Rescued Crouch End gym under threat from YMCA redevelopment

An award-winning independent gym faces losing its home under plans to redevelop the YMCA hostel building in Crouch End. 

The project would see the hostel, which Luke Cawley-Harrison, leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Haringey Council, described as “end of life, not fit for purpose”, demolished and replaced with 174 en-suite rooms for young homeless people.  

This is not the first time the gym has been under threat. YMCA closed it in June 2023, before it reopened under different management that November following a members’ campaign.

In a published FAQ, YMCA said it had “prioritised the provision of accommodation and communal/support spaces for young people” over space for the Crouch End Fitness Centre. It added that the gym’s management took on the lease “with knowledge that the YMCA were considering routes for refurbishment or redevelopment”. 

Crouch End Fitness Centre declined to comment. The gym won the London Prestige Award 2025/26, which it said recognised its community-focused atmosphere. 

Gym user Susan Kerr, objecting to the application, said: “I have been using the Crouch End Fitness Centre for many years and as an older person I enjoy the benefits of this Centre every week.” 

Mr Cawley-Harrison acknowledged “a stubborn level of homelessness across Haringey” and said: “The council has a gym facility in Park Road that’s had recent reinvestment, so members of the gym in the YMCA can go there.” 

He added: “Haringey will be very happy to support them where possible but there are not many council properties out there, so YMCA would be the ones that would assist them in finding somewhere else.” 

Objectors can speak at the planning committee, expected on 23 November; Mr Cawley-Harrison said the date would be confirmed by the end of October. 

To find the application go to Haringey Council’s planning portal, using reference HGY/2026/2308.

Interview with Cllr Luke Cawley-Harrison (07976977705) on the 14 October