This is a community lead petition that has gone to Camden Council and the Mayor of London.

Please note all donations go to Change.org for the promotion of the petition and NOT to the Save Central YMCA Club campaign. If you wish to donate to our campaign please click here.

We urgently need your help to save Central YMCA club facility, a vital community hub at risk of being lost. The world’s first YMCA and London's largest gym and health and wellbeing centre, it has provided essential services to people of all backgrounds, ages, and abilities as well as those will illnesses and injuries. The sale of the Central YMCA Club to Criterion Capital was made without member or staff consultation. This decision reflects a growing trend where London’s community spaces, youth clubs, health facilities, and swimming pools are being lost at an alarming pace.

Central YMCA club has long embraced the motto of serving the community from cradle to grave, offering vital services to the youth, while also providing a unique social and wellbeing program for older adults. Our playschemes, PE lessons and after school clubs provide 10 schools and hundreds of children every month with a 25m swimming pool, ceramics, painting, sports and day trips. These schools lack the space, facilities and educators that we provide. From an early age, children are encouraged to make a positive contribution to society through programs like Young Sports Leaders and First Aid training. Our physios, therapists, personal trainers and many volunteers care for people with illnesses, injuries and disabilities. We are depended upon by the LGBTQIA community, with our Positive Health program started in 1997 for exercise and HIV referral. We host University College Hospital for their muscular rehabilitation classes and UCL for their swim club. We are depended upon by our 900 over-60s in our older adults program (the largest in England) and by a Stroke Support Group. We host 20 arts, crafts, sports and health clubs with collectively around 8000 members last year who will struggle to find another venue. All of these people will never fully recover from the loss of this club and the precedent it sets for community centres in London.

We cannot afford to lose another irreplaceable venue. The Central YMCA Club is more than just a gym; it’s a cornerstone of our community, providing opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to thrive. This club is a beacon of hope and inspiration, where people are nurtured and supported throughout their lives.

By signing this petition, you are supporting the continuation and preservation of the Central YMCA facility as an affordable community space providing its essential services and programs for schools, older adults, hospitals and community members.