COUNCILLORS have agreed to look at the possibility of introducing outside gym facilities – known as a calisthenics area – in Wellington Recreation Ground.

Oliver Hill gave a presentation to members of Wellington Town Council’s environment committee on May 20 and spoke enthusiastically about the project.

Calisthenics areas are outdoor fitness areas equipped with various apparatuses designed for bodyweight exercises featuring equipment such as pull-up bars, dip stations, parallel bars and could be used for a wide range of workouts.

Mr Hill, a personal trainer and gym instructor, told councillors that the project would have big benefits for the community.

He said it would be free for people to use, be accessible 24 hours a day and would require low maintenance.

“It would ideally be targeted towards the younger generation and that would help to reduce anti-social behaviour,” he said.

Mr Hill had already carried out some consultation locally on the idea and received positive feedback from people.

“I asked 30 members of a local gym and they were all positive,” he said. “I also put up something about it on a local Facebook page and gained 255 likes and received 23 positive comments.”

He said that it could cost around £25,000 to install and that there were several funding avenues which could be approached for support, but hoped the town council would be a big part of the project.

But Mr Hill’s enthusiastic presentation did not receive the support of former Mayor, Cllr Janet Lloyd.

She questioned the overall popularity of the idea when there were 17,000 people living in Wellington and he had received just 255 “likes” on a Facebook page.

“What happens if someone does some damage to themselves on the equipment – it could become a place for injuries,” she said. “I’m against it. It’s a lot of money for what it actually is – we can’t keep spending money like this. We’ve already got 19 play areas in Wellington.”

But Cllr Lloyd’s opposition to the idea was not supported by her committee colleagues.

Cllr Sean Pringle-Kosikowsky said: “I can see children using this as a climbing frame and helping to widen their imagination.”

Cllr George Western added: “I really like this idea and getting children off their phones is key in my book.”

He suggested that perhaps the council looked at putting some money aside for the project in its 2027-28 budget.

The Mayor, Cllr Mark Lithgow, said: “I’m in favour of this. It’s great that people like Olly come to the town council with ideas.”

Cllr Mike McGuffie said: “I think we can agree in principle to support this today, but perhaps we should carry out our own consultation about the project.”

A council spokesperson said: “It was resolved to proceed with this project in principle and that officers would work up a detailed proposal.

“It was agreed that the council would conduct its own consultation process to determine the desire for this project and that disability groups would be involved to ensure that it was appropriately accessible for all.”