A former gym in Hyde town centre will be converted into six one-bedroom flats after Tameside Council rubber stamped planning permission this week.
Work to renovate the Powerhouse Gym on Borough Arcade must begin within three years, although nobody can move in until developers can say where they’ll put bins for the new apartments.
The works will include installing 16 new windows on the currently windowless second floor, with the rest of the development being internal-only.
“The proposals would represent a highly sustainable and efficient use of the site that would compliment the current residential offer found within the area,” reads the Council’s decision notice.
“The proposed development would make a contribution to the borough's housing land supply and encourages and permits new and innovative design solutions without causing an adverse effect on the existing character of the building.
“The existing ground and first floor uses will provide activity within the building and the proposed residential use will contribute to footfall on surroundings streets. This may indirectly benefit existing shops and other businesses in the Town Centre.”
The building was originally the Hyde Hippodrome and Opera House.
Pre-dating the First World War, it was a variety theatre and latterly a cinema before closing its doors in 1957.
It soon became the Super Market, which housed dozens of small traders, with Morecambe and Wise cutting the ribbon at its grand opening in 1958.
The gym overlooked Market Street for 25 years until its closure in 2017, while original plans submitted in 2020 were for three two-bedroom apartments.