Darnhill and Heywood Boxing Club is returning home after being granted £300,000 towards rebuild

Date published: 14 November 2022

The committee working to rebuild the Darnhill and Heywood Boxing Club has been awarded over £300,000 towards realising this vision.

After seven long years, the boxing club will be rebuilt – and enhanced – following the successful funding bid to the Queen’s Jubilee Fund, allowing the formation of a personal and professional self-development centre and boxing club on the site of the former club.

The club’s old building was a former scout hut, donated by Our Lady and St Paul’s Church, which was destroyed in an arson attack in 2015.
 

Read more: Heywood and Darnhill Amateur Boxing club destroyed in arson attackPublished: 22 April 2015

After breaking ground in 2019, it was realised the land was jointly owned by both Rochdale and Manchester councils – meaning two lots of planning, rent, etc. – so the land was filled back in and premises secured just 50m away, the original home of the club, at the back of Darnhill Library.
 

Read more: Work begins to rebuild Darnhill and Heywood Boxing Club four years after club was destroyed by arsonPublished: 23 January 2019

Originally the committee had applied for funding from Viridor, with a maximum offer of £10,000. Due to requiring more than £250,000, the committee was signposted to the Valencia Communities Fund’s Jubilee Legacy Project.

The scheme was open earlier this year to all, with up to £300,000 available to one outstanding project with long-lasting benefit to the community.

However, applications closed that very same day – although it was left open for a few days longer as a gesture of goodwill for the committee.

Chairman Dale Gaucas explained: “We rallied around the committee members and after putting in a good 15 hours into the application, we handed it in half an hour before the deadline on Monday morning.”

Two weeks later, Dale found out the group had been successful in reaching the second stage with just 10 projects shortlisted out of hundreds.

“This is where the hard work started; we had three months to fill in the second stage and we put in over 200 hours of voluntary work. It meant just as much to the committee as it did to me.”

Initially the group had planned to rebuild the boxing club, but after consideration, wanted to put back into the community in more ways, providing more opportunities.

“A personal and professional self-development centre and boxing club would allow us to provide education and reach every demographic,” Dale said. “It would benefit the whole, not a minority.

“Over the years, people had lost faith in us to deliver what we set out to do. We took personal attacks both publicly and socially and still stood through it.”

Then the life-changing voicemail message came - the Darnhill and Heywood Boxing Club committee had been successful and secured the full amount of money.

Dale said: “At times it felt like there was no reward, but this offer is the Hail Mary. It seemed like the stars aligned. We’ve had many setbacks, but we never lost faith.”

Although many volunteers have come on board and left over the years, four members of the committee have stayed the course, becoming trustees: Dale Gaucas, Peter Mulligan, Richard Law and Steve Williams.

Since the beginning they have believed in the vision and the benefit to the community, meeting for committee meetings, charity events, completing fundraising applications and applying for planning permission.

The remainder of the committee is made up of Paula Kelvin, Lisa and Mark Grundy, Mohammed Zarafat, Arthur Gardiner and Stuart Hampson.

The project has been awarded the full funding amount of £304,000 but is required to pay 10% - meaning £272,340 remains to build the centre.

“We broke ground before, and if we’d have continued, we wouldn’t have had the funds for this 10% and we wouldn’t have been able to do it,” Dale added.

“We can’t go over budget: this is the community’s money which they’ve entrusted to us, which is a very high honour. It’s very difficult to stand up, ask for money and tell the community things are imploding.

“Having travelled all over, home is the place I want to help. I want to put into the place that raised me and give back. It will revitalise the community and bring hope and opportunities to people, be a platform for them to achieve what they want in life, fitness, knowledge, relationships, wealth and creation.

“Even with setbacks, we never lost faith. We worked on the first lot of land for 18 months and sank £6,000 into it. The answer lay 50m away, where the original club was.

“We’re returning home.”

The personal and professional self-development centre and boxing club is expected to create around four to six jobs, and opens up the ability to apply for further funding.

The centre is expected to open late spring/early summer next year.