An East London weightlifting club believed to be the oldest in the capital risks closing in a matter of days after the council issued an eviction notice. Bethnal Green Weightlifting Club (BGWLC) in Tower Hamlets was handed a Section 25 notice in July of last year ordering it to leave the premises by January 31.
The club, which is a non-profit organisation, is responsible for producing world champions who have represented Great Britain at the Paralympic Games and the Commonwealth Championships. However its sporting legacy, which dates back almost 100 years, is now under threat after management were told they have until the end of this month to leave.
A spokesperson for Tower Hamlets Council said they understand 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 the borough. Head Coach Martin Bass said the club has been urging the council ‘to just sit down and have a conversation’ about the upcoming eviction.
Head Coach Martin Bass
(Image: Facundo Arrizabalaga/MyLondon)
He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “Until we get some response from the council, we don’t really know. Until we get a bit of a clue, we can hopefully sit down with them. All we want to do is open the doors for everybody – we’ve got a safe space, anybody can come in here.”
Mr Bass has traced the club back to 1926, though he believes it could have formed earlier than this. The club was once based on Old Bethnal Green Road, before moving to its current home on Turin Street in 1948. In December, club members marched from the gym all the way to Brick Lane and gathered signatures as part of their petition to save the venue from closure.
The petition calls on the council to: “Recognise the profound social impact BGWLC has had on Tower Hamlets and its unique role as a hub of community support and development; establish a secure tenancy for the club, and work collaboratively with the club to ensure its future as a contributing asset of the borough.”
MyLondon is also calling on Tower Hamlets Council to reconsider its decision, or find an alternative facility, to save the club from closure. Our Don’t Cut the Heart Out of London campaign aims to save community facilities like this from closure.
Eleanor Smith, who was one of the members on the march and was training when the LDRS visited last week, said the club has been a ‘lifeline’ for many people. She said: “It’s the sense of support that I don’t think you get nearly anywhere else, it’s unmatched really.
“The feeling when you’re lifting these big weights that you never thought you could lift and you’ve got all your friends round cheering you on, it’s such an amazing feeling. It’s hard to describe how much it means, it’s part of your life.”
Taras Lyntovski and his wife, Yana Lyntovska, joined the club shortly after fleeing Ukraine in 2022 following Russia’s invasion. Mrs Lyntovska is one of the top powerlifters in Great Britain while the couple’s son, aged seven, is also a member of the club.
Taras Lyntovski (pictured) joined the club shortly after fleeing Ukraine in 2022
(Image: Facundo Arrizabalaga/MyLondon)
Mr Lyntovski praised the club for making him and his family feel at at home straight away. He added: “This gym helped us very quickly, it wasn’t easy for us because we didn’t expect to leave our country and the guys here helped us very, very quickly because we have the same vision, they helped us to feel at home. I don’t know any gym in this country who has produced so many very good athletes – at national and international levels.”
Barnie Skinner first joined the club three years ago and would travel into London to train during the week and on the weekends. Mr Skinner, who is partially sighted, says he eventually decided to move to East London from Kent so he could access the gym more often.
He said: “I definitely view [the club] as much more of a community and a place to come and train and see friends, everyone here knows everyone. It’s a place where you can always come, you can either put your headphones in and train or you can come and chat to people.”
Ali Jawad, another member, is a British Paralympian and won a silver medal for powerlifting during the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Mr Jawad has represented Great Britain at three other Paralympic Games, including Beijing, London and Tokyo, and is thinking of making a comeback in 2028 in Los Angeles.
Paralympian Ali Jawad (L) and club member Sid Rahman (R)
(Image: Facundo Arrizabalaga/MyLondon)
But he’s now worried his plans could be put into jeopardy if the club was to close. He said: “I think if Tower Hamlets Council decide to completely shut this place down, they’re potentially denying a Paralympian another shot at the games. Do they really want to do that to the national team? If this place goes, I can’t train, there’s nothing, anywhere, like this – I’m going to have to go to a commercial gym and they don’t have the facilities I need.”
Mr Jawad added: “[The club] has been around for nearly 100 years, it’s the centre of the community, it’s produced so many champions, and for a legacy just to be knocked down, it doesn’t sit right at all. In London you’re not going to find a place like this, we’ve got something quite historic here so we should probably try and improve the facility rather than take it away.”
Bethnal Green powelifters outside the club in 1952
(Image: BGWLC)
Reece Smith, who is based outside of London but works in the city, says he comes to train at the club a few times a week. Mr Smith heard about the club through his powerlifting circle, and has been a member for almost 12 years. He said: “We’re all heartbroken, a lot of people like Martin have given their lives to this gym, and if it goes there’s a lot of people who won’t know what to do – myself included.”
The LDRS also spoke with one of the club’s youngest members – 14-year-old Jane who trains at the venue with her little sisters and their mum. She said: “I’ve never been anywhere so welcoming, I’ve never been anywhere where people are so helpful to me, everyone here is really trying to help each other. It’s just so sad that [the council] is trying to get rid of it, it really is the most amazing place. It makes me so happy just to come here.”
The club has a huge legacy
(Image: Facundo Arrizabalaga / MyLondon)
Sid Rahman, a member of the gym for over 30 years, added: “It’s sad if a place like this shuts down, you’ve got world champions, world record holders, Commonwealth champions, Paralympians and above all you’ve got people from the community that are still in the community that have been here for such a long, long time.”
A Tower Hamlets Council spokesperson 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. We have reached out to the weightlifting club and offered them a meeting with senior officers to discuss next steps and are hopeful that a positive resolution can be agreed.”
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