The future of Greenwich’s Olympic legacy equestrian centre is looking uncertain once again with the Army now unlikely to buy the site.

Greenwich Council said it was “reprioritising” plans to dispose of the centre, which closed two years ago after its operator, North Kent College, pulled out of the facility in Shooters Hill.

The Greenwich Equestrian Centre opened in 2013 as a legacy project following the borough’s role in hosting Olympic and Paralympic events the previous year. 

Materials from the equestrian course in Greenwich Park were used in its construction. The council leader at the time, Chris Roberts, said  it would “provide educational and training opportunities for many people for years to come”, while there was a two-year wait for riding lessons at the centre’s peak. 

The original operator, Hadlow College, went into administration in 2019 and was taken over by North Kent, which pulled out in July 2024. A decision to place the site on a disposal list was passed in less than a minute the following November.

The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, a ceremonial unit which plays a key role in state occasions, is based nearby, off Woolwich Common, and the Army is believed to have wanted more exercise space for its horses.

Farmhouse with fencing around it
The building has been fenced off for more than two years. Image: The Greenwich Wire

But asked on Wednesday by Tamasin Rhymes, the Green opposition leader, about the progress of talks with the Army, Tom Creswell, the cabinet member for planning and development, said the military had lost interest.

“The disposal of the equestrian centre is currently being re-prioritised following recent conversations with the Ministry of Defence in which it became clear that their interest in the property has effectively fallen away,” he said in a written response. 

“I understand that this is due to MoD re-prioritisation of spending given current geopolitical instability.”

Community groups have said they could revive the centre, but current council leader, Anthony Okereke, has previously suggested that the site, which is surrounded by farmland, could be developed into flats.

The centre was intended to be part of the borough’s Olympic and Paralympic legacy. Image: Hadlow College

The Army’s interest was revealed by The Greenwich Wire in July last year.  But nailing down the military’s interest had been difficult – a freedom of information request by The Greenwich Wire resulted in a heavily-redacted response some months later which revealed little.

In April this year a Labour candidate, Timothy Folaramni, told a hustings meeting in Shooters Hill that the council was close to a deal with the military. 

The college cost £1.6 million, with the money coming from a number of bodies. The council was reported at the time to have contributed £250,000. Another £250,000 came from the British Equestrian Foundation, which has criticised the plan to sell the site.

One of the other funders, Sport England, must consent to any change of use.

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