New 24-hour gym coming to Irymple

IRYMPLE residents are set to get a new 24-hour gym, with Club Aquarius owners John and Narella Hollywood planning to build at the Irymple Hub.

Construction on the new gym is yet to begin but it is hoped it will be completed by late May or early June.

• SD NEWS: Gym on the way

“We’ve been planning it for a couple of years,” Mr Hollywood said.

“Supermarket shops like that are pretty easy to put up — internal walls won’t take a building crew that long, realistically.”

The new gym will include new cardio equipment with freeway and a grit pit room.

Fishers Developments managing director Alan Fisher said the gym would complement the existing stores and help add a new “lifestyle” component to the shopping centre.

“John and his wife are very good operators and have been running a business for a long time, so it’s a win-win,” he said.

Mr Hollywood said the gym could be used for personal training sessions and small group training classes.

“The reason we’re pushing for it in Irymple is that the community is getting big enough and we believe they should have access to a 24-hour club,” he said.

“A lot of people would be shocked at how many people actually use 24-hour clubs.

“We certainly believe Irymple’s due for one, it may not be quite big enough this year to support it totally but we certainly believe the community is growing rapidly.”

The gym is also expected to attract people from neighbouring towns.

“We get a lot of customers from Red Cliffs and Cardross at our Fifteenth Street store, so we certainly believe (the new gym) will accommodate the Red Cliffs and Cardross people,” Mr Hollywood said.

“We’ve probably got enough Irymple members at Fifteenth Street to support the gym at Irymple itself.”

Mr Hollywood said he was excited by the prospect of extending the Club Aquarius brand to Irymple and the gym would complement the existing Eleventh Street and Fifteenth Street clubs well.