon to collect signatures for a petition asking the council to retract the Section 25 notice.

A spokesperson for the council, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, said: "We understand and appreciate the club's importance to the community and are keen to work with them to offer support and ensure they can continue as a valued organisation in our borough."

Head coach Martin Bass said the eviction notice, which was served in July, had come as a surprise and "makes no sense".

It means the gym will need to leave the premises on Bethnal Green Road - where it has been in since 1948 - by 31 January.

Charlotte Macaulay, who was paralysed for months after being diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome in 2022, was among those who took part in the march.

She said joining the gym last year had "really helped" with her recovery and she could now lift 150kg.

"It definitely helped me get my muscle mass back and also mentally as well to feel like I was actually doing something to help myself," she said.

She said the fact that there were so many women training at the community gym - which also trains international powerlifters - felt "empowering".

When she heard about the eviction, Ms Macaulay said she "broke down" but added that members were "all fired up to do something and show the council that it really matters to people".

Also among those marching was Yana Lyntovskyi, who fled Ukraine after Russia's invasion of the country in 2022.

She said she had found a "second home" at the club.

"It's a very important place for me and I'm very proud to be part of it," said Mrs Lyntovskyi.

Her husband, Taras Lyntovskyi, said of the eviction notice: "It's very easy to destroy something - we understand it because we're from Ukraine - but trying to build something that's the same, it's not possible."

British Paralympic powerlifter Ali Jawad, who trains at the club and won a silver medal at the 2016 Paralympic Games, said the club was "not just a gym, it's a community".

He added that its potential closure would be "devastating".

Mr Bass, who has been running the club for about 50 years, said the current arrangement with the council allowed the club to operate as a registered charity and allowed people who could not afford fees to train for free.

"It serves the community. We've got all fashions of society - gender, race... old Cockneys - whatever," said the British Powerlifting and Masters Classic coach.

"Anybody who comes in here, it's a safe space. We don't allow no nonsense up here."

Mr Bass added that the club's group of trustees got "just as much buzz" from those who "come in here and couldn't lift nothing and then end up snatching 40[kg]" as they did "international's who pull 350[kg]".

It is not clear what the council's plans are for the premises.

"We're gonna make some noise," said Mr Bass. "The only thing I hope is that someone on the council is taking notice."

The council spokesperson said the authority would contact the club to set up a meeting in the new year.

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