Mortlake, Sydney: Elderly residents and early birds in gym lockout after planning faux pas

Mortlake gym-goers in inner-city Sydney have been left confused and frustrated after clubs in the area were forced to restrict their hours and even close buildings in a planning faux pas.

Mortlake gym-goers in Sydney’s inner city have been left confused and frustrated after a number of fitness centres were forced to restrict their hours and even close buildings in an apparent planning faux pas.

Fitness Local, Wellness Local, ZADI and F45 Concord – all in Mortlake in the City of Canada Bay local government area (LGA) – were forced to restrict their opening hours from 5am to 7am. Many of the gyms have been operating from 5am for years and run classes popular with early birds.

Fitness Local were also forced to shutter two of their buildings that are used for yoga and other classes.

Upset gym users in Mortlake, frustrated that their 'Legends Class' has had to stop, on June 18. Picture: Alexi Demetriadi

The clampdown stems from a compliance check by the council, who realised in most cases the complying development certificate issued was incorrectly zoned, or allowed the gyms only to open from 7am.

There is no indication whatsoever of wrongdoing from the gyms, all who followed the correct development procedures and who believed they were operating correctly for years.

The complex issue has, however, affected both the operators and gym-goers, particularly early risers and the elderly.

“It’s disappointing not just from a personal perspective, but also from a local business point of view, who have had it so tough with the lockdowns,” Georgie Atherton, who used F45’s early morning classes, said.

“For people who used the early morning classes because of preschool drop-offs or anything like that, it really impacts their ability to exercise.

A sign at a mini rally of Mortlake gym-goers on June 18. Picture: Alexi Demetriadi

“It just seems quite abrupt considering there’s probably bigger issues in the community that could be focused on instead.”

Jason Alame, studio manager for F45 Concord, said it came as a shock to him.

“We had someone from the council come to the studio and said we may need to stop classes before 7am, and said he’d call the owner and explain the next steps,” Mr Alame said.

“The call never came and last Thursday he came in, told us to stop operating between 5am and 7am, or we’d be fined $6000 each time.

“And then we find three fines in the mail worth $6000 each, and all we’ve done is try to comply and wait for their instructions.”

Mr Alame said customers were already being impacted.

F45 run an array of fitness classes. Picture: Toby Zerna

“That’s the only time a chunk of our members can train, and the loss of those two hours means they can’t come in and do their normal routine,” he said.

“Gyms were one of the worst affected industries during Covid, and I think this could have been dealt with better by the council.”

A group of senior citizens who train as part of a ‘Legends Class’ at Fitness Local have been locked out of the building they use for weekly yoga.

“The closure has been a total shock,” Mortlake-resident Jane Coulter, who uses the Legends Classes at Fitness Local, said.

Ms Coulter said the image of bodybuilders pounding iron couldn’t be applied to Fitness Local, which was a rock of the community, providing important fitness and mental benefits.

“It’s the social networks and the camaraderie the gym helps foster,” she said.

Gale Conder said Katie Ellem, co-owner and director of Fitness Local, helped immeasurably with her partner’s Parkinson’s disease.

“He started working with Katie in 2008 and without that he would probably be in a wheelchair,” she said.

Peter Hickey, who co-owns Fitness Local with Ms Ellem, explained it had been a shock to find out they had to close two buildings.

“What’s happened is just very disappointing, we’ve just started to get back to normality after Covid and to be shut down so abruptly after no previous problem,” he said.

The issue for Fitness Local’s two shuttered buildings stems from their zoning.

Fitness Local operates yoga and pilates classes in two buildings that had previously catered for indoor cricket and martial arts respectively, and had been operating believing both were under indoor-recreational zoning. The company, after investigations by the council, were only made aware last week one building has a zoning specifically for indoor cricket and the other only had permissible usage for martial arts.

“We’ve been there for years and were under the belief that it was an indoor-recreational zoning rather than a cricket-specific zoning,” Mr Hickey said.

“On that technicality, the council were forced to shut us down immediately.”

Both Mr Hickey and Ms Ellem said they wanted to work with the council to find a solution to what is a complex issue.

“We’ve been discussing with the council and they seem motivated to find a positive outcome, because I think they recognise the impact this is having on the community,” Mr Hickey said.

Councillor Andrew Ferguson explained what would have to be done to remedy the situation.

“Council planners can only consider DAs for uses that are permissible in the zone, and currently gyms are not permissible in R1 zones, which covers most of Mortlake,” Cr Ferguson said.

“One option to permit gyms in the R1 zone would be an amendment to the Local Environment Plan; this would involve a council resolution, preparation of a planning proposal and community consultation.

“Gym operators and the community should not be in this position – the council needs to find a solution.”

A spokeswoman for the City of Canada Bay Council said it had investigated the planning permissions of the gyms after receiving complaints, but didn’t disclose from who or what the complaints pertained to.

“Recently a number of complaints have been made about gyms operating in the Mortlake area – the council investigates all complaints from our community equally and any breaches to regulations or planning mechanisms require appropriate action,” the spokeswoman said.

“Appropriate consents are required for businesses to operate, and these can be acquired either through a complying development certificate or development application, depending on the circumstance.

“The council understands these are local businesses important to the community. We will work with all stakeholders to ensure these businesses are aware of their obligations and, as with all local businesses, assist them with any queries they may have about their operations.”