Duncan Street wasteland a 'constant problem' for Evolution gym owner

Three fire engines were called to a blaze on Duncan Street, St Helens after a "large quantity of tyres and waste material" caught fire at about 8.40pm on Friday, January 6.

With the waste in close proximity to Evolution Fitness XL, the fire could have spread to the gym if it was not contained as quickly as it was by fire crews.

After spending hundreds of thousands transforming a derelict warehouse into a popular community gym, owner Mike Garner said the incident is the latest frustration in an ongoing dispute with the land owner.

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Waste left at the Duncan Street site (Image: Mike Garner)

Firefighters were able to contain the blaze before all the tyres caught fire (Image: Mike Garner)

Wasteland a constant problem for gym owner

"It's been a problem since day one", Mike said.

"I've had complaints from residents, customers, and Environmental Health at the council about the waste, but it isn't my land.

"I've cleaned up all the waste there twice and spent a couple of grand doing so, but it keeps getting worse.

"There has been constant fly tipping, anti-social behaviour, and drug taking going on there."

Three fire crews were sent to tackle the blaze (Image: Mike Garner)

Mike, who used to work at the HAMMA gym on North Road, says he had an agreement with the land owner to sub-let the site to turn it into a car park for his gym.

However, the pair couldn't come to an agreement and further attempts to buy the land have been refused, Mike said.

Mayor of St Helens, Cllr Sue Murphy, opened the gym in August 2021 (Image: Evolution Fitness XL)

Evolution a 'gym for the community'

The 38-year-old added: "We try to do as much as we can for the community. We sponsor rugby teams, St Helens 10k, the Pride of St Helens Awards, and local charities such as the Steve Prescott and Standing Tall Foundations.

"We are also part of the council's 'Back to Work' scheme to offer apprenticeships [...] and offer gym space and PT classes to the community.

"So it's really frustrating that this has been ongoing for so long and nothing seems to be getting done.

"Even the firefighters were tripping up over the rubbish, but if it wasn't for them, the fire could have spread and destroyed the gym."

The fire started from the waste material left at the site (Image: Mike Garner)

St Helens Council's Environmental Health team has been contacted for a comment.