PLANS to end licensed music in council gyms have been put on pause following anger from instructors.

Contractors GLL said they were reviewing feedback and there was a moratorium on the decision until April.

Andy Bindon, its “change and values” chief, told the Tribune: “Generally [instructors] were a bit taken aback by the initial proposal. We soon realised that we hadn’t quite got this right in our approach and we needed a different individual approach.”

A petition racked up more than 2,500 signatures after an announcement in December that big pop and dance hits would no longer be allowed to be played.

The company had said it was planning to forfeit the music licences which allow songs with royalties to be played in public places.

The change would save GLL around a million pounds a year – roughly £250 per month at each centre – but would mean that gym-goers would not be able to workout to hits by artists like Dua Lipa, Eminem, and Lizzo.

The petition further pointed out that the new platform would exclude many genres of music, including Soca and Afrobeat and British-born music like grime, jungle, UK garage, funky house.

“This omission represents a permanent barrier to inclusivity and innovation, forcing instructors into a rigid structure that fails to reflect the rich tapestry of their communities,” signatories argued.

Mr Bindon said: “We recognise that it’s actually a very emotive issue and it’s a part of their identity and their jobs and how they do them. So what we’ve said is that nothing is changing at the moment until we’ve consulted with our instructors right across the UK about how that’s working.”