Places Gym Drakehouse: Closure shock for popular Sheffield fitness facility near Crystal Peaks

Users say they were emailed yesterday to be told that Places Gym, based at the Drakehouse Retail Park near Crystal Peaks, in Waterthorpe, was to close down from the end of business on Monday.

They were also told that The Place Hair and Beauty Salon would not be affected by the closure.

Phone calls to the popular gym today confirmed the closure, and referred callers to their website.

In a statement online, similar to the message sent to members, the gym stated: “We regret to inform you that Places Leisure will no longer be operating Places Gym Sheffield which is unfortunately closing its doors on April 24, 2023, at 6pm.

"The closure is a result of our strategic focus on enabling communities to thrive, in partnership with our Local Authority clients.”

Users have been told that their current membership will automatically be stopped, and any refund will be returned to them directly.

The statement added: “We are sure you will have made some lasting friendships with staff and fellow members, and we appreciate this will be extremely sad news. Please accept our thanks for your loyal support of Places Gym Sheffield.”

One shocked gym user who contacted The Star said he was mystified by the reason, saying he could not fathom out the reasoning given for the closure, and did not understand how a focus on enabling local communities to thrive involved closing gyms.

“It does not make sense,” he added.

Places Gym and Sheffield Council have been contacted for comment.