A FORMER Penarth gym could find new life as a retail space as plans are filed with the local council.
Plans have been submitted to Vale of Glamorgan Council to transform a gym at The Moorwell, Windsor Road, in Penarth into a new shop.
According to the application, this is the third time such a plan has been put forward with the council, with previous schemes having been refused.
The first attempt to turn the gym into a shop was made by Majestic Wines. The second was made by Project Three Developments Ltd.
The current applicant is Mr David Oakhill.
Both rejections read: “The proposal has not demonstrated that demand from the loss of the gym as a community facility would be acceptably satisfied within the area and that the facility has been marketed and proven to be no longer economically viable.”
The first elaborates: “Furthermore the loss of the gym would not preserve and enhance the contribution it has to the vitality, viability and attractiveness of Penarth as well as promoting sustainable communities and sustainable travel patterns.”
The new application outlines that there would be “no significant retail impact’ on Penarth’s retail centre from allowing the proposal, subject to the restriction of “goods sold to just wine, beer and spirits”, that could be ensured by a “suitably worded condition”.
It also reads that the proposal would “most likely not result in greater impacts on neighbouring properties than the former operation of the gym”, given the hours of operation.
One of the points the application refuted was the use of the former gym as a community facility
It reads that the council previously “relied heavily on perceived community benefit and the level of public objection” rather than if the former-use met the definition of a community facility.
According to the applicant, the council “crucially failed to recognise that the former gym was a “commercial, membership-only facility”.
As such, it did not operate on a pay-as-you go basis, nor offer unrestricted public access.
The council’s website has marked the target decision date for the application as March 25, 2026.
By Kieran Molloy, Local Democracy Reporter
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