Parents have submitted a petition with over 9,000 signatures to Barnet Council for consideration in a bid to save “vital” diving facilities at a sport centre.

Work to build new leisure centres to replace the Copthall leisure centre in Mill Hill and improve facilities, which has long been discussed by the council, would result in the elimination of equipment used by children’s diving classes.

The #SaveBarnetDiving campaign quickly rose up against the council’s proposals, insisting children would be forced to travel an extra 20 miles to the nearest diving classes if facilities were lost.

Wendy Kravetz, a mother who started the campaign, led a group of children who attend the Copthall classes to hand over the 9,096-strong petition to the council at North London Business Park in Oakleigh Road South last night (November 28).

Barnet Council had already agreed to review their Copthall leisure plans following a policy and resources committee in September, though a renewed feasibility study has not changed the plans.

READ MORE: Petition to save Barnet Copthall diving facilities 'will be considered' as plans for centre's demolition continue to move forward

The campaigners have resubmitted their petition, which has over 6,000 more signatures now, in the hope of seeing plans blocked properly.

She said: “The feasibility studies have been against us for a long time, more so as the same people have done the second review, not wanting to go back on their word from the first time.

“We have the public backing and this should be clear to the council when they finally make the decision.

“Once diving is gone here, it’s gone – there will be no more diving facilities in North London and they will not come back, which would be a shame for our children.”

Leader of the council Cllr Richard Cornelius previously expressed anxiousness to see a decision made, calling the repair work the leisure centre requires “imperative”.

He had previously promised the council would make “earnest efforts” to re-envision the plans in such a way the diving facilities could be retained and said he believed the matter warranted a "full debate".

He said: “Encouraging as many people as possible to take part in sport and physical activity is really important to us, which is why we are investing £35 million in two state-of-the-art centres.

“After listening to feedback we commissioned a detailed feasibility study which sets out two options for providing diving at Barnet Copthall.

"Committee members will be carefully weighing up each option against the original proposal, considering the impact on numbers of people taking part in sport as well as the cost."

Barnet Council's feasibility studies came back with two possible outcomes for the improvement of leisure services.

The first would see diving equipment incorporated into the existing proposed designs for a new centre, costing an additional £2.4 million.

A second possibility would be to build an additional pool for the diving facilities, costing an additional £4.5 million.

The council's studies conclude both options result in increased loss of profit for the new leisure centres.

Labour Assembly member for Barnet Andrew Dismore has blasted Barnet Council’s proposals as a “betrayal of our Olympic legacy” and the two proposed options as purposefully "unviable".

READ MORE: Campaigners fighting to save Barnet's diving facility say it is a 'service to the children in North London'

He said: “When public pressure forced the Conservative controlled council into a review of its failure to include diving facilities, they entered into it in bad faith.

“They did not want to provide diving facilities so they deliberately provided only unviable options.

“Barnet Council always had a curmudgeonly attitude to the Olympics and their legacy but this goes even beyond that - it’s losing long established Olympic sports facilities, yet another insult to and betrayal of London 2012.”

Ms Kravetz is due to speak at a policy and resources meeting on Thursday (December 1) and the petition is required to be discussed and voted on by the entire council on December 13.

Both meetings will take place at Hendon town hall in the Burroughs on their respective dates.