“We are far more than just another gym”(Image: Manchester council)

A ‘popular’ and beloved gym in a grade-II listed farmhouse is set to close and become flats — despite more than 170 objections.

Little Box Gym, which opened on St Werburgh’s Road in Chorlton in February 2017, faces an uncertain future after building owners secured planning permission to convert its 18th century home into three apartments.

The planning application was met with fierce opposition, with 172 objections sent to Manchester council. Most said losing the gym would mean the neighbourhood will lose ‘a vital and unique community hub’.

Ahead of the meeting, a council report said ‘irrespective of the outcome of the planning application’, applicant David Flanagan ‘confirmed that leasing to the gym operator will be brought to an end’.

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Speaking out about the decision, Little Box owner, Sarah Morrison, said: “After more than eight years here, it hasn’t been without its challenges, but we’ve built something truly meaningful: a community.

“Hough End is in Withington, and YSG is in Whalley Range – what we’ve created here is deeply rooted in Chorlton. There is no other space quite like this in the area.

“Our community ties run deep. We support local schools like Chorlton High, Chorlton High South, William Hulme, and Loreto with student work experience placements. Chorlton Park Primary uses our facilities for their ‘Kids in the Gym’ sessions and fun run days.

“Local parents have formed what we affectionately call the ‘Drop-In Squad’. This is the kind of gym where clients come in even when they’re having a tough time and don’t feel like it – because we are a community and they know we genuinely care. We are far more than just another gym.”

(Image: Manchester council)

However, Manchester council’s planning committee said they ‘empathised’ with Ms Morrison but could not find a reason to block the application.

Des Jones, council planning officer, said: “We have to look at the use of the heritage building.

“From a planning point of view that’s all acceptable. There’s no planning policy which would require a gym or employment place at this location.”

Others said they ‘sympathised’ with Ms Morrison’s ‘situation’, with Coun Suzanne Richards adding: “I would hope we as a council can support the business owner.”

The land around 136 St Werburgh’s Road was once Park Brow Farm, which was a working farm until the mid-1980s, before it was sold off.

Opening three more apartments continues a trend of more and more homes coming to former farmland, with terraced housing arriving in the late-1980s, when the farmhouse itself was listed, and apartments coming to a barn in 2006.