A GYMNASTICS club says it could move to a different area after it was told it could not switch to a new base for a THIRD time.

Dynamix is based at Notley High School, in Braintree, but bosses have been looking for a new home for five years.

In 2017, they applied to move to an empty unit on the Park Drive Industrial Estate but planners turned the bid down over parking and losing employment land concerns.

Before that, owner Donna Williams wanted to move to a newly built site in Great Leighs but Chelmsford Council rejected a bid.

Now, a bid to move to the old HeatParts base on the Springwood Industrial Estate has been turned down by Braintree Council on the grounds it is an industrial employment area.

Mrs Williams says she has had enough. She said: “We’re going to have to look at moving the club now as it appears Braintree Council won’t accommodate us.

"It’s a huge shame and it’s very blinkered from the council what with all the reports about obesity in Braintree and there not being enough for the kids to do.

“I have seen the results this brings to many children and how it can make a huge difference to their education and lifestyle – this would only be a good thing for the town.

“My argument is that they agreed to Ab Salute Gym being on the same site with the same planning policies so why are we any different?

“I wonder if all those people in the new houses being built across the town know that their children will be hanging around on the streets or that they will be driving miles to accommodate a healthy lifestyle as Braintree can not provide this for their children?

“Unless Braintree Council allows this change then our children will not have the facilities they deserve to give them a healthy lifestyle.”

The club has 130 youngsters on its books at the moment and a waiting list of more than 200 children.

After the club was refused permission to move in 2017, Braintree Council told the Times it was in “direct contact with the club to discuss alternative suitable locations”.

But Mrs Williams said: “That’s laughable – I haven’t heard a word from them – not a dickey bird.

“Moving won’t mean we’re able to take on all of those children all in one go but it would mean we’d have our own space and equipment set up and able to utilise more hours for classes.

“At the moment we hire for three hours and an hour of that is spent having to get everything out and then pack it all up.”

A spokesman for Braintree Council said: “We’re keen to support Dynamix Gymnastics Club which gets so many young people in our district engaged in sport.

"Unfortunately the piece of land the club has selected is protected as employment land and is not considered a suitable location."