Newport City Council has rejected a bid to repurpose five recently constructed industrial buildings at Boss Park on Stephenson Street as a gymnastics facility.
Starburst (UK) Ltd submitted the application to transform the vacant units for operation by Cartwheelers Gymnastics Ltd.
The proposed centre would have provided gymnastics instruction for children from six months to 17 years old, alongside sessions for adults.
Anticipated attendance was projected at between 600 and 800 individuals weekly, with sessions conducted under supervision during operating hours spanning 9am to 8.30pm on weekdays and 9am to 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
The planning agent representing the applicant, Nancy Heffaran, contended that the scheme would bring an empty building into productive community use and deliver a purpose-built facility serving Newport residents.
She noted that demand for such units increasingly originates from leisure, fitness, and community-sector operators rather than conventional industrial tenants.
According to a Knight Frank property consultancy report, the units had been advertised for employment purposes since November 2025.
The report also indicated adequate industrial land supply exists throughout Newport to accommodate demand.
A sequential assessment provided by the applicant further claimed no appropriately sized vacant structures were available within Newport city centre or its district centres.
The location falls within Flood Zone 3, an area designated as having tidal flood risk from the River Usk.
A flood consequences assessment submitted alongside the application determined the gymnastics centre qualified as a less vulnerable classification under Welsh planning regulations.
Natural Resources Wales offered no formal objection but noted the site occupies both Flood Zones 2 and 3, recommending implementation of flood resilience measures.
Multiple consulted bodies registered no objection to the scheme.
Newport highways officials confirmed no objection provided conditions attached to the broader development remained satisfied.
Welsh Water required drainage-related conditions.
Archaeological advisors Heneb and the Health and Safety Executive similarly raised no safety concerns.
The council’s planning department refused the application on August 27.
Officials determined the scheme would establish a significant leisure destination within a primarily industrial estate characterised by inadequate pedestrian connectivity and substantial vehicle movements.
This arrangement was deemed likely to heighten potential conflict between families, children, and industrial traffic.
The authority also identified the proposal as incompatible with planning policies safeguarding employment land.
Insufficient justification had been provided for surrendering newly completed industrial buildings that had not yet served their designated function.
The gymnastics centre proposal will not proceed in its current form as a consequence of this decision.