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16
Feb
How ‘failing’ Harrogate squash club became a thriving sports centre
Ten years ago, the old Harrogate squash club at the Great Yorkshire Showground was in a bit of a mess.
It had 280 members and was losing £5,000 a year on an annaul turnover of £185,000. Creditors were owed £35,000. The building had seven squash courts, a poorly equipped gym and little else. It was, by its own admission, neglected, cold and damp.
A decade on the club — now known as Harrogate Sports and Fitness Club — has more than 1,000 members and makes a £175,000 profit on a turnover of more than £750,000.
It still has four squash courts, and frequently hosts matches involving some of the best players in the world, but some have gone to accommodate new features, including a well equipped 4,000sq ft gym, a floodlit outdoor training area, a fitness studio, two padel courts and a sizeable bar and balcony. It also offers pétanque and racketball.
In addition, the site also hosts an NHS service that helps cancer patients get fit as well as a physio suite and a massage room.
Part of the gym.
The NHS Active Against Cancer service on-site.
That’s quite a transition, and it isn’t over yet. Planning permission has just been granted to build two more padel courts at the back of the car park.
A planning document that supported the application said the club had gone from being “a failing sports and leisure facility” to a successful community organisation.
Padel boom
The club, which rents land off the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, was one of the first in the country to install padel courts, and the sport has boomed since.
But despite securing planning permission, the two new courts may not be ready for some time. Mr Gaston suspects work might not begin until at least autumn next year, as there are so many other plans vying for funding from club profits. There’s £90,000 required for roof repairs and another £75,000 for solar panels, to give just two examples.
Ultimately it's for everyone involved with the club to decide how to continue evolving.
He says:
We have lots more plans for the next few years, including the two padel courts, along with about another £1.5 million of project plans. We have an amazing group of members, staff and a strong committee that really care about our club. We just all try our best to make Harrogate Sports and Fitness Club amazing.
Mr Gaston on the outdoor training area.
The outdoor padel court.
With the padel boom showing no sign of slowing, the club's upturn in fortunes could last for some time yet, as it continues to offer an alternative to chain gyms driven purely by profit.
The club is located at the Great Yorkshire Showground.
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