We're not just a gym, we're empowering people' - Update on plans for new martial arts gym in Blackpool
“The proposal would bring an existing building into active use for a purpose which delivers significant and demonstrable public benefits.”
A project to set up a new martial arts training and community facility in the Blackpool area is back on the agenda after a planning setback earlier this year.
And the proposals by Hazel Winter, known in local martial arts circles as a black belt in the martial art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), have been hailed as having multiple benefits for the local community.
A new planning application has been submitted to Blackpool Council for a change of use of a building at 151A Mowbray Drive to a martial arts training, fitness and community facility.
The new proposals differ from the application earlier this year, as those proposals sought permission for a Certificate Lawfulness which would have meant the scheme would not require planning permission.
This time, the application seeks outright planning permission.
In 2022, Hazel Winter became Blackpool’s first female BJJ black belt and the latest among only around 40 other female UK practitioners to hold the grade, which requires at least between 10 years of dedicated training to reach the required standard.
The plan is to transform a building which has had multiple retail uses in recent years and falls under a different class of usage in planning rules, and is located on an industrial estate earmarked for employment purposes.
A Planning Statement by Lee Fenton Planning Services Ltd, on behalf of the application, stated: “The proposal represents the sustainable reuse of an existing building within an established urban employment area.
“No substantial new building is proposed and the application principally concerns the use of an existing building to provide a modern, accessible and community-focused facility for physical activity, sport, health and wellbeing."
Plans ‘support healthy communities’
The Statement says the applicant recognises that that the site lies within a area designated specifically for employment uses within planning policy, namely an industrial estate.
However, the agent argues: “The applicant does not seek to disguise or minimise that policy position.
“Rather, the central planning issue is whether the policy conflict should be regarded as determinative, or whether the significant material considerations arising from the proposal justify the grant of planning permission.
“It is respectfully submitted that the latter is the appropriate conclusion.
“The proposal would bring an existing building into active use for a purpose which delivers significant and demonstrable public benefits.
“It would provide opportunities for sport and physical activity, improve access to health and wellbeing provision, support children and young people, provide specialist opportunities for women and vulnerable groups, facilitate engagement with local community organisations, support the local economy and provide a service directly accessible to businesses and workers already located along Mowbray Drive.
“The proposal therefore represents a particularly strong example of the type of development which the current National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), August 2026, seeks to encourage: sustainable development which makes effective use of existing buildings, supports healthy and inclusive communities, reduces inequalities and responds positively to changing local needs.”