Birmingham gym next to Commonwealth Games venue approved despite backlash

A new gym next to the main Commonwealth Games venue has been given the green light despite a backlash to the proposals.

Birmingham City Council previously lodged plans to use part of the High Performance Centre (HPC), set within the Alexander Stadium complex in Perry Barr, as a public gym.

According to a council officer’s report, the HPC is a facility for elite athletes and provides a range of athletic tracks and equipment.

It said the gym would not only provide social and economic benefits but also meet Birmingham’s wider aspirations, which include a post-Commonwealth Games Legacy.

The plans also sparked concerns for the elite athletes who used the HPC, with an online petition against the proposals signed more than 2,300 times as of Friday, September 6.

“There are numerous gyms in the area so this is not necessary and not a legacy for athletics,” the petition’s organiser wrote.

“This was not the legacy we envisioned,” one person who signed it said. “We need to look after the general population but not at the cost of elite.”

Another added: “We should be able to be a home for elite athletes as well as providing opportunities for upcoming talent and young people from all backgrounds.”

Speaking at a planning committee meeting this week, Coun Jane Jones echoed similar concerns and said: “If we want to carry on producing people like Denise Lewis who brought back a gold medal for us, we need this high performance facility.

“It’s built the way it is and it should remain that way.”

Pete Barton, area planning manager, responded: “It’s very important to recognise the HPC will still be there – it’s not a proposal for its loss.

“It’s a proposal which is incorporating additional facilities within the shell of the building and that is designed to support local community health and wellbeing.”

The council officer’s report, published prior to the meeting, said it was proposed to ‘re-configure’ the floor layout of the building to maintain provision for the existing disciplines of pole vault, triple jump and sprinting that are currently provided for within the part of the HPC.

“While inevitably this does require some compromise on the usage of the space, since pole vault and sprinting could not be undertaken concurrently as they could now, this is not considered as unacceptable to England Athletics who have not objected,” it continued.

“England Athletics has concluded the revised plans now re-provide both the pole vault facility and full length triple jump facilities and therefore retain all of the current elements of indoor track and field provision at the HPC.”

The report added: “It is concluded by Sport England that the loss will have minimal impact on the usage for athletics, both in terms of elite usage and for community-related athletics activities.”

The planning application was approved, subject to conditions, by Birmingham City Council’s planning committee on Thursday, September 5

The gym will be managed by the local authority and have the same opening hours as the HPC.