City centre gym fit for the future with £5m development plans

After being on the brink of extinction, Nottingham’s Castle Gym has been transformed after it got the go-ahead for a multimillion-pound development in the city.

Castle Gym, which been around in Nottingham for over 40 years, closed in November 2022 due to a legal battle over its location on Castle Boulevard.

Indicative images of the new gym

But in March, Luke Willmott, the owner of Castle Gym, submitted plans for a new and modern facility covering 30,000 sq ft of space, which will be split between three businesses, including a revamped Castle Gym at the “Tales of Robin Hood” site.

These plans have been given the go-ahead, with the first steps to create a brand-new Fit Tech gym with all-new equipment and a fresh Castle Gym look.

The new gym will have over 500 pieces of equipment, making it one of the biggest gyms in the UK, and it’s set to open in 2024.

Owner Luke Willmott said: ‘This site has laid dormant for far too long but having worked on this deal every single day since we had to close our doors down the road I can see why. There are a huge number of challenges and complications, hurdles and barriers but if we pull this off, this will transform the shape of Nottingham city centre.

“My new business, Omni Group, was created as a solution to help businesses through a number of services from business to design and marketing solutions. It just so happens that our first ‘client’ is my original business, Castle Gym and what can I say, I’ve poured everything into it.

“We are partnering with the best minds and best brands in the business, one of which we hope to announce very soon with regards to the gym equipment which is going to be a massive statement for Nottingham and the new Castle Gym brand.”