Kentish Express Ashford & District
Opening of 24/7 gym in doubt
The opening of a 24/7 gym in a former stationery shop is in doubt after the unit was put on the market.
The ex-Office Outlet site on the Warren Retail Park had been earmarked for conversion by fitness chain PureGym.
In January last year, a planning application was lodged by the firm to overhaul the shop which has sat empty since June 2019.
The scheme would have seen the introduction of a main gym area, studio, free weights area, spin area and functional zone.
A mezzanine would also have been built, increasing the floorspace by 264 sq m.
Despite being given permission by the council in March last year, the timing has obviously not been ideal for either construction work to take place or the gym industry.
All gyms have been closed throughout the Covid-19 lockdowns, seriously damaging the industry’s takings over the last financial year.
If the government’s current roadmap out of lockdown meets its targets, indoor leisure facilities such as gyms will reopen on April 12 – but only for use by people on their own or in household groups.
When asked about the Warren Retail Park plan, PureGym said a decision hadn’t been reached and could not confirm what was happening.
However a ‘to let’ advert on the Estates Gazette website by agent Montagu Evans suggests the firm has abandoned its plans for the unit.
The rental cost is available only on request.
On the other side of the M20, the former Chiquito restaurant on the Eureka Leisure Park is also on the market.
The Mexican chain had opened inside the former M20 Nightclub in December 2011, creating 35 jobs.
But the site had remained shut since the first lockdown and bosses confirmed in October that it had permanently closed.
Estate agent Savills says there is potential to split the unit, which goes across 5,998 sq ft and sits next to Nando’s.