Hi everyone,
Thank you again to everyone who signed and supported the petition to request the reinstatement of the top-rope area.
Following the petition, I have spoken with management and discussed the issues raised. Below is a summary of their response.
They explained that the decision to convert The Stacks to bouldering was made after a survey across the whole centre, which they say showed that The Stacks top-roping walls were underused compared with other walls. They also explained that trading conditions are currently very difficult for climbing wall operators in London, and that they need to maximise the use of their facilities.
Management have said they will re-survey the new setup in the autumn to get a clearer picture of how it is working. They also stated that their initial observations are that the new bouldering area is popular and that the remaining top-rope areas are not overwhelmed.
They acknowledged that the people most affected by the change are those who require step-free access and cannot access the roped walls elsewhere in the centre. In response, they have introduced a £5 concession rate for those who require step-free access, added a stair lift from the garden to allow access to the Engine House walls.
Importantly, management have also agreed to improve the setting frequency on the top-rope walls to a 12-week rotation, which should make things better for all top-ropers.
Here is the official response from the Castle Climbing Centre management team:
“We took the decision to convert "The Stacks" to bouldering use after an extensive survey covering the whole centre. The results showed that the Stacks top-roping walls were underused compared with other walls in the centre. Trading conditions are extremely tough for climbing wall operators in London at present and we are not alone in feeling this pressure. In these circumstances we need to maximise the use of all our facilities.
We will re-survey in the autumn to get a clear picture of the new set up. However, our initial observations are that the new bouldering area is popular and that the remaining top-roping areas are not overwhelmed.
We understand that the users most affected by this change are those who require step free access and can't access the roped walls elsewhere in the centre, this is why we've introduced a few initiatives to benefit those customers.
We have introduced a new concession rate of £5 for those who require step free access, as well as increasing the setting frequency on the top-rope walls to a 12-week rotation. Additionally, we have recently added a stair lift and improved garden paths to allow users to access the Engine House walls that way.”
Based on this response, it does not look like the top-rope area will be reinstated at this stage, unfortunately. For that reason, I will now close the petition.
Although this is not the outcome many of us hoped for, the petition helped show that a significant number of climbers care about this issue and wanted the decision to be reconsidered. It also ensured that the concerns of the community were formally raised with management.
Thank you again to all 537 people who signed and supported the petition.
All the best,
Giacomo Mantovani