Olympic standards on the 'Roding Riviera': elite gym and training centre for sporting enthusiasts at heart of new Barking development

The six-acre site will feature 1,089 new homes as well as a training centre and gym run by double gold medallist Max Whitlock.
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A huge “Olympic standard” gym built for double gold medallist Max Whitlock will be at the heart of a £350 million riverside development in Barking.

The 6,857sq ft facility is part of a scheme for 1,089 homes that was approved by council planners last night.

It is part of the Abbey Quays regeneration of a stretch of the River Roding in one of London’s fastest changing boroughs, dubbed by the council as a future “Roding Riviera”.

The six-acre site will feature homes across 13 blocks of up to 29 storeys in landscaped grounds. Of these, 737 will be apartments for private sale and 352, or 35 per cent of the total, affordable housing.

The gym will be handed over by developers to the 26-year-old Olympic champion gymnast who struck gold twice at the Rio Games in 2016.

The Max Whitlock Gymnastics Health Club will provide facilities for elite athletes and will be a training centre for young people to learn his sport.

Whitlock already has two gyms in Essex but the Barking location will be a flagship for his brand.

He and his wife Leah will be involved in the design and organise the classes, as well as host “introduction to gymnastics” sessions for local schools and colleges.

The development, designed by architects Broadway Malyan and built by Weston Homes, will also include a riverside pub, food and drink kiosks, two public squares, a wild flower meadow and a community hall.

Darren Rodwell, leader of Barking and Dagenham council, said: “This development adds to our wider vision of creating a buzzing Roding Riviera for all.”