Unexpected expansion for Lincoln gymnastics club

Over 150 gymnastics enthusiasts will be able to join a Lincoln club after the organisation relocates and expands – wiping out the current waiting list.

The Witham Hill Gymnastics Club will move to a warehouse on Crofton Road in Lincoln twice the size of the previous unit and is looking to opening its doors on Saturday, March 1.

The club, which currently has 400 members, outgrew its 5,000 sq ft Cardinal Close premises off Outer Circle Road and staff hoped to relocate and offer more classes within the next few years.

While founding members Jamie and Alisa Saunders had only reached the five-year break point in their seven-year lease, a break clause allowed them the opportunity to rent the 10,000 sq ft Lincolnshire Co-operative run warehouse on Crofton Road.

The first phase of Witham Hill Gymnastics move is already underway with club officials and volunteers sprucing up the premises, installing wall cladding and ceiling sections, as well as moving in bars, beams and other equipment.

Phase two will see the installation of a mezzanine floor, the creation of a reception area, viewing area and changing facilities.

The final phase, which will hopefully be completed this year, will see the addition of safety pits and some more equipment – subject to success in winning grant funding.

There is also the opportunity to develop the on-site car parking.

(L to R) Banks Long & Co Trainee Surveyor Jonathan Purkiss and Witham Hill Gymnastics Club founders Alisa and Jamie Saunders inside the new premises.

Alisa Saunders said: “We are a not-for-profit organisation. Jamie and I coached at other clubs for seven years before deciding there was a need for the Witham Hill facility in Lincoln.

“We started off at the Yarborough Leisure Centre, running sessions on two evenings a week and Saturday mornings.

“We switched to premises in Cardinal Close in 2009 when we had about 100 members. That number quickly grew to about 250 and we found ourselves investing in further equipment.

“Now we have 400 members and 150 others on our waiting list. They are going to be thrilled that they will also now be able to join the club.”

Jamie said: “We are members of the British Gymnastics Association and have a seventeen-strong committee and a team of 18 coaches. We are looking forward to taking Witham Hill Gymnastics Club forward by offering an even wider range of classes.”

Banks Long & Co helped arrange the lease. Trainee Surveyor Jonathan Purkiss said:  “We are pleased to have acted for our client Lincolnshire Co-operative in leasing this unit to Witham Hill Gymnastics Club for a period of 21 years.”

The Witham Hill Gymnastics Club was founded in 2007 and offers pre-school sessions for tots aged 18 months upwards to teenagers.