Boxing club opens in former Hull Council offices

A five-year project to transform a frozen food store and former council offices into a state-of-the-art boxing club has finally been completed in Hull.
By The Newsroom
Published 4th Apr 2016, 16:03 BST
Updated 4th Apr 2016, 16:21 BST
L-R: Dave Ettridge of Ettridge Architects, Mike Gibbons from City of Hull Boxing Club and Simon Delaney from chartered building surveyors Delaney Marling Partnership, who helped advise the building works.L-R: Dave Ettridge of Ettridge Architects, Mike Gibbons from City of Hull Boxing Club and Simon Delaney from chartered building surveyors Delaney Marling Partnership, who helped advise the building works.
L-R: Dave Ettridge of Ettridge Architects, Mike Gibbons from City of Hull Boxing Club and Simon Delaney from chartered building surveyors Delaney Marling Partnership, who helped advise the building works.

Some £350,000 has been spent on providing a new home for the City of Hull Sport and Community Group with part funding from Sport England and Hull Council.

After overcoming a challenging renovation of the two-storey building on Orchard Park, the boxing club’s owner Mike Gibbons hopes to use the facilities to develop a new generation of national boxing champions.

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Mr Gibbons, who runs the club with a group of volunteers in the former Heron Foods site, said: “It has been a hard slog getting the doors open, five years is a long time and we came across many issues.

“Now that we are open for business, we are helping young people come in off the streets and giving them something to focus on. I am sure we will be developing national champions from right here on Orchard Park.”

After years in the planning, the project team started work on the site last September with Ettridge Architecture and contractors Steve Simpson Building and Plumbing Services.

Dave Ettridge, director of Ettridge Architects, said: “The building was a bit of a nightmare in the beginning. There were brick walls built off floorboards without foundations and things like that so it really was one of those jobs where there were lots of hidden gems, a bit of a challenge, but it is such a nice community scheme, the most rewarding thing is seeing the building being used by the local community.”

The centre has a running track, gym, cafe and meeting rooms and its owners hope to attract yoga sessions and other classes to make use of community space on the second floor of the building.

Related topics:HullHeron Foods