A scheme to convert a storage unit on a Cardigan riverside industrial estate to a gym has been refused by county planners.

The application sought permission for a change of use of the unit at Unit 12, Station Road, including changing facilities and toilets, and associated works.

Planning documents said: “The project involves predominantly converting the interior of the existing building, with only new accesses and ramps created externally and introduction of large windows for light.

“The interior and exterior works pose negligible risks of any ecological habitats, as careful consideration has gone into the design to minimise the impact of these habitats.”

An officer report recommending refusal said: “It is considered that the change of use of the premises from Class B to D2 does not reflect nor enhance the role of the site.”

The report added that the premises had been re-occupied by an appropriate B-class use as of August 2024 with the stated intention of its use for the storage of goods, with the alternative use had been progressed “not on the basis of the commercial unviability of the B-class use – rather the commercial desire of the current tenant”.

It added: “The Local Planning Authority therefore considers that until a formal marketing period has been carried out to evidence the lack of viability of the existing B-class use, an application to change its use is premature and therefore represents an unjustified loss of employment land.”

The application was refused on the grounds the proposed change of use “is considered to be premature as no formal marketing exercise has been undertaken to evidence that the employment facility in its present use class is no longer viable,” adding the authority was “not satisfied that the loss of the existing use would preserve the integrity [of the allocated site].”