Boxing club is losing fight for survival (From Oxford Mail)

Boxing club is losing fight for survival

2:00pm Tuesday 31st January 2012 in Abingdon

A BOXING club could throw in the towel in its fight to build a £150,000 gym and community centre in south Abingdon.

Abingdon Town Amateur Boxing Club is frustrated its plan has not received more financial support from councils and other grant-giving bodies.

So far, in eight years of fundraising, about £30,000 has been raised for the Caldecott Recreation Ground scheme.

Head coach Robert Southey, 50, of Compton Drive, said: “When I see where money has gone over the last eight years I wonder why couldn’t the council come up with the money to build a hall for the community?

“I am working to take people off the streets, so why can’t they?”

The club believes a move to south Abingdon from its current base at Dalton Barracks would allow more youngsters to train with them.

He said there was a great boxing history in the area with Muhammad Ali’s famous visits to boxing friend Paddy Monaghan who lived in Saxton Road.

And more than three years ago some 2,000 residents signed a petition supporting the project.

Mr Southey added: “It is frustrating when you see millions going here and thousands going there. Why can’t they give money for a good cause that people want?”

The club, which boasts 30 members, wants to build a gym but it will also offer the space for community groups to use.

He added: “If it weren’t for Dalton Barracks we wouldn’t be here.”

Gary Hibbins, youth worker at the Abingdon Bridge Project, said there was a need for more positive activities for youngsters.

He said: “It is not just about the physical stuff, it’s about engaging with positive role models.

“Certainly in south Abingdon if they got that up and running, and it was run properly, it would be a huge benefit to the local community.”

In 2010, Berinsfield Boxing Club opened a £340,000 extension after a 10-year fundraising drive.

Head coach Mel Corrigan said the Abingdon club would have to work hard and shop around for different grants.

He said: “You have to keep at it. You have to keep plugging at it time and time again and it is so hard. But it is well worth the hard work.”

The build was given planning permission by Vale of White Horse District Council in 2007.

Abingdon Town Council leader Sandy Lovatt agreed the club should not give up.

He said: “In these times it is very difficult to get money out of the councils for something as heavy as this.

“They ought to keep their powder dry for the moment and hold onto the money they have got.”