An empty gym that’s set to be demolished will have cost Merton Council more than half a million pounds to maintain before the end of April.
The former Virgin Active gym in Battle Close, off North Road, is set to be knocked down to make way for housing, a report shows.
It closed back in December 2017, going into council possession.
Since then, it has cost the council £466,465 to maintain and secure.
RELATED: Squatters break into Virgin Active Battle Close site
And before the end of the financial year, it is expected to cost another £163,955 – a whopping running total of £630,421 in less than two years.
This includes more than £12,000 of cleaning after a squatter break-in in April last year, while 24-hour security on site provided by Knightguard Ltd costs £840 a day.
Before the gym closed, a petition by residents called for the site to remain a gym.
A report set to be considered by Merton’s cabinet says that the plan for the site is to redevelop it into housing by either the council-owned property developer Merantun Developments Ltd or privately.
RELATED: Here is how much Merton Council have spent on empty Virgin Active gym
Until it is sold or redeveloped, the council will have to keep paying out.
The report added: “Pressures upon the council’s revenue budget and the need for thrift demand that these costs be significantly reduced.
“The best means of doing this is through demolition of the building that has been estimated to cost £160,000 plus professional fees at 9. 9%.
“Demolition should remove almost all of the costs identified in schedule of expenditure 2018-19.”
RELATED: Virgin Active: Plans to build new gym rejected
It adds that a need for a leisure centre in the area has been addressed by the new Morden Park Leisure Centre which opened in November.
The other option for the site was to lease it out to another provider.
But the council has decided not to go for this due to Virgin handing back its long leasehold “which indicates a low level of market demand for such a facility in this location”.
At a meeting on Monday, January 14, Merton Council’s cabinet is set to approve the demolition of the Battle Close site subject to planning approval.
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