An Ellon gym has had a weight taken off its shoulders as Scottish Ministers have ruled it can stay open – despite councillors voting to refuse it.
Arena Strength and Fitness Gym’s plan to open at the rear of the town’s Greens store seemed to be axed last February.
Local members were worried the new venue would cause parking and road safety issues on Schoolhill Road, and voted against it opening.
But then something odd happened.
Aberdeenshire Council accidentally issued the owners with an approval notice following a “systems error” – and so it opened anyway.
Red-faced local authority chiefs then applied to the Scottish Government in a bid to stop the development.
But one year on, Scottish Ministers have now waved away their concerns and allowed it to remain in operation.
How did Scottish Government decide?
Reporter Amanda Chisholm was appointed by Scottish Ministers to look into the matter.
She visited the gym in October and a public hearing was held to give the gym owners, residents and council officers the chance to air their concerns.
Following the public meeting, the reporter noted that there had been no problems with noise from the gym.
Arena owners explained at the hearing that gym members use headphones while working out and there are no speakers for amplified music.
This was enough to please Ms Chisholm who said: “Third parties are content to have Arena as a neighbour and do not wish to see the gym closed.”
Since the gym opened, several residents who previously raised disturbance concerns indicated they had “little or no difficulty in relation to noise”.
They also believed the gym owners would take action if any trouble were to arise.
Community support for Ellon gym
The Arena gym opened its doors to customers last May and it has been welcomed by the community.
The Ellon Under-16 Girls football team attend the venue for weekly strength and conditioning training.
Between June and September last year, membership at the gym grew from 72 to 121.
While traffic on Schoolhill Road has increased, Ms Chisholm argued it wasn’t enough to negatively impact surrounding residents.
Summing up the matter, the reporter said: “I find the principle of development in this location is supported.
“There are no material considerations that would change my conclusion.”
Gym announces it has ‘won the battle’ with council
Taking to social media, gym staff confirmed the approval and said they were delighted to have “won the battle against the local council”.
They added: “It’s only taken two years but we got the desired result in the end.
“To celebrate, we will be adding some more equipment to the gym for our members within the next three weeks.”
Conversation