Boost for Sport Facilities in Whitby

Sport in Whitby has received a major boost with the approval of funding for two separate projects.

The next stage of funding for the new 3G pitch at Eskdale will be released by the Borough Council once a community use agreement is in place with Eskdale School and over £117,000 of funding is to be released to Whitby Boxing Club for an extension at the Whitby Eastside Community Centre

Councillor Carl Maw says there will be benefits for the whole community.

Whitby Boxing Club was founded in 2014 through a partnership of local residents and agencies working on the Eastside of Whitby.

It has operated out of premises at St Patrick’s Church on Church Street, but while these premises have served a purpose in helping to establish and embed the Club within the local community the Club has now outgrown them which has resulted in them operating at full capacity. This in turn has led to a situation where there is a permanently oversubscribed waiting list and the Club are now having to start turning a number of young people away.

The Boxing Club's plan is to build a purpose built 220m squared open plan extension to the South side of the existing Eastside Community Centre which is currently unused green space.The extension will include a large training space for the exclusive use of Boxing / training / combat sports activity under a long-term lease agreement with the Council. The extension will also include a new purpose built reception area which will be used by the Boxing Club and other Centre users as the new main entry point into the buildings as it will link both the existing Centre space and will be staffed by a mix of paid staff and volunteers. The new extension build will incorporate new toilet facilities with disabled access, that will be for the exclusive use of the boxing club and will ensure that boxers will not have to walk through and disturb other sessions in the main hall to access the existing toilets. The training space will have its own entrance but will be accessible from the existing Centre via a set of bi-folding doors.

In addition to the Borough Council funding £150,000 has been secured by the Boxing Club from the Sport England Community Asset Fund and a further £50,000 has been secured from the Sirius Minerals

In addition to Cabinet also agreed yesterday (November 17th) to release funding to Eskdale School for the completion of the new 3G pitch on the site as soon as a community use agreement is signed with the School.

The scheme will provide a brand new, full size, floodlit 3G pitch located on Eskdale School fields, with community use. The hope is that the project will provide significantly improved facilities for football and other sport within Whitby and will assist in the development and growth of football in the locality for existing grass roots clubs. It's anticipated that the facility will drive new participation, including opportunities to develop inclusive football including walking, visually impaired and mental health football formats and develop opportunities for women and girls football. The scheme has been developed in partnership with Eskdale School, the Football Foundation, North Riding County FA.

Councillor Carl Maw says the addition of these new facilities in Whitby will have a big impact on local sporting opportunities.