First look inside OneGym Darlington opening this week

Nationwide gym chain OneGym will open its doors to the public on Saturday (September 9) and the huge facility will be officially in business.

A tour of the gym, situated in the old Marks & Spencer building, revealed an impressive array of equipment and facilities.

There is a sauna, large rooms for classes, a martial arts area and an extensive range of machines.

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Speaking to David Pearson, co-owner of OneGym with his brother Paul, it is clear that real care has gone into the designing of the facility.

He said: "We are very excited to open this weekend.

"Me and my brother are from Darlington and we know the area well.

"We have always wanted to bring our OneGym concept to Darlington.

"We wanted to wait until we had a prime site.

"We have managed to sort 100 car parking spaces in the town centre.

"It's going to be beneficial to all of the other businesses in the area too. 

"We have got in Panatta machines which are very high end.

"There has been a good amount of interest in memberships already.

"We just have to wait and see how quickly we fill our spaces, at some of our other gyms there are waiting lists.

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"We want people to have a good experience and be able to access the machines they want."

Lots of people turned up on Tuesday to have a look around the building for the open day.

On social media, there has been a lot of interest from residents in Darlington who are keen to get through the doors on Saturday.