AN application to covert a former car dealership in Kingsteignton into a gym has been rejected by planners.

25/00958/FUL sought to turn the former Swanson Motor Company site, which includes the Grade II listed Clay Cellars Studio, into an ‘industrial-style’ gym.

But the application, which included provision for a bar/café, changing rooms, toilets, sauna and indoor and outdoor sports courts, has been refused Listed Building Consent by Teignbridge District Council (TDC).

The council’s conservation officer objected to the proximity of the closest of the four proposed padel courts to the Clay Cellars Studio building.

‘The problem with the proximity of the padel court is not the court itself, laid out on the ground, but the boundary wall features and roof structure over the court’, the officer report reads.

‘The court structure will fall to the front of, and higher than, the listed building.

‘The proximity of this scale of structure will detract from an appreciation of the building's form, scale and fenestration pattern when approaching from the entrance to the site’, the report adds.

As such, the proposal runs contrary to National Planning Policy Framework and the Teignbridge Local Plan 2033 and was, therefore, refused.

However, the reports does go on to say that the gym use is suitable and it is ‘important a viable occupier can be found for this building’.

‘With a small redesign of this scheme, it’s very likely the Local Planning Authority [Teignbridge] could support a resubmission.

The design and access statement for 25/00958/FUL said the proposal will ‘enhance the offering of recreational facilities in Kingsteignton for local people, promoting a healthy sustainable community’.

The design will be of a ‘high quality throughout and have a positive contribution to the heritage asset’, the statement adds.

It will also create jobs in the town, as well as making Kingsteignton ‘a more attractive place for young families to settle’.

The application made provision for 13 parking spaces, two of which were accessible spaces.