A new gym and wellbeing centre is proposed in Barton-upon-Humber.
Industrial units at the Trade Yard, off Falkland Way would be turned into a modern gym facility and wellness centre. Rise & Defy Ltd is the applicant.
The proposal includes particular emphasis on providing mental health support as well as health and fitness facilities. Rise & Defy Ltd’s owner Jonathan Wilson has outlined to Hull Live the vision behind the plan and his own personal journey that has inspired it.
The gym and wellbeing centre would include dedicated studio space for fitness classes like yoga, pilates, and high-intensity interval training, mental health support spaces such as quiet reflection areas and peer support zones, and state-of-the-art equipment for cardiovascular and strength training. ” I am looking at opening an holistic gym which would be a first of its kind encompassing physical health and mental health under one roof,” said Mr Wilson.
The Rise & Defy facility would provide a free meeting space for men’s mental health groups, and two hours free gym access each week for members of such groups, the application details. Highlighting the need for such a facility to support men’s mental health, it references also that between 2020-2022, 75 per cent of those who took their own life in Lincolnshire County Council area were male.
Mr Wilson had an accident five years ago which left in doubt whether he would ever be able to walk freely again. Even after four spinal surgeries, he was not expected to walk freely again.
“I approached a friend who owns a gym in Grimsby and he helped me get moving again and although I am in pain I have defied the odds,” he said. He has now been walking for over a year and a half.
“During the time in-between the surgeries, I was in a very dark place. It was only through determination and working on walking again that I came through it.
“This is where the idea came from. I wanted to open a gym that also offers mental health support to try help as many people as I can get through things like I’ve been through, whether that be the physical or mental demons.” As part of his commitment to the centre supporting mental as well as physical health, he is starting to do mental health support qualifications so he can offer fully professional advice.
“There will be little changes from traditional gyms like lower music volume to create a calmer environment and a recovery station for people to sit and chat or have a coffee after their workout,” he added.
Mr Wilson aims to get the facility up and running himself, with self-employed personal trainers and qualified therapists utilising the space. But he hopes to employ six members of staff when fully established, as well as the self-employed trainers and therapists.
He said they would look to open the Barton centre within six to eight weeks of North Lincolnshire Council planning approval being granted. He has also indicated he views the Barton centre as potentially the first of a wider local and national rollout to areas where mental health issues are most prevalent.
The Trade Yard is a recent development in Barton by Hull-based Allenby Commercial, made up of five industrial units. Kitchen and joiners supplier Howdens began leasing out the largest of the units this winter.