An Inverness gym with more than 2,000 members will close its doors for the final time on April 7.
Members of Everlast at the Inverness Shopping Park have known their gym’s days were numbered since Highland Council approved plans for a new bowling alley at the site in December.
The proposal prompted an outcry from hundreds of members of the gym.
More than 200 objections were lodged with the council and two petitions trying to save it attracted more than 600 signatures.
Everlast general manager Nagina Ishaq said her staff and members had done everything they could to keep it open.
A message is now being circulated among members confirming the last day it will be open.
“It’s very disappointing,” Nagina said. “But at the end of the day, it’s the landlord’s decision on who they want to continue with as a tenant.
“We knew it was going to take a turn, but it’s still a shock that it’s here now.
“Jobs are at stake and people will have to move on.
“For all the people who started climbing their fitness mountain, they made their friends here. It’s devastating for all of them.”
Last-ditch protest to save the gym fall short
The keys are being handed over to the new tenant on April 18.
Sports Direct, which occupies the same building, will also be closing.
Last summer, more than 40 members of Everlast showed up to an event in support of keeping it running.
Some said they would lose their entire social life as a result of losing the gym.
Hercules Unit Trust, which owns Inverness Shopping Park, has defended the decision to move new businesses in.
It claimed the decision to vacate the site was taken by Frasers Group, the owners of Sports Direct and Everlast, after it failed to agree a deal for renting the building.
Who are the new tenants of the gym site?
The closure of Everlast has re-opened a debate on the lack of sports facilities on the east side of Inverness.
Other gyms in the city are likely to benefit from the numbers relocating from Everlast but some have said they have no plans to join another one.
Hollywood Bowl has been lined up to run the new bowling alley.
It will form part of an “entertainment centre”, which will include a inflatable activity centre run by Innoflate.
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