In November, I was pleased to join with fellow councillors in attending an event at the K2 leisure centre, to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of its opening in 2005. There is no doubt that Crawley’s council leisure centre has been a success, evidenced by how busy it continues to be.
This was a good news story, so it was no surprise that the Council Leader and Cabinet Member for Leisure were front-and-centre of the council’s publicity around that celebration. It is normal practice for politicians to associate themselves with good news stories, although some can gain a reputation for just turning up for the photoshoot, but not doing much else.
However, good leadership is more than associating oneself with good news stories or jumping on bandwagons. It is also about being accountable and straight with people when the news isn’t so good, when difficult decisions are being taken.
As well as attending the celebration in November, I was one of three councillors present who was also there twenty years ago, when Sebastian Coe officially opened K2. I recall at the time a senior council officer proudly saying that the climbing wall was intentionally near the entrance and visible from outside, designed to inspire and impress. Climbing is very much linked with the K2 mountain, the second highest mountain in the world, which K2 Crawley is named after.
At the weekend, I received an email from a resident where I discovered that K2 members had been told that Everyone Active in partnership with Crawley Borough Council, that the climbing wall would be closing at the end of March. This is a top specialist facility and a real loss for Crawley. The climbing community were not consulted and Crawley Borough Councillors like me knew nothing about it. There needs to be a meaningful consultation.
Who will (presumably) have known about it will have been the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for Leisure. On this, they haven’t been anywhere to be seen and that’s a real insight into how ‘good’ the political leadership is at Crawley Borough Council.
Councillor Duncan Crow, Leader of Crawley Borough Council Conservative Group
4th February 2026
