Members unite to save Covent Garden gym

Campaigners are trying to stop the sale of a 'low cost' community gym located in the heart of Covent Garden.

For more than 46 years, Jubilee Hall Gym has been run by a charitable trust, which last month gave notice to Westminster City Council of its intention to sell.

Gym users said they were concerned that if a sale went ahead, it would mean the end of a much-valued and affordable facility. An online petition has so far attracted more than 1,300 signatories.

The Jubilee Hall Trust said, due to financial difficulties, it was "left with no viable option but to sell the hall in order to safeguard the long-term mission of the charity".

It said it believed "significant financial investment, amounting to millions" would be required to maintain and upgrade the building to meet modern needs.

"Instead, we see greater potential in relocating to a space that is more sustainable, accessible, and better suited to serving disadvantaged groups," the trust added.

The proposed sale follows the recent closure of central London's largest gym, in the nearby YMCA.

Noreen Rahman, 42, from Walthamstow, joined Jubilee Hall Gym because she works nearby.

She said it was like "nowhere I have been before".

"I didn't really know that this is what you call a community gym," she added.

"I'd been going to other gyms, but this has a different vibe to it completely... it has a more respectful atmosphere.

"I'd never done weight training before... but I can do it comfortably here. "

Since joining, she said her mental health had hugely improved and she was able to interact with people from different parts of London's community at the gym, who she would not normally have the opportunity to meet.

Ms Rahman and other gym users held a public meeting on Wednesday evening to discuss the next steps.

In December, the council designated the gym as an Asset of Community Value (AVC).

This special status means "a moratorium on the sale (of up to six months) can be invoked by the local community to give them the chance to raise finance, develop a business case and to make a bid to buy the asset on the open market".

Westminster City Council has been approached for comment.

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