WITH London 2012 fast approaching, Swindon could be the setting for an Olympic gymnastics training camp - but only if the town's most successful club can find a new home.

Tucked away in between tile warehouses and power tool merchants on a Stratton trading estate is the Esprit Gymnastics Academy.

More than 600 youngsters attend the academy, taking part in a range of gymnastic disciplines overseen by qualified coaches.

But, having produced two British champions and three British squad members since it opened just over four years ago, the club has become a victim of its own success and has out-grown its current base.

Chairman Mark Hows says that Esprit has been told it can act as an official Olympic training camp in the run-up to London 2012.

But he believes that their current base in unsuitable and has been working tirelessly to find an alternative before their planning consent runs out in 10 months.

He revealed: "We had to get planning permission for a change of use on this place for five years, which runs out in December, so we're up against it.

"When we moved into this building the rest of the estate was virtually empty, so it wasn't a problem.

"But since then the rest of the buildings have been let and they are running a business.

"There's lorries turning up all day, fork-lift trucks coming and going and there's nowhere for our parents to park.

"We currently have two options. One is to work with a local school that has no sports facilities and they will build a proper new sports hub.

"But the problem is that there are developers involved, funding involved and the council involved.

"The speed it is moving at means that it is virtually impossible to see it happening before our deadline runs out in December.

"We also have the option of working with the council where a local school is being knocked down and we are asking them to give it to us.

"They have said that we are a potential partner, but again it's moving slowly and we will run out of time."

Mark's frustration at the situation is evident, especially when there is the dangling carrot of Esprit being part of the Olympics.

And he said it is vital that steps are taken very soon, to ensure that the club doesn't miss out on important funding.

"We've been talking about it with Swindon Borough Council for between 18 months and two years and we're still no nearer the end.

"If I get a bit of paper agreeing something I can then go to funding organisations - British Gymnastics, Sport England, and the Wiltshire & Swindon Sports Partnership.

"British Gymnastics have basically said to us that if we build a gymnastics facility in Swindon they will make it an Olympic Training Camp running up to 2012, which means we will have the top stars from all over the world training in Swindon.

"That would be massive for the whole town.

"British Gymnastics are announcing all their new funding streams for the Olympics soon, and we've got a chance of getting some of that, but we need to move fast.

"I'm an eternal optimist and we will get there.

"There is all this talk of creating an Olympic legacy. A true Olympic legacy is not all about medals - it's about developing sport for the future, reducing obesity in children, cutting deaths from heart attacks, getting more and more people involved in sport. If Swindon Borough Council could take two hours out of their time to make a decision, they could get Olympians, a true Olympic legacy and a state-of-the-art sports facility that Swindon does not have.

"It seems like a no-brainer to me."