Deal goes sour for gym club

Swindon Evening Advertiser - Published Monday 29 September 2003

Gymnasts have been left "deeply upset" after a deal to move into a new gymnasium fell through at the 11th hour.

The Esprit Gymnastics Academy had planned to open in new premises in Blunsdon today. But the owner of the building changed his mind and decided not to lease it out, leaving staff with no option but to go back to the drawing board. "It has left the children deeply upset and it could leave Swindon gymnastics in the wilderness for years," said Deb Hows who is the head rhythm coach at the Academy. "We're very disappointed for all the children. "It was so close “everything was in place for us to move in.”

The Academy, which currently meets at Ridgeway Leisure Centre in Wroughton, along with Wanborough Primary School, settled on a former caravan showroom then known as Strategic House, in Turnpike Road, Blunsdon, about a year ago. Its owner, Roger Therrien, who runs the Folding Caravan Centre on the same site, initially offered the building to the Academy on a 10-year lease. After winning planning permission for the gymnasium in July, the Academy bought the necessary equipment and prepared to move in.

But on Saturday, September 20, staff discovered Mr Therrien was pulling out. "We were totally gutted and felt numb," said Esprit business manager Mark Hows. "It's been a year of our lives and some of the children were crying their eyes out." Mr Therrien said the Academy had failed to meet a September 1 deadline to provide him with important documents. He had become tired of waiting, and decided he needed the building as office space for his own business. "I am sympathetic with them but I couldn't wait any longer," he said.

Despite not having permanent premises, the Academy still has talented gymnasts. Three of its students recently won prizes at the Spelthorne Elite competition in Middlesex. Seven-year-old Laura Halford, eight-year-old Clarice Saloyedoff and 10-year-old April Coombes, all from Swindon, scooped an array of awards in the free and hoop sections. Mrs Hows said: "If the children can put in performances like these against some of the best young gymnasts in the country when we train in halls which are totally unsuitable, I can only imagine what they will be capable of when we do eventually find a home of our own." The Academy has its eye on another site and says that Swindon Council has indicated that it will look positively at future planning applications.

atate@newswilts.co.uk

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