Hundreds of concerned citizens have petitioned Colchester Council in Essex to grant permission for Britain’s only disabled person’s trampoline centre to move to new premises.
The Chelmsford Weekly News reported that the power lies in the council’s hands to approve the planned move by the Bounceability centre at Severalls Industrial Park.
At Bounceability, severely disabled people are able to enjoy the fitness and therapeutic benefits of trampolining thanks to the centre being equipped with special hoists to lift patrons on to the trampolines.
The centre is supported by disability charities such as Scope and Headway Essex, both of who are backing the campaign to allow Bounceability to move.
The centre’s owner Rosie Amoss, who is blind after a bout of diabetes in 2008, wishes to relocate to her father’s farm in West Bergholt, because this is closer to her family and her home.
However, her first application for permission to relocate was rejected by the council, which said that roads around the farm could be overwhelmed with traffic. Ms Amoss, who was on the 2008 shortlist for a Pride of Britain award, now fears that the trampoline centre may have to close if it cannot move.
An official appeal has been lodged by planning consultant Peter Le Grys and a second planning application has also been submitted – along with nearly 300 letters of support from local people, plus two from the above charities.
“We collected the signatures within a week. We’re just trying to push the council to see how much of a good thing it is and how much we do need to stay open,” Ms Amoss told the newspaper.
