A BOXING club based at an ageing youth centre has been left reeling after major renovation plans were suddenly dropped.
Downend Boxing Club has been based at the Harry Crook Centre in Moorlands Road, Fishponds, since 2017, when it moved from its previous home at Pomphrey Hill pavilion in Mangotsfield.
Bristol City Council announced two years ago it would demolish and rebuild part of the building, which is 50 years old, and carry out “extensive refurbishment” of the rest.
The plan involved North Star Academy Trust moving in to run the centre as a dedicated learning and teaching ‘resource base’ for up to 18 children with behavioural issues, with the boxing club continuing it at evenings and weekends.
A planning application was approved and the club had made arrangements with nearby Chester Park school to move there temporarily.
Boxing club coach Craig Turner said: “We were just waiting for the go-ahead.”
However, towards the end of last year the club and school trusts were told that the rebuilding project was cancelled, because the scheme would not meet the requirements of a new special educational needs and disabilities strategy, which favours larger school settings.
Craig said: “We were completely and utterly gobsmacked.”
The council had already sent surveyors into the building who drilled holes through several walls, took down part of the ceiling and dug trenches in the car park and grounds.
The decision means the club, which provides training and helps give a purpose to more than 100 children and young people from across the region, has been left in a building the council admits is in poor condition and requires “extensive structural improvements”.
Craig says the way the volunteer-run club and schools have been treated is “appalling”.
Members and coaches say the council must act to help the club survive.
Tom Shinner, 15, from Staple Hill, has been with the club a year, boxing three or four times a week. He said: “This gym to me is a family – it keeps me busy and keeps me occupied outside of school. It’s not just boxing – it’s a sense of belonging.”
The future of the building will now be considered by the council’s property team, but the authority says there is “no suggestion” the club’s tenancy will be cancelled.
Council children and young people committee chair Councillor Christine Townsend said: “The council is arranging repair works and will contact the club to confirm details.”