Planning permission has been granted to convert the former covid vaccine centre and Lidl supermarket in Knaresborough into a gym.

The Lidl on York Road closed in 2018 when the supermarket relocated to a larger site nearby.

In February 2021, the site was taken over by Homecare Pharmacy Services, which administered thousands of covid jabs from a building in the car park until it moved in September to larger premises on Knaresborough’s Chain Lane.

Planning consultants Lichfields said it was not able to say which gym operator will be moving into the building at this stage.

Knaresborough is currently served by a variety of gyms, including Black Wolf Fitness, XS Fitness Club and Red Strength.

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Vehicles look set to be prevented from parking on a stretch of Chain Lane in Knaresborough following an increase in traffic travelling to the vaccination centre.

Chain Lane is a busy road in a residential area that also operates as a bus route.

It has been the site of Knaresborough’s biggest vaccine centre at Chain Lane Community Hub, run by Homecare Pharmacy, since September.

North Yorkshire County Council has proposed an order to stop traffic parking from January 17 after it found vehicles parking on the road were causing a danger to the public.

The parking restriction will cover the section of Chain Lane from Princess Terrace, near the bus stop, past the community hub and down to the turning for Eastfield.

The council’s notice said:

“Parked vehicles obscure visibility from the vaccination centre and cause issues with vehicles passing safely given the number of buses and parked vehicles causing a need to give/take far more frequently.”

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The temporary order is expected to be in place until July 16, 2023. But the council added if the vaccination centre closed before then, the order would be lifted.

Staff at the vaccination centre said they were unaware of the move.

Steve Cullerton, operations director, said:

“I can imagine it is problematic for locals, especially at the beginning when we were at our busiest. But it’s calmed down a bit now so hopefully the new order won’t be too inconvenient for people coming for a jab.

“I don’t think it’ll have a huge impact, we always tell people to park responsibly or go do some shopping in town first and park there, then come to us.”

The county council said signs will be put up to indicate the length of the restriction and where it is in place.