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Another Newport Gym Set To Close In Face Of Increasing Competition

After almost 37 years, a gym in Newport is set to close and be turned into houses.

Plans have been submitted to the Isle of Wight Council by the owners of the Fitness Factory on Portland Street, Mr and Mrs Steve Milton, to demolish the gym, dance and exercise studios.

In its place would be built eight two-bed houses and maisonettes with parking spaces, small gardens and cycle storage.

According to planning documents, submitted by agents Dicksons Planning and Development, business has dropped.

The Fitness Factory opened in 1984 and survived multiple new gyms opening and expansions, but business started to decline, they say, after the £1 million investment in Medina Leisure Centre.

Dicksons says there are too many gyms in Newport now — evidenced by the closure of an independent gym, The Strong Room, at the start of the year.

The Fitness Factory premises are no longer fit for purpose, they say, and require significant investment to keep them watertight, bring them up to modern-day standards and replace ageing gym equipment.

The business will close at the end of April this year, more than 37 years from the day it was first opened.

Removing the ‘large and incongruous’ building would benefit the locality, the agents say, as the buildings look tired and unsightly,

This would provide a good opportunity for a high-quality affordable housing development, near the town.

Other uses for the site had been considered but none were viable.

To view plans (22/00054/OUT) you can visit the council’s planning register. Comments can be submitted until March 11.
 

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