Campaign launched to save the Central YMCA Club

After the shock announcement on Monday of the closure of the world’s first YMCA, located in Great Russell Street, a campaign to save the historic and much-loved club has been launched.

On Monday 2 December members received an email from the charity that runs the club saying a decision had been made to sell the premises and that it would close in February.

Ryan Palmer, chief executive of the Central YMCA, wrote saying the charity has been “conducting a strategic review” which had concluded the club is no longer financially viable and “will cease trading on 7 February 2025” and that it has been sold.

Opened in 1977 on the site of a previous YMCA building on Tottenham Court Road in Fitzrovia, the club includes a 25 metre swimming pool, sauna, steam room, exercise studios, and has become an important social club for its members who range from children to pensioners. In the 1980s the hostel on upper floors of the building was sold and converted to a hotel.

The building has now been bought by real estate investors Criterion Capital who said on Wednesday that the sale was “initiated by Central YMCA, who sought Criterion’s economic support in addressing escalating challenges”.

Criterion currently own the windowless hotel in the former basement car park of the YMCA building.

In a public statement, Omar Aziz of Criterion Capital, said: “This acquisition is a partnership founded on trust and mutual respect. From the beginning, our shared vision with Central YMCA has been to recognise the importance of this historic site, while transforming it into an economically viable and vibrant space that meets the needs of future generations, ensuring it remains relevant and meaningful to contemporary needs.”

Criterion says they will work with “local organisations and stakeholders” and Camden Council to “shape the next chapter of this building”.

It appears that Criterion has acquired the freehold, from the YMCA, of the whole city block bounded by Great Russell Street, Tottenham Court Road, Bedford Avenue and Adeline Place. However, when asked by The Fitzrovia News for clarification and further details of the sale, we received no response.

Since Monday there has been an outpouring of shock and sadness, which quickly turned to anger at the decision to close the club and sell it to the hotel group, which has been taken without any consultation with YMCA members.

One member of the club told BBC London Radio that the “trustees of the charity have betrayed its members”. Another described the decision as “appalling and reprehensible”. The swimming pool at the YMCA was used by the BBC’s Children in Need “swim challenge” (Listen at 3:15:34).

“What really disturbs me is the impact on all the retirees and pensioners for whom this has been a hub of activity three days a week,” said Ann Diego in an email to The Fitzrovia news.

“They lunch together, attend multiple exercise classes, sit in the lounge and talk, go on arranged walks and visits — so many activities that form the heart of their community. This closure will tear the guts out of that vital social network”

“Every time I visited the weight room or used the machines, there were times it was absolutely packed. And what about the countless children who use the facilities during breaks, the programs they run, and the schools that depend on it?” she said.

A petition was started by a member of staff, Joshua von Uexkull, who has had a connection to the club since he was a child.

“Central YMCA has long embraced the motto of serving the community from cradle to grave, offering vital physical education spaces for local schools, including swimming, gymnastics and sports training, while also providing a unique program for older adults to socialise and stay fit,” says Uexkull who first started at the club in a playscheme and now works as a lifeguard and fitness advisor at the the club.

As of Friday morning more that 2,000 people have signed the petition calling for the decision to be reversed and the club saved from closure. A website has also been set up to co-ordinate the campaign.

On Monday 9 December, long-time members of the club David Bieda and Josh von Euxkull will lead a deputation to Camden Council’s Culture and Environment Scrutiny Committee calling for the council to use any powers it has to intervene in the decision taken by the YMCA trustees and to save the club because it is such an important central London institution for the health and well-being of its members.

Immediately after the deputation, the campaigners will hold an organising committee meeting at the Town Hall to plan the next steps in the campaign.

A spokesperson for Central YMCA said:

“Central YMCA has always adapted to meet the changing needs of the communities we serve. It has been a difficult time for charities across the country, and after many months considering our options, we concluded that the Club at 112 Great Russell Street was unviable without significant investment.

“As a charity, we must always act in our beneficiaries’ best interests, and today that means recognising there are better ways we can support our communities. This sale will not only allow us to reinvest in our other gyms in London but also enable us to provide more sustainable and impactful health and wellbeing services to both existing and new communities. 

“Our priority for the moment however is supporting our members and staff through the next stages of this process,” said the spokesperson.

For more information see the campaign website: Save the Central YMCA Club.

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