A NEW gym built on the edge of a County Durham town opens this weekend.

The OneGym at Thinford Park, near Spennymoor, will open its doors to customers at 8am today - Saturday, January 29 - bringing with it nine new jobs.

The Northern Echo:

Owner Paul Pearson has said it will be a 24/7 state-of-the-art gym with a wide range of gym equipment and classes to suit beginners and more advanced gym users.

Memberships are available from £16.99 a month.

Mr Pearson said he was determined to use local suppliers and get the site – which is the sixth OneGym in the region – ready to open in January.

Despite some utility connections and deliveries taking longer than expected to complete, due to the backlog following Covid-19 lockdowns, it is now ready to open.

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He said: “Our aim was to get the gym open in January because we know how eager people are following Christmas and New Year resolutions.

“It's been extremely difficult due to delayed deliveries and covid etc but we're delighted to be able to open now.”

The Northern Echo:

The Northern Echo:

A look inside the gym Pictures: PAUL PEARSON

The gym is the latest business to open on the site with a Burger King restaurant and takeaway, Costa café and Domino’s pizza shop already up-and-running.

A hotel and pub are also expected to be developed, with work on another building already underway.

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The former Thinford Inn pub and restaurant used to stand close to the gym site but was demolished as part of the wider redevelopment of the area.

The loss of the 19th century coach house upset many local people but, after it shut in 2012, it had been vandalised and fire damaged.

It is expected that, once complete, the redeveloped Thinford Park site will have created about 141 jobs.

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