A BIG push is being made to save a Chepstow sports club after staff said high business rates and rent could make it “impossible” for the club to survive.

Kestrel Gymnastics, based in a former warehouse at the Bulwark Industrial Estate, is a not-for-profit club run on a modest budget which caters for 200 children, aged from two years and up, each week.

It has been unsuccessful in becoming a registered charity despite significant efforts, which its says is at the heart of the funding issues.

Gaining charity status as a community amateur sports club (CASC) would provide a range of benefits including business rates relief.

Besides gymnastics, the popular club also offers sessions in parkour, trampolining, and holds separate classes for children with disabilities and children from low income households.

South Wales Argus:

Members of the club at the first Artistic Welsh Challenge Apparatus Championships in Cardiff in October 2019

Coach Ceri Middleton said if the club fails to gain CASC status, it will have no option but to close.

“We would very much like to continue to serve the community and give children the opportunities they may otherwise not have,” she said.

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“But I’m conscious our club is under pressure and if we are unsuccessful in becoming a CASC we will be forced to close in the next financial year.”

Monmouth MP David Davies is supporting the club and said closure would be a “devastating blow” to the area.

“I have had the pleasure of visiting Kestrel Gymnastics twice over the past year,” he said.

“Both of my visits have taken place during training sessions and it is fantastic to see the children enjoying learning a sport that teaches more than just gymnastics.

“This is a huge community facility that keeps over 200 young people off the streets.

“I wish those involved all the best with their endeavours to gain CASC status and very much hope they will be successful in securing the long-term future of the club.”