Where’s The Gym ?
Despite all the grand talk of reinvestment and new services, there has been little in the way of new facilities being added at Hamptons.
The bars have gone, the old members bar and dance studio have been combined and are now a permanent mosque, and a further room has been lost to serve very average and overpriced coffee. But hey, that’s a whole lot better than the tin hut eyesore that still sits next to the tennis courts.
What About A Gym ?
One of the things that the MASC/Hamptons has never really provided, although at one point the Marconi Club did own some gym equipment, just prior to the new building opening.
Given the loss of so many of the social dance groups, it’s something that older members might be able to benefit from, under the correct supervision.
Perhaps the Chelmsford Muslim Society could apply for a grant ? No wait, they did already !
The Community Gym Projects
Reported in a blog from Active Essex (full text here) , the Chelmsford Muslim Society “ received equipment to create gym areas in their respective buildings” along with the Grays Gurdwara :
“In the past 12 months at Active Essex, we have supported some fantastic collaborative faith-based projects. The Community Gym projects, with both Grays Gurdwara and the Chelmsford Muslim Society received equipment to create gym areas in their respective buildings. During the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the few places their members felt safe visiting was the Gurdwara and Mosque and so placing opportunities for members to get active whilst they were there supported an increase in physical activity. With qualified instructors overseeing the gym sessions, both projects estimate 120 people using the gym equipment per week”
Taken from; Active Essex Blog Interfaith Week 2021
What does seem a bit odd to us, is that there’s no actual pictures of the equipment anywhere, and no posts on social media about it’s arrival.
Surely the arrival of equipment and its installation would be noteworthy, and “with qualified instructors overseeing the gym sessions, both projects estimate 120 people using the gym equipment per week”. So it’s arrived and in use by 120 people per week, CMS kept that quiet !
Could It Be At The Parkway Mosque ?
Possibly, but again, why no mention of its arrival. Given the limited space at Parkway, we very much doubt that it’s there. You can see how small the Parkway mosque is from this video on Facebook
So is the equipment at Hamptons, and is it for the benefit of everyone ?
Funded By The Public Purse
If it is at Hamptons, you have to question why public monies are being used to provide equipment for a commercial venture. It’s a grey area we’ve seen before, with the apparent ownership of the building being claimed by both the CMS charity and Hamptons Sports and Leisure Ltd when it suits them, like when claiming two grants from Essex County Council for the same Food Bank.
The Chelmsford Muslim Society have received quite a large amount of funding from Active Essex over the last two years, a figure in excess of £40,000.00
The Right of Reply
We’ve contacted Active Essex for a response, but sadly they’ve not replied yet. This clearly does need some clarification. We’ll update the page if they respond.
KBO