A boxing gym in Wokingham town centre will be permanently closed to save a cash-strapped council hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Wokingham Borough Council leaders voted last night (October 31) to permanently close BXGFit on Peach Place.

The gym was first opened in 2021 as part of the council’s efforts to boost leisure facilities across the borough, and is the home of Wokingham's Youth Justice Programme.

This 12-week scheme supports children at risk of getting involved in criminality and at risk of reoffending through exercise and building 'healthy social connections' with others.

But with just over 150 members, the gym has been operating at a loss since first opened, costing the council almost £200,000 a year to run.

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At yesterday’s executive meeting, councillor Mark Ashwell said that the ‘loss cannot be sustained in our current financial position’.

Wokingham Borough Council overspent by £1.83 million last financial year and has warned it will have to cut costs worth £20 million in the next three years to balance books.

The executive member for economic development, sports, leisure and the arts said that it would be leased to a commercial provider at a market rate.

Executive member for governance and finance, councillor Imogen Shepard Dubey, agreed that ‘it is not going to be viable’ in coming years, and the council ‘cannot possibly carry on supporting this as a loss’.

It was first managed directly by the council when opened, but since October 2023 it has become managed by Places Leisure.

This company runs all other leisure facilities in Wokingham, and made efforts to boost membership and activities provided at the gym.

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The council looked to keep the space open under different usage, including adult social care and children’s services.

Council leaders assured that all of what is currently offered at the boxing gym will be replaced at other locations, including Wokingham Leisure Centre, which is less than ten minutes away by foot.

The Youth Justice Programme will be delivered across leisure centres in the borough, which Councillor Prue Bray said was ‘in some ways better’ than before.

The executive member for children’s services said that the programme would be ‘more available for children who need it’.

All members of the club will be informed of the closure and have their membership transferred to another site.