The closing of Leeds Firehouse Fitness sparks outrage among students

Firehouse Fitness Leeds announced the closing of their gym via Facebook this week. The business states the high costs of operating the overheads as the reason for the permanent closure of the gym.

According to the owner, the financial situation of the company has been poor for the past two years. This has led to the gym suffering from “irrecoverable business losses,” and has made the shutting down of Firehouse Fitness inevitable. Many members of the gym expressed their regret over the closing of the gym on Facebook and emphasised the friendliness of the staff at Firehouse Fitness.

Millie Mcknespiey, a Dentistry student at the University of Leeds was one of them. She told us:

“It’s a massive shame that this has closed – It was a great gym and I really enjoyed my time there. Everyone was lovely and I’m so sorry for everyone who worked there who will have lost their jobs.”

Due to the gym’s close vicinity to the School of Dentistry, the Dental Society at the University of Leeds had offered students a significant discount when joining Firehouse Fitness. When students signed up with a friend, the cost of membership was just £150.

An anonymous student at the University of Leeds who took advantage of this offer is now fearing that they will not be refunded. They told The Tab Leeds:

“I cannot afford another membership as a student so I don’t know what to do.”

Other members who have paid year-long memberships are also demanding answers from the business owner. They told us anonymously:

“So do we get a refund for the year-long membership that I only got four months of?”

Gym-goers are also accusing the owner of taking on new members despite knowing the dire financial situation of the gym. They told The Tab Leeds:

“If the business had been suffering ‘irrecoverable losses over the past two years’ and they knowingly signed up new members pushing for the one-time payment, this sounds pretty illegal.”

Despite her positive experience at Firehouse Fitness prior to this incident, Dentistry student Millie is disappointed in how the closure is being handled. She said:

“[Firehouse Fitness] must’ve known that there was a possibility that they would’ve been closing this year and to even allow people to pay this money is unfair – especially as a lot of the people who have signed up would have done it through the Dentistry Discount and are students who are already short on money. Disgraceful.”

Members of the gym have reported that they have received no emails about the closure of the gym. Any attempt to contact the gym itself has also been unsuccessful.