PLANS have been approved for an outdoor gym in Porlock which could help villagers to stay fit and healthy.

A calisthenics park, which provides bodyweight exercise equipment, such as pull-up bars, parallel bars, and benches, will be installed in the village recreation ground in Parsons Street on a small site at the ‘top end’ past the tennis courts and will be available for people to use at any time.

The recreation ground committee said it would support the physical well-being of villagers and promote a healthy lifestyle for the local community.

It will be designed to meet the needs of individuals of all fitness levels, from beginners to advanced athletes, with a variety of accessible and challenging calisthenics workout equipment.

Exmoor National Park Authority planning officer Joe White said: “The proposal would provide a facility for the community.

“It would comprise a series of metal frames that would link together with an overall rectangular shape.”

Mr White said the equipment would be installed on a rubber matt base, which would have an area roughly 20 feet by 13 feet, and while the frames would vary in overall height, with the tallest no more than eight feet.

He said planning policies were aimed at ensuring strong, vibrant, healthy and inclusive communities with accessible local services.

The provision of new or extended local community facilities would be supported where they benefited local residents and visitors and were of a scale and location appropriate to the community they served.

Mr White said the Porlock calisthenics park clearly met those policies, would be sited in a recreation ground where there were already other leisure facilities, and would be well related to the village and accessible to the local community.

He said seven letters about the plans had been received from local residents, all of which expressed their support.