A BOWLING club has objected to plans to demolish a neighbouring gym ahead of flats being built.

Gullane Bowling Club is keen to see Gullane Gym, which closed its doors in March, remain in place.

Plans were revealed last month to see the gym demolished, with four flats built on the site.

However, the village’s bowling club – and a number of other residents – are keen to ensure the gym has a future.

Kevin Thomson, president of the bowling club, said consideration was being given to the creation of a community hub.

He said: “The proximity of our club, the gym, the village hall, the tennis club and Gullane Sports Development Trust’s facilities enabled us to begin to establish a mutual support network.

“We hope to build on this to create a community hub at the heart of the village.

“The gym, with its range of physical and therapeutic facilities, would play an important role in this and the manager was actively engaged in developing our thoughts. In this context, we also had very positive preliminary discussion with the East Lothian Council club and community sport development officer earlier this year.”

According to the plans for the gym, Allan Anderson has been looking to sell the property on the village’s Hall Crescent.

Documents state the building has been on the market for some time but “despite several endeavours and differing agents, the marketing of the property for use in any business capacity has been found to be impossible”.

Mr Thomson was keen to see the gym follow in the footsteps of the bowling club, which had its own problems not too long ago.

Mr Thomson said: “In 2018, Gullane Bowling Club also faced a perceived unviable future, with closure and sale of the land seen as the only option.

“Through simple consultation within the community it was immediately apparent that there was significant support to retain the facility and within six months a robust financial plan had been developed.

“Within a year, the club had revised its constitution to become a not-for-profit community organisation and raised sufficient funds from within the community to refurbish the clubhouse, including meeting current safety standards and improving the quality of the green.

“This helped secure significantly increased membership on which to build a strong foundation for future sustainability.

“We firmly believe the same could happen with Gullane Gym.”

Plans to demolish the gym and build flats on the site are currently with East Lothian Council’s planning department.