Saltney gym makes bid to extend opening times to 24 hours a day

A gym in Saltney has made a bid to extend its opening times to 24 hours a day after promising to create new jobs.

Body Tech Fitness, based on the town’s Central Trading Estate, currently has permission to open its doors from 6am to 8.30pm on weekdays and 9am to 6pm on weekends.

However, the company, which also has a site on the Wirral, has now applied to Flintshire Council for its premises near the Wales-England border to stay open for the whole day.

In a planning statement put forward to the local authority, representatives for the firm said it was normal for gyms to be open 24/7 and the change would allow it to take on extra staff.

They also sought to provide reassurance about the potential impact of noise on neighbouring residents.

They said: “Our Wirral site is operating on a 24-hour opening, which is almost an industry standard for modern gymnasiums.

“Indeed, within a three-mile radius of our site there are two other gyms, Pure Gym and Modified Fitness, both operating on a 24-hour basis.

“Your pre-application advice requested an acoustic test via your public protection team and that has been completed.

“We believe that this report strongly supports our case for 24-hour opening and shows there is very minimal impact on the surrounding area and falls well within the criteria of the planning legislation.

“Extending opening hours will mean we can employ additional staff and present us with the opportunity to further contribute to improving the health and wellbeing of the local area.”

The company said the acoustic test showed any noise from the gym at night would be “faintly audible” to residents.

They added the overall impact would be “extremely low” given the proximity of nearby houses to the A5104.
The proposals can be viewed via the council’s website with a decision expected at a later date.

Liam Randall – Local Democracy Reporter (more here).