Save the Jubilee Hall – yet again!
The Jubilee Hall Gym on Covent Garden Piazza is under threat of closure. Plans are underway to sell the 85 remaining years of its lease to a commercial body.
The Jubilee Hall includes the high space with huge windows above the market that is used as a Gym.
The Gym was established in 1984 following a campaign by the local community which secured a 125 year lease on the Hall at a peppercorn rent. It was already being used as a successful community space since 1977, and was part of the famous ‘Battle for Covent Garden’ that saved the area from the bulldozers.
The centre is now the only Gym in central Westminster that is community-focussed, with concessions and classes for residents and workers.
With its spectacular, light and airy main hall, it continues to be an important facility. It is quite unique in Central London, which has surprising pockets of deprivation and need.
A CGCA poster from the 1980s campaign to save the Jubilee Hall from demolition.
Of course, like all historic buildings, the Hall also has some challenges with maintenance costs. However, we believe that an updated strategy could overcome these.
A new vision for the building could expand on the current offering of the Gym and its other facilities, involve more local people, and generate more income to cover its costs.
The answer is not to sell this precious asset, which can never be replaced.
The sale of the lease has been conducted in secret; the community was not offered the opportunity to comment.
Please help by signing and sharing this petition so that the community can have the opportunity to have its say: https://www.change.org/p/halt-the-closure-and-secret-sale-of-the-jubilee-hall-gym-in-covent-garden
Please also let us know if you would like to be kept informed about any meetings etc. that are arranged, by emailing us at info@CoventGarden.org.uk.
Even without changes to its strategy, the other two gyms operated by the charitable company in London generate enough to cover the costs of Jubilee Hall. This is typical of many charities, who operate profitable enterprises to subsidise the less profitable ones that are at the core of their purpose. More details on the charitable company can be found on the charity commission website at https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/273562/charity-overview and on the website of Jubilee Hall Trust at https://www.jubileehalltrust.org/.
Jubilee Hall has continued since 1984 as a community Gym. It actively serves the disabled and provides many unique services for the disadvantaged. Covent Garden itself has about 7,000 residents, but being so central, the Gym serves people from a far wider area.
It has a long history of serving the entertainment industry as well as the LGBTQ+ community, with actors, ballet dancers, and performers as its members. As the Jubilee Hall Trust (JHT) website proudly says “We’ve been at the heart of Covent Garden since 1978. We are part of the community …” See https://www.jubileehallgym.co.uk/facilities/.
JHT has offered free blind yoga classes, puppy yoga for mental health and free memberships for the homeless. Its intention is to make a lasting difference to the lives of those it serves. Before Covid, 25% of its members were concessionary or free, with free entry on Sunday, and more than 80,000 free exercise sessions. It generated £1.6m in social value according to Oxygen Consulting, a specialist sports industry analyst in the year ending 2019.
Although there are private gyms nearby they are typically expensive, offer few concessions and they demand contracts. The Hall provides many additional services not all catered for nearby – well being, acupuncture, podiatry and psychotherapy being a few. In its own words, Jubilee Hall “emphasises community engagement by offering group fitness classes, social events, and supportive networks that help individuals connect with others who share similar interests in leading a healthy lifestyle.” It is also a unique space where older residents can work out, as well as meet people socially. Please support the campaign to retain it.
