Exclusive: Greenwich Council’s decision to sell its Olympic legacy equestrian centre has been condemned by the sport’s governing body, which put money into the facility when it opened 11 years ago.
Two petitions to save the Greenwich Equestrian Centre were handed into the council on Wednesday, with 1,400 people objecting to the sale.
A petition from businesswoman Tao Baker was signed by over 1,000 people, while another petition from the Woodlands Farm Trust, which is next door to the centre on Shooters Hill, had 380 signatures.
The £1.6 million centre was opened by Princess Anne in 2013 in a blaze of publicity following the hosting of equestrian events in the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Greenwich Park.
But the operator, Hadlow College, which was paid a peppercorn rent to the council, went bust six years later and was taken over by North Kent College, which pulled out of the site at the end of July.
The building is now boarded up and fenced off from the public, and last week Greenwich Council’s cabinet agreed to sell the site, with rumours spreading that a sale could take place this week.
The funders included British Equestrian, which put in £250,000 of its Olympic legacy fund from Sport England. British Equestrian told The Greenwich Wire that it was not consulted by the council and that it was “deeply disappointed” about the proposed sale. It said that the council’s chief executive, Debbie Warren, and director of regeneration, Pippa Hack, only agreed to meet its representatives when Sport England got involved.
Neighbours and former users were not consulted, and only discovered the planned sales when they were buried in a cabinet agenda under the title “Asset Review Further Outcomes”.
Two Greenwich Conservative councillors including the local party leader, Matt Hartley, have challenged the decision, halting any sale proceedings for the equestrian centre and another site next to the Shrewsbury House community centre.
A British Equestrian spokesperson said: “We were first made aware of the closure of the site by concerned members of the local community. Despite our efforts to engage with Greenwich Council’s chief executive and regeneration director, our offer to meet and discuss the matter was not accepted.
“It was only after involving Sport England, who invested in that site – they have a 25 year agreement that prevents the council repurposing the site – that the council’s property team agreed to meet us, but by then, the decision was too far advanced to influence the outcome.
We are deeply disappointed by Greenwich Council’s decision to dispose of the Greenwich Equestrian Centre, especially without prior engagement with British Equestrian or Sport England. This lack of consultation undermines the value of collaborative working and disregards the significant role riding centres play in delivering broader social, health, and community benefits.
“The loss of equestrian centres — especially in urban settings like Greenwich — is an alarming trend. These facilities are vital in providing accessible opportunities for people to connect with animals, develop new skills, and benefit from the physical and mental health advantages of equestrianism. Research has consistently shown the positive social value of equestrian activities, particularly in urban areas, where exposure to animals and green spaces is limited.
“This decision is not only a loss for the local community but also for the sport as a whole. As part of our strategy to diversify and grow equestrian participation, maintaining urban riding schools is critical to breaking down barriers and ensuring people from all backgrounds can experience the unique benefits equestrian sport offers.”
The two petitions were handed in at a full council meeting by Ivis Williams, one of the Labour councillors for Shooters Hill and a Woodlands Farm trustee. The Greenwich Wire understands that Labour councillors have been put under pressure not to speak out about the issue.
Baker, who has a background in banking and used to use the centre, told The Greenwich Wire that she was frustrated after being stonewalled by the council in her efforts to take on the site through a community asset transfer – a legal mechanism where local groups can take on public facilities.
Council officers told her two months ago that it had not developed a policy and would want Baker to develop a business case before they would consider the idea.
“The council said the centre wasn’t financially viable – they’re absolutely wrong – it is financially viable,” she told The Greenwich Wire.
“It wasn’t just a riding school I was proposing, it was a wider thing with the community. We can expose kids to careers in working as farriers, designing saddles and working with vets, who love the centre’s horse rehabilitation facility.
“We could also work with the racing industry, as they don’t have enough young people coming forward to be jockeys.
“I’m not some random person with a couple of horses and a tea shop – I’ve got a commercial background. But they never gave me a chance.”
Barry Gray, of the Woodlands Farm Trust, compared the situation to when the council tried to sell Severndroog Castle, a listed Gothic tower on the other side of Shooters Hill, in 2002.
He helped set up a campaign to save the building. Severndroog reopened in 2014 under the stewardship of volunteers who had raised funds from grants, and it has become a popular visitor attraction since then.
Gray had opposed the building of the equestrian centre, and said that some of its aims – such as allowing young people to use Oxleas Wood for riding, had failed, despite the building of a special “pegasus” crossing to allow riders to get over the busy road outside the centre.
But he had built up a rapport with its management when it opened, describing it as an “ideal neighbour”. He supplied the centre with hay, the centre let him use its land for grazing.
He told The Greenwich Wire: “It just seems to me that there’s a striking lack of imagination and almost the intention to rub people up the wrong way before they start.
“Even if they were determined to do it and weren’t going to listen, it would have been quite easy to delay it for three or six months and say ‘we’re going to have a full community communication’.
“It’s almost a power play to say, ‘we can do this and you can’t do anything about it’.”
Gray said the equestrian centre could be put to use as a community hub, retaining riding facilities but also providing a home for local groups such as Men in Sheds, while the large farmhouse could be used by a charity which provides farm holidays for children.
“The indoor arena is enormous,” he said. It could be used for horses but there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be shared. What about a farmers’ market or craft exhibitions? It’d be undercover, because the bane of farmers’ markets is when it pours down, nobody comes.”
Referring to Chris Roberts, the long-serving council leader who built the equestrian centre, and his successors, Gray said: “The council caused this problem by building the centre, and now they’re just walking away from it.
“But Chris Roberts did have some sort of a vision for it, and fair play to him for that. This lot – they’ve got nothing.
“They’re behaving in a way that’d make Pontius Pilate blush. When it’s sold, they’ll say ‘it’s nothing to do with us, you need to speak to the developer’. And that’s what we’re upset about.”
He added: “They’ve not been great so far, but we want to have a friendly outcome to this.”
At the time, Roberts said the opening of the centre was “about creating landmark centres of excellence in the borough where our residents can gain skills and qualifications in specialist areas, and have a real chance of making a good career after their training”.
Challenged on the lack of consultation by Matt Hartley at Wednesday night’s council meeting, council leader Anthony Okereke said: “There’s a way of protecting assets that the council has and there’s a proper process for it to be considered. What I would say is we have to be mindful of the fact that some community groups do want certain assets that the council owns or would like to use it, and that is a fair request.
“But we also have to consider how we use our assets to deliver the overarching services of the council.”
Sport England said: “In 2012, Sport England invested £250,000 of Olympics legacy funding into the Greenwich Equestrian Skills and Riding Centre through the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
“We were aware of Greenwich Council’s plans to seek approval for the disposal of the site. We are unable to comment or advise on individual cases or possible closures of facilities, as these decisions are made at a local level and are not something that we can influence.
“We are in ongoing discussions with the council with regards to the impact of the proposed sale of the site on our funding.”
The British Equestrian spokesperson added: “We urge Greenwich Council to recognise the long-term impact of decisions like this, which run counter to national efforts to improve health, wellbeing, and inclusivity through physical activity.
“The council outline five strategies to underpin their overarching Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2023 – 2028 and riding as an activity could have helped with the physical and mental health aims of all of them.
“Our team has been in continuous dialogue since the issue was raised with the council and some of them were at the meeting to endorse a case to fight the disposal/sale. We continue to do what we can.”
Greenwich Council was contacted on Tuesday morning and asked why it had not consulted the centre’s neighbours or former users, and whether or not it had planned to sell the site within days.
It responded on Monday morning with this statement: “We are a well-managed council, but to remain financially stable and provide the services that residents deserve, we must make the best use of the land and the properties that we own. We’re exploring new options that would generate vital income for frontline services, which we know are important to our residents.
“Councils all over London are reckoning with a legacy of slashed income, rising costs and increasing demand for adult and children’s social care, and a housing emergency. In the last year we have had to make £33.7million in savings to cover our shortfall and balance our budget, but next year we’re forecasting a budget gap of at least £27 million. Our priority is to ensure we get the best possible results and deliver good value for money to benefit all our residents.”
“For any site that is recommended to be sold, the council would then invite bids through a transparent and comprehensive process. The decisions regarding the equestrian centre and Mereworth Drive are subject to call-in and as such it would not be appropriate to comment further until the scrutiny panel has had the opportunity to discuss.”
Story updated at 10am on Monday with belated Greenwich Council statement.
Follow The Greenwich Wire on Bluesky, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Threads. You can also sign up for WhatsApp alerts – or subscribe to our emails through the blue box above.
Comments are closed.