Barnet Council has been branded “inept” for failing to get tough on a gym that has allegedly been flouting planning guidelines.

Landlord Tony Bartolo says he has repeatedly complained that MighteeFit Gym at 172 High Road, East Finchley, is breaching planning conditions laid out by the council.

Mr Bartolo, who owns the neighbouring property at 174 High Road, said the owner of 172 did not have permission to use the building as a gym and had failed to follow council guidelines when building an extension.

He said the noise from boxing, weightlifting and other activities – as well as loud background music – was disturbing neighbours well into the evening and had led one of his tenants to move out.

Despite repeatedly complaining to the council after construction of the extension began in December, Mr Bartolo said it had failed to deal with the problems.

He said: “To say the council is useless is an understatement. They are inept and do not seem to care.

“What is the point of planning if they tell you to build a certain way and you don’t do it? It is madness.”

The owner of 172 High Road was given permission to build a single-storey rear extension in October 2018.

Conditions imposed by the council stated that the materials used to build the extension must match those used in the existing building.

But Mr Bartolo claimed the extension was made of uPVC – a type of plastic – instead of brick, adding that it lacked insulation.

The gym was previously a gift shop, meaning the site had permission to be used for retail purposes but not for leisure.

Despite this, the gym has been running since January, Mr Bartolo said.

Barnet Council’s online planning portal shows the owner lodged a retrospective application in July to change the building’s use from retail to a mix of retail and leisure.

It also shows the council received a complaint in December saying the extension was “not built to plan, including height and materials used” – but no enforcement action was taken.

A second complaint along the same lines was received in March, with the council aiming to resolve the case by June 27 – but it is sill listed as ‘pending consideration’.

Photos recently taken by Mr Bartolo show the material used to build the extension differs from the rest of the building.

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Mr Bartolo said: “The least you would expect from the council would be for them to tell the owners to knock the gym down and rebuild it to the right specifications.

“I don’t really have a problem with a gym, but if you are going to make one, you want to build it out of brick and insulate it.

“It is having an impact on the local area. They start at 6am in the morning and go on until 10pm at night.

“My tenant had been living there for three years and never complained about anything, but he couldn’t take the noise.”

A Barnet Council spokesperson said: “This is currently the subject of a live planning application. We are aware of the concerns raised about noise from this property and are in regular contact with the owners of the property, advising them on ways to reduce noise.

“All the information we have gathered will be subject to assessment by our Environmental Health Team, through the planning application process.”

MighteeFit have been approached for comment.