24/7 Fitness has taken over Birmingham’s iconic Fort Dunlop building as the site for its fifth fitness club, continuing the former rubber wheel factory’s traditions by offering locals a place to shed their spare tyres.

The building that once housed Fort Dunlop tyres had stood empty for 20 years, but has now been redeveloped into an office and retail space complex, with 24/7 Fitness club occupying 6,395sq ft (594sq m).

24/7 Fort Dunlop is the second Birmingham facility for the health club chain, following the site in nearby Bearwood, which new members will also have access to. As with the group’s other venues, the new club features a full range of cardiovascular machines; including Matrix treadmills, ellipticals and cycles, plus resistance equipment from the Matrix Aura series, free weights, and a ladies-only gym.

According to Andy Loughray, head of national sales at Matrix Fitness, the new health and fitness provision is much-needed in Birmingham – a city with poor physical activity rates.

“Research indicates that nearly 35 per cent of the adult population in Birmingham is physically inactive, costing the Local Authority over £22m per 100,000 people per annum,” he said.

“As stakeholders in the fitness industry, this is obviously something that we are keen to help address and we are delighted to work together with the team at 24/7 Fitness to support healthier lifestyle choices for the people of Birmingham.”

Since opening earlier this year, the gym has quickly attracted more than 2,000 members, leading to plans to open an on-site beauty therapy and sports injury clinic.