Hopes of saving a London 2012 Olympic legacy equestrian centre have taken a notable step forward.
Cash-strapped Royal Borough of Greenwich Council’s decision-making cabinet voted to sell the £1.6m Greenwich Equestrian Centre, despite opposition (news, 23 January). The decision came under fire in a lively council overview and scrutiny committee meeting in January, but was upheld.
But since then, there has been “genuine progress” in work to try to protect and reopen the site, as well as a thawing of the council’s “hostility”.
The council met members of the community last month, including campaigners from the Save Greenwich Equestrian Community Group, at which the group shared a proposal for the centre’s future. The proposal shares a vision for the centre that goes beyond offering riding lessons, to benefit the local community in many ways.
These include learning skills linked to future careers, such as farriery, boosting health and wellbeing through riding and being around horses, working with partner organisations to provide an equine welfare and rehabilitation hub and more. It also spells out ways in which its proposals align with the council’s own policies and frameworks.
H&H understands the group has been in “positive” early discussions with Sport England around exploring a community asset transfer and establishing a charity to safeguard and run the facility; a meeting between the council, Sport England and Save Greenwich Equestrian is expected in the next weeks. It would also like to connect with riders, coaches, breeders, farmers and supporters who have faced similar challenges in protecting equestrian or sporting land.The group’s hope is that Greenwich could become a blueprint for how communities and national bodies can work together to revive and safeguard access to horses, sport and green space for future generations.
“The Greenwich Equestrian Centre isn’t just a facility – it’s part of our Olympic legacy and a space that has inspired generations. The community has shown it wants this site restored, not sold. With Sport England’s support, we’re proving that collaboration, not disposal, is the real legacy London deserves,” Tao Baker, who leads the Save Greenwich Equestrian Community Group, told H&H.
“This is a chance for Greenwich to lead by example – showing how councils, national sporting bodies and communities can work together to protect vital assets. It’s a positive story about people stepping up, not giving up.”
Neighbouring Woodlands Farm Trust, which is not connected to the Save Greenwich Equestrian Community Group, has also been lobbying to preserve the centre, but not for equestrian use.
Barry Gray, chairman of the trust – the UK’s largest independent working community farm – recently spoke at a Greenwich Council meeting, where he described receiving a letter from the council’s head of property to have “informal talks” as a “ray of sunshine”.
This is despite the “blow” that an application to have the site recognised as an asset of community value (ACV) was rejected by the council. ACV status gives buildings or pieces of land added protection from developers, buying time for local community groups interested in preserving them.
“Over spring and summer, we [Woodlands Farm Trust] have seen several high-ranking officials from national funding organisations, and I can reveal that we’ve just been invited to make a stage one application to the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, which is the third largest funder in the UK,” Dr Gray told the council.
“They have a specific interest in enlarging the farm along certain lines, including the equestrian centre. We also are having contact with Farms for City Children, which was founded by War Horse author Michael Morpurgo. The idea there is to use the wonderful 20-room Victorian farmhouse on the site to make these [visits into] residential holidays for deprived children.”
He added: “We’re so pleased that at last, the hostility is dying down and we will hopefully come to an agreement about the future of the site, which benefits the whole community.”
A council spokesperson told H&H: “Council members and officers have met with local organisations and members of the community to discuss the future of the former equestrian centre. These conversations are ongoing and no decisions have been made at this stage.”
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