A POPULAR gymnastics club has been forced to close after 35 years of supporting the community as a not for profit organisation.

Brighton and Hove Gymnastics Club (BHGC), in Newtown Road, Hove, has shut and the club must empty the building before the end of the month.

It has closed for a variety of reasons, including a flood in 2014, which meant the ground floor could not be used for six months and the club has struggled to recover.

Other reasons for the closure include the “demise in parking conditions” outside the gym, other gymnastic clubs opening and continued financial difficulties.

Dawn Richardson, director of BHGC, said: “We have been renting this building for 35 years and I took over as director from my mother Ann Martin when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer, which she is defying amazingly.

“All of the issues we have faced have resulted in me having to close the gym club because I just had no other option and if I didn’t the whole organisation would have gone into liquidation.

“I understand that people feel let down and upset with us but we had to look at the bigger picture.

“My family have dedicated years of their life to the club and it is such a shame that it has come to this, after years of supporting children with special needs and the wider community.”

Brighton and Hove City Council reduced the club’s relief rate from 100 per cent down to 50 per cent, meaning the club had to pay higher business rates.

Amanda Wadman, 48, the owner of Stars Gym club, from Brighton, said: “I am very sad to hear this news about the club because Ann Martin taught both me and my daughter and she is very dear to me.

“Ann is a legend. Her club has been around all of my life and I have always held her in very high esteem as my coach and my mentor.

“My thoughts and prayers are with the club.

“Ann is a person we all look up to.”