Nine Pack

No explaining stick required for this one. The residents association are behind the proposal as well. We will be nice & polite & not cause anyone to think ill of us.

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''I reject your reality and substitute my own''
Adam Savage.

Nine Pack

Well we went to the forum meeting. The meeting was not about planning applications per se, but it had been suggested that me & John attend to show our faces & let people know about our proposal for the Blue Pit building.

The meeting was quite a bit longer than we anticipated & covered a wide range of topics but frequently came back to the same issue, antisocial behaviour from the local youth population. They clearly have issues there as even while the meeting was going on, some kids were causing a disturbance in the car park. They didn't know we had police in the meeting so they all ran out to deal with it, much to John's relief as we went in his car!

The entire meeting seemed to take a negative slant until that is, one of the councillors who is backing our proposal got round to the subject of the gym. I kid you not, every single person in the meeting was 100% behind it & not one single objection. I was later told by the local papers journalist that this is the only time she's ever seen everyone agree on a subject! This bodes well, although the final decision is to be made by the Planning Committee.

After the meeting we had a chat with the councillors who confirmed to us the date of the planning committee meeting at which the decision to our proposal is to be made so at least we know when we will find out. It's to be held on the 4th March so me & John will most certainly be attending that meeting.

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''I reject your reality and substitute my own''
Adam Savage.

Magic Torch

That is a good sign Paul. Fingers crossed for the 4th March, I hope you break the red tape clean in two.

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Nine Pack

Or limbo under it....

Stop Press:
Just been informed that the meeting in which our proposal is to be heard is actually the 18th March...... Ho hum. All we can do now is sit tight be patient.

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''I reject your reality and substitute my own''
Adam Savage.

StephenC

Paul, have you thought about some sort of youth initiative, ie getting the schools in to use the gym or even offering your services to them to talk fitness etc.

I've no doubt most young guys would be interested in bb'ing at least at a recreational level, would provide some free PR for the gym and possibly push things even further in your favour with the council?

oaklad

at the gym i used to work at we used to offer a deal to sixth form users who cud also come as extra curricular activities during the day as groups with a teacher.helps to make the gym look busy when most gyms are quiet

Nine Pack

StephenC & Oaklad,
Thanks, this is something we have considered & will be introducing something along these lines after a while. Initially though, just getting the gym up & running is a lot to manage. The insurance would also quadruple if we allow minors in, then we have to get everyone working there CRB checked, then there's regulations on the ratio of girls/boys which govern the gender of the instructors so we may have to take on extra staff. It's a bit of a minefield so I'd rather we did that when we can concentrate on it & do the job properly, i.e when everything else in the gym is running smoothly.

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''I reject your reality and substitute my own''
Adam Savage.

JohnOvManc

18th March!!! They don't rush do they.
I know you can not count your chickens but it sounds like it's in the bag mate.

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Meadowcroft

Paul, just lifted this off an article I just read thought I would just post it up so hopefully cut down on the stumbling blocks you and John are seeming to encounter.

Not only must Mezzanines comply with BS 5950: Parts 1 and 5 and BS 6399, they must also comply with Building Regulations, and the local fire officers recommendation.
According to these Regulations, fire protection may only be required if the mezzanine floor:.

* Occupies more than 50% of the proposed building.
* Is to be used permanently by a number of persons.
* Is to be used as office accommodation.
However, there is currently no specific guidance for Mezzanine Floors in the LPC Design Guide or the current version of Approved Document B.
With so little guidance, it would be easy to misinterpret the need for the fire protection of these structures, but be warned, do so at your peril.
CONCERNS.
Below are some concerns recently raised by consultants: Issue 1: If 'Business Critical' equipment (IT, Plant, Machinery etc) is stored on the mezzanine, any loss in a fire could have a crucial impact on business interruption/continuity.
Issue 2: If such equipment is stored on a mezzanine, it may also have some bearing on the willingness of the fire brigade to enter the building (therefore reducing the chance of the fire being extinguished).
According to Fire Officers, there are real concerns of fire fighters being in danger due to a collapse of falling debris in such circumstances.
Issue 3: If the mezzanine forms part of the 'means of escape' route, it must be appropriately fire protected.
Also, if anybody is required to work on the mezzanine (IT Technicians, Plant Operators etc), the floor should be protected in the appropriate manner.
SOLUTION.
Fitting a proprietary fire protection system to the underside of the floor structure, and cladding the columns with a permanent column encasement will easily achieve this.
BENEFITS.
Fire protected Mezzanines can enable fire fighters to work safely under and around the structure.
Adequately protected Mezzanines can limit business interruption in the case of a fire.
Additional fire protection may result in reduced insurance premiums.
Inclusion of fire protection may prevent substantial inventory loss in event of a fire.
Within this report, a great deal was made of the benefit of fire protecting Mezzanines, some extracts of which follow: 'At the height of the blaze, a mezzanine floor inside the complex collapsed.
The fire crews then had to fight the flames from outside' - Brighton Argus.
Firefighters had seemed to have the fourth-floor blaze under control when the upper floors gave way, sending debris crashing through the lower levels.
'With a fire like this, the building really shouldn't have collapsed'.
- BBC News.
'Many factories and warehouses install mezzanine floors for extra storage or even work space.
These will generally affect the distance to an exit and the route to the exit, which may be restricted.
Depending on the size of the floor and its use, additional fire protection may be required' - Medway Council.
Means of Escape.
Special attention should be paid to breaches in these floors where services pass through so the integrity of the floor is not compromised during a fire'.
- Federation of Master Builders.
'Some 29% of respondents said the provision of mezzanine space in a scheme positively influenced their choice of that property, and more than 50% considered them essential or desirable in new units'.
- Savilles News



Adam

Nine Pack

Thanks for that bud. We have two choices with the mezz. It'll either be supplied & fitted by a company in Oldham who speacialise in that kind of thing & we pay upfront for it, or the landlords will put the mezz up themselves for us & we just add it to the rent. The latter saves us from a large outlay in the early stages so it's much better from that point of view.

Either way, all the fire regs, building regs & BS standards are being met in full. The landlord is not a cowboy. He has bought many buildings in the area & has his own huge team of employed contractors who gut the buildings from basement to roof & completely re build them. This is a major outfit, & the reason why we chose this building. They have spent millions on the building already & it means we don't have to do any refurb work at all, just build the gym from a nice, clean blank canvas.

Roll on March 18th........ John has now oficially announced he is leaving CNP. He put a thread on the CNP board if anyone would like to wish him well. It's in the opinions section of the board.

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''I reject your reality and substitute my own''
Adam Savage.

Nine Pack

Just got a letter from the House Of Commons. The local MP has written to the council in support of our application.

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''I reject your reality and substitute my own''
Adam Savage.

fgs5635

All looks good to go now.
If all goes well on march 18th, when do you expect to have the gym open? (I only live down the road in wigan, so may pop in and have a nosy :lift

Nine Pack

The building work will take about four weeks so we'll be open some time in April. At this point the exact date can't be confirmed though.

The pre sale for the founder members will begin as soon as we have signed the lease so if anyone wants a membership starting 0000001 then they'd better hurry cos I have a ton of people waiting already!

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''I reject your reality and substitute my own''
Adam Savage.

Tinytom

Im glad its going so well for you Paul.

Its my dream to set up my own gym so I am so jealous lol.

Let me know when the opening is so I can come up and visit.

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Nine Pack

If you guestimate four weeks from March 18th then you won't be for wrong. I don't think it'll be long before we see the opening of 'Tiny's torture House'

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''I reject your reality and substitute my own''
Adam Savage.