Work has started on turning a former town centre shop into a family friendly workout hub.

Hitio Gym is taking over the former Argos store in High Street, Sittingbourne, making it one of the firm’s first branches in the UK.

Franchisee Majid Alamgir, who gave up his role as head of sales for Hitio to take on the project with business partners Belinda Adams and Zakir Hussain, said the space was perfect.

Renovation work started before Christmas after planning permission was granted by Swale council in September.

The firm, which has 33 clubs in Norway and one in Portugal, offers activities and classes including taekwondo, boxing, kickboxing, Thai boxing, mixed martial arts and yoga.

There will also be a boxing ring and child-friendly facilities for people to use as well as three fitness rooms and cardio and free weights areas suitable for all ages.

Children from five years old will be able to go along, join special classes and take part in activities as long as they are accompanied by an adult.

'I came to Sittingbourne on a Friday and the market was on, there was someone playing the bagpipes and it just took me' - Majid Alamgir

Mr Alamgir, who will move his family from Hertfordshire, said he fell in love with the town last February.

“I went to a lot of other sites but I couldn’t get a buzz,” Mr Alamgir said.

“I came to Sittingbourne on a Friday and the market was on, there was someone playing the bagpipes and it just took me. It is a very up and coming area.”

The store has been vacant since 2017 when Argos relocated to Sainsbury’s in the Avenue of Remembrance.

Talking about what the gym will offer, Mr Alamgir, who is helping lead the £650,000 project, added: “This is something unique in the whole of the UK.

“What we offer here will be a space which is safe for children to learn how to keep fit with approved instructors while their parents use the training equipment downstairs.”

It is hoped the gym, which will create 15 new jobs, will be open by March.

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