University's temporary gym relocation approved

The gym inside an Oxford sports centre will be moved to another part of the complex

Oxford University's gym used by its elite athletes will be moved to another part of a complex to prevent any harm from asbestos which was found in the building.

The university's Blues Performance Gym, at its Iffley Road Sports Centre, was found to have asbestos in its grandstand and its presence has been "managed for some time", it said.

The university said it wanted to move the gym for five years "to remove any in-use risks" and was granted permission by Oxford City Council to build a temporary gym on another part of the site.

The university says the gym and training spaces are "always staffed and supervised" and can be used by hundreds of its undergraduate and postgraduate students.

The site is most famous for being the place when Sir Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile in May 1954 and its running track is named after him.