No new gym planned for town

Leisure giant Fitness First has no plans to open a new gym in Shrewsbury when the current club closes in September, the company said today.

Instead the 2,000 members of the St Michael's Street gym will have to travel to Telford for a work-out.

Fitness First today said it was confident most members would stick with the company.

Spokeswoman Laura Leggetter said all 20 staff from Shrewsbury would be transferred to Telford.

"There are no plans to look for a new place in Shrewsbury, everything will be transferred to Telford."

She said Shrewsbury's gym had a loyal membership and Fitness First was "more than confident" that many of the 2,000 would travel to Telford.

But she added that the company would be flexible with any members who wanted to reconsider their pay-monthly contracts.

Shrewsbury site owner Morris Property has described the closure announcement as "disappointing" and says it is now looking for a new firm to take over the building.

Fitness First will be open as normal until September 21. A pay-as-you-go scheme, costing £3.50 per session, will soon be up and running because the club is no longer accepting new pay-monthly members.

Shrewsbury is one of Fitness First's oldest clubs and a massive farewell party is planned for August.

The gym is looking for a suitable school or charity to which it can donate equipment including balls and skipping ropes.

Telford Golf and Country Club today urged any members thinking of cancelling their Fitness First membership to consider joining its new health and fitness spa, which is currently under construction and due to open in November.

By Tom Warren