PLANS to demolish the old National Sorts Centre at Crystal Palace have been scrapped by the Mayor of London.

The London Development Agency’s (LDA) proposal to tear down the 1960s concrete structure completely and replace it with a new regional sports centre nearer to Crystal Palace railway station ran into trouble when English Heritage indicated that it would object to the loss of the Grade II listed building.

The structure, regarded by some as ugly, is revered by architects for its original design.

Under new plans, the LDA wants to turn the building - which currently houses the only 50-metre swimming pool in London that is fully open to the public - into an indoor hockey and five-a-side football venue.

* Read the full story in next week’s Bromley Extra.