Malcolm, 90, glad to see gym reopen
PIONEER Health Studio has reopened and 90-year-old Malcolm Macdonald was one of the first through the door.
Members were left shocked when the Bacup gym closed in December, as a result of bailiffs seizing gym equipment to cover an historic debt accrued by the former owner.
However, Rossendale Leisure Trust has been working diligently behind the scenes and reopened the doors on March 26 after securing a lease on the building and getting all the equipment returned.
Malcolm, from Whitworth, said: “I have been coming to the gym since it was based in the Pioneer Building in Bacup town centre and when it closed, I was devastated.
“I walk the seven miles from home to the gym three times a week. When it closed, I started going to Whitworth Leisure Centre and now I am going to share my time between the two.”
His friend Tracy Keir trained with Malcolm until starting a university course and accompanied him to the reopening.
She said: “Pioneer is not just a gym, it is like a community; there have been friendships created through people meeting here. People have supported each other through major events in their life.
“When I found out it was reopening, I was unbelievably excited, it is like Christmas Day and birthday all in one.”
Mayor of Rossendale Jackie Oakes was also invited to look around the Park Road facility, which is now operated solely by Leisure Trust.
Inside the main gym new carbon neutral cardiovascular equipment has been added and one of the treadmills now purely operates on the user moving the conveyor and adjusting the difficulty by increasing the gears. A boxing ring has been replaced by a boxing rig which enables ten people to train in the same location.
Leisure Trust chief executive Ken Masser said: “We are really pleased that we have been able to reopen the centre. We are committed to providing services and facilities for the Bacup community and the surrounding areas.
“We are looking forward to welcoming people back into the centre and helping people to continue getting fit and healthy by using the new facilities. I would like to thank all of the employees for their hard work which has led to us being able to reopen this much needed facility in Bacup.”
Shift supervisor Scott Tattersall said: “We have seven employees and access to additional staff from the Leisure Trust if required.
“We are open from 6am to 9pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 4pm at the weekend and look forward to welcoming past and new members to Pioneer.”