Plans have been put forward for a fitness centre to take over part of a former farming college.
Newton Rigg College, near Penrith in Cumbria, shut in 2021 after it was deemed financially unviable. The large campus was purchased the same year by Leo Group and AW Jenkinson and repurposed for office use.
Plans have recently been approved for padel courts on site, with a fresh application now submitted to Westmorland and Furness Council to turn the school’s former conference centre into a fitness suite.
The 9,150 sq ft (825 sqm) centre would be on two levels and provide exercise and wellness facilities, planning documents show.
Two large fitness suites would be on the ground floor, with three classrooms for fitness groups on the top floor.
The site already has a sports hall and 3G pitches, with the padel courts due to be built next to them.
‘Redundant buildings’
When the campus closed, 100 jobs were lost and 500 students were diverted to other colleges.
The new owners have since reused existing buildings as office space for a variety of organisations, including the World Owl Trust and the Cumbria Institute of Sport.
Older structures have also been refurbished to create hotel-style accommodation and training spaces.
Planning documents submitted by the owners said the current use of the site supported local education and employment.
They said: “Following closure of the college it continues to be both logical and sustainable to make use of the redundant buildings and spaces wherever possible to attract and secure positive uses that can provide immediate benefit to the local and regional economy.”
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