A CLIMBER is protesting after York Barbican Centre's climbing wall was given away to a public school following the centre's closure.

Richard Hampton says the wall was originally paid for with public money from the Sports Council and Lottery Fund, but ordinary members of the public had been unable to make use of it since it was installed at Bootham School

He says climbing enthusiasts had instead been having to travel long distances to use alternative walls at Leeds, Hull or Newton Aycliffe.

Mr Hampton, of Markham Street, claimed: "They have been treated in an extremely shabby way.

"In the 12 years the Barbican Wall existed, it brought health and pleasure to many, many people from all walks of life.

"A team of dedicated, skilled instructors, several of whom learned their skills at the wall, taught a half dozen beginner and intermediate courses each week - by my calculations that's four to five hundred people a year who benefited from the courses alone."

He said there were also sessions for kids, local scouts and guides, university and college climbing nights. "There's nothing like climbing outdoors, but during the long dark winter months, keeping fit at an indoor wall is essential."

He said he had been told the wall had been given to the school on condition that some public access was provided. "To date we have none," he said.

A council spokeswoman said the old wall had been advertised for sale in the specialist climbing press and offered to schools and youth groups in York, free of charge.

She said: "None of the schools or groups had space for it, or a qualified instructor to facilitate use of it, and no buyers came forward either.

"Bootham was the only school with space for it and a qualified instructor to enable people to use it.

"The school was also interested in increasing community use of its facilities.

"The wall itself was given to the school on the condition that it would be accessible to the local community and the school has met the costs of having the equipment reinstalled there."

She said the wall was already being used by school groups from across the city, and the council was currently liasing with the school to finalise arrangements for public access to the wall out of school hours.

She said the council would be contacting former Barbican wall climbers in the next couple of months to give them details of the public sessions.

She said that work on redeveloping Oaklands as a Sports Centre, complete with climbing wall, was due to start in the spring.

Updated: 10:20 Tuesday, February 01, 2005