Monday October 19th 2026
Muscle Factory
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Paul Kelly
A popular Borders gym’s hopes of operating 24 hours a day have been deemed not fit for purpose after concerns from neighbours it would prevent a peaceful night’s sleep.
The Muscle Factory in Kelso’s Spylaw Road has been successfully operating for more than a decade.
Its current opening hours are Monday to Friday from 6am to 10pm and on the weekend from 7am to 6pm.
In a bid to meet the working patterns of gym users, which include Blue Light employees, a planning bid was submitted to Scottish Borders Council seeking to operate the business 24 hours a day.
But the application has been refused amid objections received from residents of neighbouring residential properties saying noise from the gym was audible from inside dwellings during the current opening hours, with some noting they can hear weights dropped.
One objector stated: “Noise which may be tolerable during normal daytime hours can become highly intrusive during sleeping hours, particularly when it is sudden and intermittent.
“A single weight being dropped, a door closing, people talking outside or a vehicle arriving can disturb sleep when the surrounding area would otherwise be quiet.
“A 24-hour gym would therefore remove the period of overnight respite currently provided by the opening-hours restriction and allow gym-related activity to take place throughout the night and into the early hours of the morning.”
A report refusing the application, from assistant SBC planning officer Euan Calvert, states: “These health and business improvements have been considered and they are weighed against the competing policies which are there to protect neighbouring residential amenity.
“In this instance it is considered that significant adverse impacts are highly likely in terms of noise during extended hours of operation.
“The operational noise will likely include the intermittent and impulsive noise from dropped weights that would likely disrupt sleep if heard within neighbouring properties.
“This is not considered to be acceptable in this location owing to the proximity to nearby residential neighbours.”
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