{"id":550871,"date":"2026-04-26T00:31:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T00:31:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/550871\/"},"modified":"2026-04-26T00:31:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T00:31:21","slug":"the-boxing-club-breeding-champions-in-desperate-need-of-a-new-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/550871\/","title":{"rendered":"The boxing club breeding champions in desperate need of a new home"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is no skirting around the reality, Camborne and Redruth Amateur Boxing Club is in dire need of a new home – one where creeper vines don’t hold the walls together.<\/p>\n

Anyone coming through the door of the club on any given night of the week will be in no doubt about the passion, the enthusiasm and hard graft of all involved.<\/p>\n

But the club’s traditional home near Doalcoath mine, with its rich history, proud working class heritage and grassroot involvement, is sadly no long fit for purpose.<\/p>\n

“The building was erected in 1941 as a canteen for the staff working in the nearby ammunition factory,” Paul Murray, one of the coaches at the club, tells CornwallLive<\/a> when we visit.<\/p>\n

“It is not a building designed to host a modern boxing club. The facilities are old and decrepit. It’s not working anymore.”<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The home of the Camborne and Redruth Amateur Boxing Club near the Dolcoath Mine in Camborne has seen better days<\/p>\n

Paul takes us outside the building to show us the dire state of dilapidation. You can see rebar steel sticking out of the walls as they bulge out. Bits of masonry have fallen off.<\/p>\n

There are brambles everywhere and sadly, the land, which is owned by Camborne Town Council, attracts constant fly-tippers.<\/p>\n

“This bit of ivy is probably holding the building together,” Paul said both jokingly and seriously. “I think the building will fall down in the next five to 10 years.<\/p>\n

“If we want to continue to foster young talent and encourage more girls into the sport we need proper facilities to do that. At the moment we don’t even have separate changing rooms.<\/p>\n

“We can’t host events or competitions. The parents are stuck in the middle of the building when they bring their kids here. It’s just falling apart.”<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Camborne and Redruth Amateur Boxing Club near the Dolcoath Mine in Camborne needs new facilities for it is falling apart(Image: Olivier Vergnault \/ Cornwall Live)<\/p>\n

The Camborne<\/a> and Redruth<\/a> Amateur Boxing Club has a long and rich history. As a club it’s been going since 1965. It moved into the current building in 1972 before acquiring it in 1981.<\/p>\n

The H-shaped building now has ivy growing inside the gym. It feels cramped and decayed, something the club is all too aware of.<\/p>\n

The walls may be buckling and the space may now be inadequate but the passion you can see and feel inside when the young and old are training and sparring is undeniable. It runs deep.<\/p>\n

It’s seen on those very walls, in the photos of current and past members and the champions the club has trained and fostered over the years. This is a place proud of its working-class roots.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The club’s rich history is on display on the wall(Image: Olivier Vergnault \/ Cornwall Live)<\/p>\n

On the evening we visited, a group of about 20 under-12 kids were warming up, learning the moves and the stances that make a good boxer while their parents crammed into a cramped and barely-fit-for-purpose link-through corridor.<\/p>\n

As their training session finished, another group of young people, aged 13 to 18, filed in and started warming up and building their endurance up, skipping ropes and practising their jabs and uppercuts.<\/p>\n

Fighters then moved into one of the rings for some hard practice with pads while in the other ring, fighters from the visiting St Columb boxing club sparred with locals their age.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The current H shaped facilities at the Camborne and Redruth Amateur Boxing Club near Dolcoath Mine (Image: Create Design South West )<\/p>\n

“Boxing attracts working class society,” Paul said. “Cornwall is in the top 10 per cent most deprived areas in the UK. What we do here is offer a safe, cost effective facility for people of all ages to come and improve themselves.<\/p>\n

“It’s not about attracting bullies. It’s a venue where you will learn manners, form and discipline. We recognise that some of the lads may have issues at school or at home. This place offers them an outlet to take out that anger and anxiety in a controlled and disciplined manner.”<\/p>\n

By her own admission, Kate Bridgen came to boxing rather late in life. She was 23 when she picked up a pair of boxing gloves for the first time. But in the two years that followed, she rose to be a champion and earned herself a British title in her category.<\/p>\n

“It was therapy,” Kate, now 35, said: “I wanted to better myself. Boxing changed my life.”<\/p>\n

\"Kate<\/p>\n

Kate Bridgen, a fighter and coach at the Camborne and Redruth Amateur Boxing Club (Image: Olivier Vergnault \/ Cornwall Live)<\/p>\n

As there were not many women fighters at the club then, her coach would regularly drive her to Bristol so she could spar with other women.<\/p>\n

“This club matters to all these kids,” she added. “You get some kids who can’t even look you in the eyes when they come in. Others will be running around, swearing and be disrespectful. We’ll tell them to come back when they are better behaved. You have to be disciplined in boxing.<\/p>\n

“Now they have discipline and manners and are respectful. It’s life-changing. You hear some of their personal stories. It’s tough. But they have this outlet where nothing else matters and don’t think about other stuff going on in your life. You think of nothing. But it’s a good nothing.”<\/p>\n

\"Boxers<\/p>\n

Boxers from other clubs spar with members of the Camborne and Redruth Amateur Boxing Club during an evening training session (Image: Olivier Vergnault \/ Cornwall Live)<\/p>\n

Across the room, a group of fighters from St Columb Boxing Club are sparring with their local counterparts under the watchful eyes of their own coaches Charlie Scott and Steve Jewell.<\/p>\n

There are about 10 boxing clubs in Cornwall<\/a> and all visit each other regularly to give their members a different experience or to prepare them ahead of a fight.<\/p>\n

“It’s exciting as boxers go to other clubs,” Steve, who is also a competition judge, said. “It’s a different environment. It gives you a different edge.”<\/p>\n

The Camborne and Redruth<\/a> Amateur Boxing Club runs five evening sessions a week for under-12s, juniors, adults and learners as well as one session on Sunday morning. It has about 130 active members but only about 10 or so girls.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The under 12 at the Camborne and Redruth Amateur Boxing Club (Image: Olivier Vergnault \/ Cornwall Live)<\/p>\n

“For 40 years it was seen as a sports for blokes,” Paul said. “It’s only been in the last 20 years that girls and women have been encouraged to come into this environment.<\/p>\n

“We recognise that and we need to do more to attract that demographic. The government is also keen on seeing more women push into sports. Look the the Lionesses or the rugby team.<\/p>\n

“That’s why we need a new building.”<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, Historic England announced it was giving the club the thumbs up to demolish the current facilities and build a brand new boxing gym on the footprint of the current dilapidated building.<\/p>\n

“It would have been cheaper to build a brand new purpose-build facility somewhere else,” Paul admitted. “But there is so much history and heritage of the club here. We also own the site.”<\/p>\n

\"Paul<\/p>\n

Paul Murray, a coach at the Camborne and Redruth Amateur Boxing Club near the Dolcoath Mine in Camborne with Jason Jarvis from Create Design which helped design the plans for new facilities the club is hoping to build by 2028(Image: Olivier Vergnault \/ Cornwall Live)<\/p>\n

Designed by Create Design South West, the new club will replace the existing venue with a single-storey building which will be fit for purpose. It will boast disability-friendly facilities, changing rooms for male and female, and the capacity to host events and competition and make the community more welcome.<\/p>\n

Paul hopes the new building will be able to become a hub for other community groups during the day, whether it is mums and tots or yoga classes. He believes that if all goes well, the new facilities could be up and running by 2028.<\/p>\n

Charlie and Steve both agree seeing the Camborne and Redruth club born anew will be good for all of them.<\/p>\n

“With the new facilities it will be possible to host big competitions. Cornwall will become more competitive,” they said. “It will also help bring up the image of boxing in the wider community.”<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Camborne and Redruth Amateur Boxing Club near the Dolcoath Mine in Camborne needs new facilities(Image: Olivier Vergnault \/ Cornwall Live)<\/p>\n

The site is close to the former Dolcoath mine, the deepest and the richest in the county, once known as \u201cthe Queen of Cornish mines\u201d. The area sits within the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site.<\/p>\n

While the club now has planning consent to carry out the work to replace the building with a new one, there are conditions it has to comply with, including carrying out an archaeology and contamination survey of the site.<\/p>\n

Historic England said it is pleased with the revisions made to the original plans, which now “sit well alongside the nearby Grade II listed former compressor and engine houses – important and distinctive relics of the local mining heritage”.<\/p>\n

Rebecca Barrett, South West regional director at Historic England, said: “Dolcoath has an important place in Cornwall\u2019s mining history, a story traceable in its buildings and distinctive character.<\/p>\n

“The new boxing club is an opportunity to better reveal this legacy and create a new facility inspired by its historic setting.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The juniors during training at the Camborne and Redruth Amateur Boxing Club (Image: Olivier Vergnault \/ Cornwall Live)<\/p>\n

“We’re delighted to support this sensitively designed proposal for all the benefits it will bring, from its positive contribution to the World Heritage Site to the health and wellbeing of the local community.”<\/p>\n

Jason Jarvis, director at Create Design South West, whose firm designed the plans for the new facilities at the club, said he certainly didn’t expect them to go through planning this quickly as it has been “challenging” over the past two years.<\/p>\n

He said: “Great architecture not only harmonises with the context of the World Heritage Site and history of mining activities with the adjacent grade II listed compressor House and Engine House, but shapes a new building providing Camborne and Redruth Amateur Boxing Club with a quality environment for trainers, ringside shows and community groups.”<\/p>\n

\"Artist<\/p>\n

Artist impression of the new Camborne and Redruth Amateur Boxing Club are hoping to build by 2028(Image: Create Design & Architecture)<\/p>\n

Both Paul and Jason are fully aware that the next phase will be crucial before any work gets under way. Fundraising for the project will probably be the toughest fight the club has done in its history. But for Paul it is about “are creating a sustainable legacy”.<\/p>\n

He added: “This building will be a game-changer for Camborne. Working with Create Design and Historic England ensures we aren’t just building a gym; we are creating a sustainable legacy. We are providing our youth with a safe, inspiring space they can be truly proud of.<\/p>\n

“Our club has a rich heritage of its own, and its new home in a building designed to reflect the wider industrial spirit of the area honours where we\u2019ve come from.”<\/p>\n

Anyone who wants to support the club so it can have a sustainable future can contact Paul Murray at paul-murray@sky.com<\/a> or 07873 530093.<\/p>\n

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