A new gym has been rejected by Dundee City Council as it does not meet a “town centre first” policy.
The plans for the new gym at the Tay Vision Business Park, just off Broughty Ferry Road, were refused due to concerns the new development “would draw trade from existing centres and leisure parks.”
Personal trainer Ruairidh Milton wanted to open the facility to offer a range of specialist equipment for weightlifting and cardio.
The 25-year-old founder of For Your Fitness in Monikie had hoped to open a second branch in Dundee, where he is from.
But the planning application was rejected by council officials as it does not meet the requirements of the local development plan.
Key within this are aims to prioritise keeping development in the city centre.
It comes after Henry’s Coffee House in Dundee was refused permission for a drive-thru under the same policy.
‘We’re sort of at a dead end road now’
But Ruairidh said there are “limited opportunities for this type of property available within the city” with the city centre’s older buildings beings unsuitable for this kind of project.
He said: “It’s pretty disappointing, we’re sort of at a dead end road now.
“We’ve been told there’s not much point in appealing it because we’re just fighting a losing battle and we’ve been given very little other alternatives from the council.”
But he says the Tay Vision unit would have been perfect and the new gym would have been a “dream come true”
“I’ve been a personal trainer for six or seven years and I’ve got to the point it would be a personal trainer’s dream to set up a gym,” he said.
“To do it in the town you were brought up in, it would have been great to do.”
A report by head of planning Gregor Hamilton said: “The proposed gym would result in an out of centre development that is at odds with The Town Centres First Principle, fails to satisfy the sequential approach and would draw trade from existing centres and leisure parks.”
