Council urged to save 138-year-old Shadwell boxing club after rent increase
The Broad Street Amateur Boxing Club has trained young people for free since 1886, leaving the community fearful of losing the historic resource.
The Fire Brigades Union has urged Tower Hamlets Council to keep a ‘vital’ 138-year-old boxing club open as it faces a £64,000 yearly rent increase. Broad Street Amateur Boxing Club (ABC) in Shadwell has supported the sporting careers of young people and has been training them for free since 1886.
The club offers free coaching and mentoring and is open to everyone in exchange for members committing to training for five nights a week, and they must also be willing to compete in matches. The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) previously reported on the club fearing it will have to close as the council wants to increase the annual rent by over £60,000.
A council spokesperson previously told the LDRS it was keen to work with the club to reach an ‘amicable solution’ but with its current rent set at just £110 a year, there’s a real concern that solution may be hard to find. Broad Street first opened in 1886 under the Highway Clubs charity and was one of the charity’s many clubs for young people, but it’s now the only one left.
As a non-profit organisation, the club relies on fundraising and grants and has paid £110 per year in rent since 1957, however, the council has proposed a new annual rent of £64,000 as part of a 15-year lease. Matt Wrack, General Secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, wrote a letter to Mayor Lutfur Rahman, last month which warned there would be a ‘noticeable gap in our community’ if the club was to close.
Mr Wrack said, ‘The value of Broad Street Boxing Club extends beyond physical fitness. It provides a safe, supportive space where young people form friendships, gain confidence, and develop essential life skills like self-discipline and perseverance. These qualities help guide them toward positive futures, while the camaraderie and mentorship offered at the club are key to its success in keeping young people engaged and inspired.’
He later said, ‘Losing this resource would leave a noticeable gap in our community. I appeal to you to recognise the importance of Broad Street Boxing Club and to explore all possible avenues to ensure its continuation. Its impact on the lives of young people — and on the fabric of our community as a whole — makes it well worth preserving.’
John Davidson, a former boxer who is now a coach at the club, joined the fire service when he was 19 years old – through his help, a number of boys at the club have joined the London Fire Brigade. He said, ‘A few of the boys from this club now are in the fire service themselves that I’ve helped get through; that’s an ongoing process so there’s four now going through recruitment.’
On the club’s legacy, John said, ‘We don’t turn anyone away, the only thing we ask is we’d like you to compete because we are a boxing club at the end of the day. It gives them a bit of a drive and discipline as well which then translates into the outside world just to regulate their emotions as well.
‘Most of the kids around here come from broken homes. My upbringing was really rough and I struggled with regulating my emotions, which is something the boxing club helped me to just focus with and I couldn’t imagine my life without it.’
Head coach Ray McCallum added, ‘We are incredibly grateful for all of the support we have received from so many including the Fire Brigades Union since the news article. I do hope this shows the value of the service we provide to the community. The cost of living crisis has caused financial hardship for many families, we are providing a free service and a lifeline to many young people. I would appeal to Tower Hamlets Council to help keep this valuable community asset secure for years to come.’
Tommy Borg, who has been training at the club for over 10 years and regularly competes in fights, sees the club as his home and counts the coaches and other boxers as his family. He said, ‘[The club] is so good, and I’m just sad that the council is trying to get rid of it by putting an unreachable goal of increasing the money. It’s just ridiculous, it’s not fair and I just don’t think it’s right.
‘We’ve not got enough like that around, especially in Tower Hamlets. I don’t think there’s any charity-run clubs like this that want to see boys and girls do better.’ The council has also offered a three to five-year lease at an 80 per cent discount, but the club has rejected it as it doesn’t offer them long-term security.
The club, which is run by volunteers, says it has been trying to negotiate a new lease with the council after its 60-year protected lease ran out in 2017. A spokesperson for the council previously told the LDRS, ‘We are aware of the club’s preference to have a longer lease and note they have rejected taking a community lease, which could have allowed them to receive an 80 per cent rent reduction over three to five years.
‘Because of their preference, we are required to go through the court process for the market rent to be determined and have instructed an expert to assess the case, which is currently ongoing. There is a range of support and funding options available for community groups, and officers will liaise with the club to help them access these.’
