The Future of the Weights Room
Dear Members
Thank you to all that took the time to fill in the consultation form regarding the future of the weights room.
In the interest of total transparency on why and how the Committee has considered the future of the weights room and come to its decision, we want to share the following.
We had 17 responses to the consultation form with some informative points and suggestions for the Committee to consider.
The themes of the feedback are as follows:
- There is a mixed response to the idea of supervision of the space, or management via a 3rd party company with concern over being overly monitored
- There is a desire to return to use the space in the day time, specifically over lunch times, and a concern for limiting opening hours
- There is a mixed response to reducing the amount of equipment available, with a concern over the right equipment being available for the best training
The responses in full have been put to the Committee at Queen Street and they have considered feedback against 3 key headings:
- Safety
- Charitable purpose
- Financial viability
Safety
The question of safety is twofold. Firstly, Covid safety, and secondly, general safety including machine maintenance.
On the first point, the room is crowded and poorly ventilated with little to no options available to reformat the space or include better ventilation. In order to be safe, numbers would be limited, with staggered entries and set times for occupying the machines. The machines and equipment would then need to be sanitised. In addition, the RI will operate in weekday evenings only for the foreseeable, further limiting access to the space. The Committee therefore concedes that safety can be achieved, however it will require reduced numbers, staggered entries, airing times and rigorous sanitation.
The second point of machine maintenance is a point recently brought to light. If the weights room were to reopen, due to the machines sitting idle for a long time, and an uncertainty over the previous testing and maintenance routine on the machines, all equipment will require testing to ensure safety and compliance. On this point, the Committee concedes that testing of the equipment would need to occur before any member of the public could use it.
Charitable purpose
York RI has an obligation to promote various types of enriching activities at affordable cost in the city of York, this includes fitness through sports and training, and also includes other activities like the arts and music.
As a Committee considering our charitable purpose, the focus was on whether York has affordable gyms available to the public and whether our weights room offers a service that has no comparator within the city centre. On this point, the Committee concedes that there are similar, affordable weights facilities in the city centre.
In light of the above, the Committee went on to consider whether there are other charitable aims that could be served by repurposing the weights room. Following the closure of 22 Queen Street, there is a significant lack of usable dance and multipurpose arts space within York city centre, this has been confirmed via feedback from previous users and tenants of 22 Queen Street. The question therefore posed to the committee is, can we better enrich the city of York through affordable multipurpose space. On this point, the Committee concedes that the room could better serve our charitable purpose as a multipurpose space to accommodate dance and arts groups in the city centre.
Financial viability
The question of financial viability has been considered as a comparison, in light of the decisions conceded on the above points, is the weights room financially viable with reduced opening hours, reduced equipment and reduced admittance. In addition, the Committee considered the unknown cost of servicing the machines. This eventuality has been considered against the financial viability of a multipurpose space. Since the closure of 22 Queen Street, we have continued to receive requests for dance, arts and function space. These enquiries come in various forms from single booking requests, to monthly commitments.
On the point of financial viability, with appreciation for the need to significantly reduce the offering of the weights room in terms of number of users, equipment available, opening times, and human resource to maintain sanitation, the Committee concedes that the space is more financially viable as a multipurpose space.
Decision
It was by no means an easy decision to make, and at every point the Committee has considered and valued the contribution the weights room has made to Queen Street and the York RI Charity as a whole over the years. However, safety, charitable purpose and financial viability are at the core of the decisions we have to make and with those factors in mind, the decision has been made to repurpose the weights room and convert it to a multipurpose space.
We will endeavour to contact members who had active weights room memberships during the Covid closure in the coming weeks.
Kind regards
Queen Street Management Team
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