Chester gym to triple in size after plans are approved by council

-Credit:Reach Publishing Services Limited
-Credit:Reach Publishing Services Limited


An award-winning Cheshire gym has been granted planning permission to move to new premises to allow it to triple in size.

Aptitude Health & Fitness in Farndon launched in the middle of the Covid pandemic at Monument Place Business Park, which is owned by the Barnston Estate.

Founder Gareth Preston has now been given planning permission by Cheshire West and Chester Council which will enable Aptitude to move into a 16,000 sq ft building adjacent to his current gym.

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Gareth, a former athlete from Huntington in Chester, has ambitious plans to grow his successful business and to offer a wide variety of new services and facilities as well as a much bigger space to his members.

He is investing over £200,000 himself in the expansion and relocation which, once complete, will provide employment for an extra 20 people.

Founder Gareth Preston
Founder Gareth Preston

A Crowdfunding campaign will launch in February to help raise an additional £30,000 to allow Aptitude to speed up the timescale of the work. In return there will be rewards for every kind of donation.

Gareth said: “I’m incredibly proud of what we have achieved with the business over the past four years since we opened in December 2020, and excited that we will be able to give members an even better offer with Aptitude 2.0.

“Aptitude was born with little more than a room, a few mats and a machine during Covid. We did classes outside, in the hail, rain and snow, online on Zoom to people’s homes and eventually built our indoor training sessions with limited class sizes on opening in Farndon.

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“It taught us so much about the power of community and how people wanted to help and support our business, to get fit, to do classes, to enjoy spending time with others once again.

“Now we have outgrown our current home and need more space which is why I’ve signed a lease on a much bigger building at Monument Place which is only feet away from where we are now. My vision for Aptitude has always been to create a facility that offers something for everyone.

“We love being on an industrial estate in the heart of Farndon where we are surrounded by beautiful Cheshire countryside and incredible views across to Moel Famau in Wales.”

The new building just next door will offer lots of new facilities. In phase one, there will be much needed changing rooms, showers and lockers. The gym floor will be three times bigger than the existing space with more top-quality equipment.

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There will be a new Cardio section, ten benches and four dumbbell racks in a dedicated Dumbbell section, a Pure Strength Area with nine plate-loading machines to work all the muscle groups, and a new dedicated Functional Training Area with four squat racks. Functional training is booming with the huge interest in HYROX and Turf Games and Gareth wants to offer his customers more to meet this need.

There will also be a bigger and better studio for classes and a dedicated Boxing Studio, as well as space for sports therapists and professionals and longer opening hours.

The current Hideaway café will be moving too and in it there will be lots more space for people to come and enjoy themselves and unwind outside of gym time.

Gareth added: “In the second phase of our expansion we want to add a spin studio and a holistic studio for Yoga, Pilates and Synergy. Once this phase is complete, we’ll be the only gym in Chester that can offer the variety of classes on this scale.

“At Aptitude, we’re not just about fitness, we’re about people and being closely connected with our local community. It’s only thanks to our community we have succeeded and that we’re growing. We also want to create more jobs and to be able to offer more facilities to more people and of all ages.

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“We’re looking for community support to help us to get going faster and will be launching a Crowdfunder campaign on social media in February to raise £30,000. This will also give people a chance to buy an 18-month membership for the price of 12 months.”

Ed Barnston, Manager of the Barnston Estate, said: “There’s a very special business community here in Farndon and it’s fantastic to see businesses coming here to grow.

“Over the past four years Gareth has built a brilliant business in Farndon. I’m delighted that he has been granted planning permission for an even bigger and better gym and would like to thank Cllr Adrian Waddelove for his support of local job creation.”