A fitness centre closed in 2021 to make way for new housing but councillors have agreed to spend £2.1m on a replacement facility, reports Nick Clark, Local Democracy Reporter

The new Greenhill Centre development under construction in September 2024 (credit Google)

Work to replace a fitness centre in Manor Park could soon begin after council leaders agreed to release the funds needed to fit it out.

Newham Council’s cabinet committee approved the release of £2.1million to pay for the gym at the Greenhill Centre development in High Street North.

Plans say the gym will “create new opportunities for residents in the north east of the borough to access a state of the art gym and studio”.

The Manor Park fitness centre closed in 2021 to make way for the new Greenhill housing development.

The council now says Manor Park is “currently underserved by high quality leisure/gym facilities”.

However, the new development will include space for a replacement gym operating over two floors.

The council says this will include 100 workout machines as well as studio space. But it will also run on a “minimal staffing model” which it says reflects “the requirements of the site”.

The council hopes the gym will “particularly appeal to those who prefer exercising in a more intimate and less crowded environment”.

It also says the new gym will generate revenue, reducing its management fees and £2.6m in income from 2030 onwards.

Labour councillors on the cabinet voted today (Tuesday 16th) to release the funding to Greenwich Leisure Ltd, which runs the council’s leisure centres, to fit out the gym from October.

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.