A NEW application to covert a former Kingsteignton showroom into a gym has been submitted after the first application was rejected.

Just like the first application [25/00958/FUL], the new application [25/01805/FUL] is also seeking permission to convert the former Swanson Motor Company building into an ‘industrial-style’ gym.

But, unlike the first application, which was rejected by Teignbridge District Council in August due to listed building concerns relating to the proximity of the closest of the four proposed padel courts to the Clay Cellars Studio building, which is Grade II listed, the second application proposes only three outdoor sports courts.

At the time, the council’s conversation officer said: ‘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 first proposal, therefore, ran contrary to both the National Planning Policy Framework and the Teignbridge Local Plan 2033 - hence it was refused.

However, the report did go on to say that the gym use is suitable and it is ‘important a viable occupier can be found for this building’, the conversation officer’s report read.

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

A decision on the resubmission is due by December 31 at the latest.

The design, access and heritage statement for 25/01805/FUL says: ‘The design seeks to bring the building back into use, as a gym and racquet sports centre.

‘The proposal aims to be respectful to the original building by employing a light touch philosophy, retaining the integrity and character of the listed building.

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

The proposal creates jobs in Kingsteignton, as well as healthy leisure and recreation facilities, helping make the town a more attractive place for young families to settle, the statement goes on to say.