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A London gym owner was fined £ 67,000 for refusing to close during England’s second national lockdown. Andreas Michli, 34, finally closed the doors of his Wood Green gym on Wednesday after police barred customers.
The Haringey board issued multiple fines against Michli for his Zone Gym business and said he obtained a closure order. In addition to the £ 67,000 fine, Michli said the council was also looking to recover court costs of £ 7,500.
Michli, who has owned the gym for five years, said he felt keeping it open was “the right thing to do socially, morally and scientifically.” “There were many reasons why I did not close. Actually, I couldn’t find a reason not to keep it open, other than there was legislation in place, ”he told the PA news agency.
He said he would not decide when to reopen the gym until the court hearing resolution next week. England’s national lockdown restrictions, which went into effect on November 5, mean that gyms must close according to law.
Michli said police arrived at her gym Wednesday night and prevented gym goers from entering.
“The police worked outside the gates and had rotating shifts every two hours. Some people managed to climb walls and move through small holes to get in, but it was practically empty, ”he said. “It was kind of useless to keep the gym open while it was basically empty.”
Haringey council leader Joseph Ejiofor said the local authority had tried numerous times to “communicate” with Michli, but “regrettably decided to remain open despite repeated warnings.”
“As a result, we were left with no choice but to issue fixed fine notices and we got a notice of closure,” he said.
Ejiofor said that while the shutdown was an “extremely difficult time” for local businesses, he insisted that “the law is the law and it applies to everyone.”
