The venue is set to utilise a former Royal Mail sorting office, reports Nick Clark, Local Democracy Reporter

A woman lifting weights — Photo by John Arano on Unsplash

A former Royal Mail sorting office in Forest Gate is set to be turned into a women-only gym after getting planning permission.

Property developer Maie Prop Co says the change will be temporary, as it draws up plans to redevelop the site along with Durning Hall next door, in Earlham Grove.

A Newham Council planning officers’ report said developers told it the gym would be used by “females who are religious, older, have different beliefs or who come from different cultural backgrounds”.

However, they noted that planning permission does not restrict who can use the gym.

Maie Prop Co submitted its planning application in February, shortly before Royal Mail left its Earlham Grove sorting office in March.

It said it was seeking temporary planning permission to use the building as a gym for seven years.

Plans submitted with the application said: “For the avoidance of any doubt, the applicant is proposing a wider redevelopment scheme for Durning Hall and the sorting office.

“This application is just to make use of the sorting office during this period.”

They also suggested that a further planning application for the wider development was to be submitted in the summer.

However, no planning application for this development was available to view on the council’s planning website at the time of writing.

Council planning officers granted approval for the gym on Monday, 19th October.

They said the change would help Forest Gate to continue as a “vital and viable town centre”.

However, they said they would only grant temporary planning permission for five years so that the site’s wider redevelopment would not be delayed.

Maie Prop Co’s application did not say what its wider redevelopment at the sorting office and Durning Hall would be.

Council planning policy earmarks the site for housing, a shop and a replacement community facility. It says buildings on the site should be between three and seven storeys, with a taller building up to ten storeys tall.

However, it also says the redevelopment should “conserve and enhance the locally-listed Forest Gate Railway Station, locally-listed clock and drinking fountain, and the Grade 2 ‘The Preacher’ statue nearby.

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