Uckfield: SAFETY FEARS HOLD UP NEW HEALTH CLUB

A NEW health club in Uckfield has been told it cannot open to the public until building work has been carried out to rectify safety problems.

But the club manager claimed this week that the general quality of thebuilding was above minimum requirements.

Isenhurst Health Club was set up on Bell Lane after change of use planning permission was granted by Wealden District Council.

However, an inspection carried out by a Wealden building control manager revealed that construction work had been completed without meeting relevant building regulations.

The club s owners have been told that much of the building work carried out fell below minimum health and safety guidelines. They have been ordered to rectify these areas before they can open fully to the public.

The Wealden officer found serious breaches of building regulations , including:

Inadequate fire protection;Inadequate means of escape; Structural instability to a mezzanine floor; Instability to a swimming pool; General instability to the original structure.

It was found that builders had cut through the building s foundations in order to install the swimming pool. A Wealden spokesman said that this was likely to seriously affect the stability of the building.

Press officer Petra Dalton said: We are hoping to meet and work with the owner again, and we are hopeful that building regulations will have been complied with by the end of the month.