A parent of two boys who were training at the Edmonton facility says she has been forced to take them elsewhere

A parent has launched a petition against the introduction of membership fees at Lee Valley Athletics Centre in Edmonton after she said they forced her to take her sons elsewhere to train.

New memberships fees were introduced at the facility earlier this month with parents being charged £19.80 per child, per month. But this comes on top of the fees families are already paying for clubs such as the Be Fit Today Track Academy which runs athletics classes for children.

Lee Valley Athletics Centre is operated by Greenwich Leisure Ltd, under its brand name Better, and the petition by Lisa Date-Bah urges the firm to reconsider the new charges.

Lisa told the Dispatch her sons, aged eight and eleven, began training at Lee Valley last autumn and that it has become “the highlight of their week”. But now the membership fees have been introduced, she has been forced to take them elsewhere.

“We have now started using a centre in Dagenham, but it is not as good. Lee Valley is one of the only places with an indoor track, it ticks all the boxes, but to be told we would have to pay an extra £20 per child just before the school holidays are starting, we had to stop.

“I know that many families have now stopped. There used to be about 20 or 25 children at the Monday night sessions but that has gone down by half.

“There will be students in full-time education who can’t afford it either.”

Lisa’s petition describes the new fees as “a drastic leap in the middle of a financial crisis and the rising costs of living, making it quite impossible for families to continue their children’s athletic training, a critical component of their well-rounded development”.

It adds: “This is about more than just an increase in fees; it is a threat to the dreams and potentials of children in our community and beyond […] We request GLL to reconsider this decision, evaluate more reasonable alternatives, and completely reverse the Lee Valley membership fee.”

So far, around 150 people have signed the petition.

In response, a GLL spokesperson said: “We’ve been in consultation with the private businesses at Lee Valley Athletics Centre since April regarding formalising the access arrangements, who we’d asked in turn to communicate with their customers in advance of these changes being implemented. Whilst some partners have reduced their club fees to reflect these changes, not all have and, unfortunately, this is outside of our control.

“The key change that has been made with regards to access is that rather than businesses based here paying for their customers to access the venue, the customer attending now pays for their membership directly to GLL.”

They added: “Membership options have been introduced which make it more cost friendly for customers using the facilities frequently whilst the option to pay on each visit is still available.

“We’re committed to supporting aspiring athletes and regular gym goers alike at Lee Valley Athletics Centre.”

Lisa’s petition is available online:
Visit change.org/p/reverse-the-new-entry-charges-for-children-and-young-people-at-lee-valley-athletics-club

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