Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson has called for an urgent rethink of England\u2019s \u201carchaic\u201d town planning laws which are blocking fitness studios from boosting physical activity on the country\u2019s high streets.<\/p>\n
The Chair of not-for-profit health body ukactive wants to see a radical overhaul of planning regulations to make it easier for fitness businesses to have a positive health impact on England\u2019s unhealthy high streets, which she said are \u201cdrowning in a sea of betting shops, fried chicken joints and empty shop windows.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking at yesterday\u2019s ukactive Sweat conference before an audience of boutique fitness businesses, Grey-Thompson said that town planners must be given more powers to help tackle physical inactivity, which currently costs the UK \u00a320bn per year. Research by the Royal Society for Public Health has found that \u2018unhealthy high streets\u2019 are often linked to higher deprivation and ill health, with areas in the North and Midlands among the worst affected.<\/p>\n
Under England\u2019s National Planning Policy Framework, gyms and leisure centres can only occupy buildings designated under the \u2018Class D2\u2019 category \u2013 whereas shops retail outlets sit in the far more abundant \u2018Class A1\u2019 category of building \u2013 leading many operators feeling \u2018shut-out\u2019 from the high street.<\/p>\n
\u201cArchaic planning laws currently make it easier to open takeaways and betting shops than businesses that make a positive contribution \u2013 economically, socially and physically \u2013 to the community,\u201d Grey-Thompson told the audience in east London.<\/p>\n
\u201cFitness operators breathe life and vibrancy into high streets which are drowning in a sea of betting shops, fried chicken joints and empty shop windows that they have the ability to fill.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need more flexible planning regulations and business rates to maximise the transformational health impact these venues can have on communities. Britain deserves more healthy high streets, with physical activity businesses as their beating heart.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tanni Grey-Thompson was one of the headline speakers at the ukactive Sweat conference, which brought together nearly 250 fitness experts<\/p>\n
to explore the key insights and values that have driven the boom in boutique fitness across London and beyond.<\/p>\n
The line-up of expert keynotes and panel sessions included:<\/strong><\/p>\n The day also featured demonstrations from partners Technogym, KPMG, Mindbody, Miha, Hutchison Tech and Fitdist, while delegates received healthy meals and snacks throughout from Fresh Fitness Food.<\/p>\n Executive Director Steven Ward said: ukactive Executive Director Steven Ward said: \u201cBoutique operators have made fitness fashionable and aspirational, ushering in a cultural revolution, the likes of which has never been seen before.<\/p>\n \u201cBoutique can be quite hard to define, particularly as the boutique fitness world seems to encompass a huge array of different fitness offerings, from high-octane spin studios to stripped down green space gyms.<\/p>\n \u201cBut while the definition for boutique may not be exact, the ideas behind it are something we can all identify with. Customer service excellence, design-led thinking, product specialism and the ability to build communities through a powerful brand \u2013 these are the core pillars of boutique fitness and a key driver in its success.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson has called for an urgent rethink of England\u2019s \u201carchaic\u201d town planning laws which are blocking fitness studios from boosting physical activity on the country\u2019s high streets. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":18409,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n