A disabled grandmother says has been left 'feeling like crying' after gym classes were moved to a room she claims has forced her to give up exercising.
Stroke survivor Jackie Broadhurst was given a new lease of life when she joined Active Nation's classes for people with neurological conditions, held in a room at Chamberlayne Leisure Centre on Weston Lane.
But since these were moved to The Quays Swimming and Diving Complex in April, she said she has been forced to stop going as the room was hard for her to access, plagued with maintenance works and lacking the right equipment for her to use.
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The 72-year-old mum-of-three said: "I feel like crying. It gave me the purpose and positivity in life doing the exercise. However, for the past nine weeks, I have just been at home."
The former maths and English teacher has been disabled since 1997 after having a stroke during an operation.
However in April last year, sick of being at home with nothing to do, Jackie attended the ‘Forever Fit Classes’ held at the Weston leisure centre - with the help of her husband David.
The pensioner, who struggles to move her right arm and leg, was at one point going three times a week.
But since the move to The Quays, that has all stopped.
She claimed that the room the classes are held in are not as easy for her to access - having to go through a fire exit to get to it.
She added: “The room was quite small and not all the machines were there and the carpet was like a pub’s carpet."
To make matters worse, Jackie said she was told by Active Nation that there have been ongoing maintenance works in the room that have put her off going at all.
The retired teacher said: “I just don’t understand what the rush to move all the equipment was when the room doesn’t seem to have been prepared.
“I haven’t been to the classes for so long and I do feel less positive than I was before. Every time I call they just say they’re waiting for engineers to fix things.”
A spokesperson for Active Nation said: “Users of the Shapemaker equipment, which was temporally placed at Chamberlayne Leisure Centre, were consulted with before the final move of the equipment to The Quays Swimming & Diving Complex.
“The equipment is within a fully accessible room, which has been re-vamped for its new purpose.
“The Quays Swimming and Diving Complex is fully accessible by a range of transport links, and usage numbers have already increased.
“The space at Chamberlayne Leisure Centre has been repurposed as the gym - following a consultation with all members of the venue - over 75 per cent took the time to respond and vote in favour of the move."
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