A PRESTON Boxing Club is celebrating after receiving grant monies which will enable it to build a new £350,000 state-of the-art facility in the city. 

Larches and Savick Amateur Boxing Club has been awarded £75,000 from the Amateur Boxing Association (ABA), £50,000 from Sport England and £12,000 from sported. 

The awards will enable the club, in partnership with building contractor Marcus Worthington Group, to build brand new premises at its current site on Elswick Road, Larches. Marcus Worthington Group is contributing £175,000 towards the scheme. 

The new Boxing Club will be almost double in size and will boast some of the most state-of-the-art facilities in the North West – enabling it to become a regional ‘Centre of Excellence.’ 

Larches and Savick Amateur Boxing Club was set up 10 years ago by former Preston boxers Joe Kilshaw, David Fitzgerald and Jimmy Moon and around 100 children and adults attend the boxing club each week. 

Over the years the club has home grown a number of boxers who have gone on to be regional and national ABA champions, but now due to the popularity and success of the club it has outgrown its current premises. 

Joe Kilshaw, Chairman of Larches and Savick Amateur Boxing Club, said today’s announcement is the news they have long been waiting for. 

He said: “This is fantastic news not only for the club but for the whole of the local community. This means that we will now be able to introduce more young people to our sport and they will have access to some of the most modern and state-of-the-art boxing facilities around.” 

The centre will include two boxing rings, a fully equipped gym and workout area, male and female changing facilities and showers and an education and training room. It will be built to environmentally friendly standards and will have full access for people with disabilities. 

Work is expected to start on the new building at the beginning of August 2012 and will take approximately four months to complete. 

The Club has been supported through the bidding process for these awards by Preston City Council’s Sport and Leisure department who own the land and lease it to the club at a community rate. While the building work takes place on the new facility the council’s sports and leisure team has agreed that the Larches and Savick boxers can use the sporting facilities at Preston College to continue their training. 

Stephen Daley, Preston City Council’s Principal Leisure Manager, said: “This is really exciting news for the city and as the new facilities will be up and running by December it will be a fitting end to the Guild year and the European City of Sport year for Preston.” 

Councillor Mark Jewell, Treasurer of Larches and Savick Amateur Boxing Club and local county councillor representing Preston North West, said: “This is really exciting news not only for the local community but for the city of Preston and central Lancashire as a whole. We have an eye to hosting a national team for the European Games in 2014 and who knows we may have our own Olympic Champion for 2016.” 

Twice ABA national champion, European championship silver medallist and World championship bronze medallist Lisa Whiteside, who trains at the Larches and Savick Club, said: “We are really proud of what we have been able to achieve at the club so far, but these new facilities will enable us to be amongst the best in the country.” 

Russell Worthington, Development Director for Marcus Worthington Group said: “We have been closely involved in this project for three years so it is wonderful to see that work on the new facility can now get underway. 

“The new premises will be one of the most advanced in the North West, combining state-of-the-art sporting equipment with a modern, purpose-built, environmentally friendly building. The project shows just what can be achieved when the private sector, the voluntary sector and the public sector work together.” 

Mark Abberley, Chief Executive of the Amateur Boxing Association (ABA) said: “The Amateur Boxing Association are delighted to be able to support this project, which will enable the club to develop and promote boxing to the local community and further afield. We would like to congratulate them on their success in securing funding for this project and look forward to seeing the new facilities.”

Sport England is supporting the club through its Inspired Facilities Fund which is part of the £150M Places People Play legacy programme that is bringing the magic of a home Olympic and Paralympic Games into communities across the country.

Chair of Sport England, Richard Lewis, said: “This National Lottery investment will create a lasting sporting legacy for Preston. This fund has really hit the mark with sports clubs in Lancashire and the North West. It shows we’re offering the legacy that people want for their local community. For hundreds of clubs and tens of thousands of people, 2012 will be the year their local sports facilities got better.”

Sported have donated £12,000 for new equipment for the gym and ongoing support through a sported mentor, John Kirby, to ensure the long term success of the club after it is built. 

Rehana Koser, Regional Manager of sported, said: “We are delighted to have supported Larches and Savick, as their focus is not only on developing champions, but being a true community hub and making a positive impact on the lives of the local young people and the community.”

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