Stamford Gymnastics Club submits plans for new home in Essendine to Rutland County Council

A gymnastics coach is one step closer to opening a dedicated training space for hundreds of young people.

Stamford Gymnastics Club currently meets in a school hall but founder and coach Mat Cooper has been on the lookout for his own premises for more than a year.

He hopes that search could now be over.

Mat is applying for planning permission to convert three storage units into a gymnastics centre at Meadow Park Industrial Estate in Essendine. If plans are approved, the club could move in by September.

Mat said: “We already have a storage unit at the park so I asked the owners if anything else was likely to become available and they told me about these units.

“Now we’re just waiting to see if planning permission is approved before we can get cracking.”

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Stamford Gymnastics Club has around 210 members and a waiting list of more than 300 after a boom in interest in recent years. It currently meets at Casterton College but its opening hours are restricted to fit in around the school’s timetable and extra curricular programme.

Mat had hoped torelocate to a unit at Tinwell Lodge Business Park in Steadfold Lane last summer but the plans fell through.

The units in Essendine are currently used by a broadband company for storage.

If Rutland County Council approves the change of use, Mat’s proposed opening hours are 4pm until 8.30pm on weekdays, 9am until 5pm on Saturdays and 10am until midday on Sundays.