Funding Approved For Major Expansion Of Eastfield's Westway Boxing Club

North Yorkshire Council has green-lit a £350,000 investment to double the capacity of Westway Boxing Club in Eastfield, securing a state-of-the-art facility for the community.

North Yorkshire Council has approved a £350,000 funding allocation to support the major expansion of Westway Boxing Club in Eastfield.

The capital funding request was approved as an exception to standard policy due to time-critical cost pressures. The club has secured full planning permission and obtained a time-limited construction quote of £700,000. According to the council, delaying the project could have resulted in costs exceeding £1 million.

Scarborough-based Broadland Properties has already stepped in to cover the first £350,000, in addition to funding the design and planning work, leaving the council to provide the remaining half of the project costs. The council's contribution will be formed of a £236,000 underspend from the demolition of Overdale School, alongside £114,000 drawn from the residual Eastfield capital receipts reserve.

The proposed extension will provide additional gym space, a main training hall with a full-size boxing ring, toilets, changing areas, a cafe, classrooms, and storage. The local authority anticipates that footfall will increase from around 300 to 500 people per week.

Eastfield Councillor Tom Seston said:

"I've lived down the street from this club my whole life. I'm about 100 meters from the front door. Over the years, I've seen how well attended it is. I've seen them out running. I've seen them using the park in front. I've known people who've used it.

I've known people I was at school with who's where they've turned around by this place over the years. People who could have gone off the straight and narrow, shall we say. And this mentorship that the club provides has made an immeasurable difference in their lives and I would imagine their family's lives.

Expanding this club will take it to the next level."

Councillor Tom Seston added:

"The expansion will more than double the size of the club and it will allow it to essentially operate as two classes at once, so you are essentially doubling the capacity of the club.

As with other projects that have been undertaken by Broadland Properties Properties, such as Scarborough Rugby Club and the Bramcote running track, this will be a high class facility, and for essentially an investment of 350,000 pounds, we are getting so much social good from this project."

Richard Guthrie, of Broadland Properties, said:

“This is fantastic news for Eastfield and for everyone who uses Westway Boxing Club. The funding will help the club grow, modernise and continue delivering real benefits for local people and we’re delighted to play our part in making it happen.”

The expanded premises will create more space for young people, vulnerable adults, alternative education, and specialist health programmes.

Councillor Malcolm Taylor said:

"In my previous professional career I worked in Eastfield and I've seen first-hand the diversionary work that boxing club does for young people, not just in Eastfield, but also in the wider community as well. I think this is an excellent project, it's a really credible project and I'm really happy to support it."

Councillor Heather Phillips said:

"It's been one of the ambitions to expand the club for a long time, I believe. And I know maybe boxing might not be everybody's cup of tea, but it instills discipline and respect in people from a very young age up to, you've got people I believe in your 70s and 80s that benefit as well because of the Parkinson's program. So, it is a massively important project for an area that has maybe been left behind, and now they'll be able to lead in helping their residents their way."

Following the funding approval, Westway Boxing Club released a statement confirming that the project is now officially moving forward.

A spokesperson for Westway Boxing Club said:

"Today, a three-year journey of quiet persistence becomes a reality.

What began as a mere sketch on a scrap of paper is now officially moving forward, having secured vital funding from Broadland properties and North Yorkshire Council.

This is a monumental milestone for Westway Boxing Club. The path to this day was rarely smooth. It required three years of relentless planning, endless meetings, and constant adaptations. At times, the uncertainty was heavy, and the process felt like walking a tightrope while balancing an egg on my head. Yet, Stoic philosophy teaches us that obstacles do not block the path; they are the path. Every setback was simply training for this moment.

I feel a profound sense of gratitude for everyone who stood by this vision. While I recognize the immense luck and privilege of being in this position, I also know the quiet discipline it took to get here.

The paperwork is done. Now, the real work begins. We look forward to building an incredible facility, delivering impactful community projects, and creating lifelong memories through the power of boxing.

Time to deliver."

The funding for the boxing club comes as part of a wider regeneration effort in Eastfield. In December last year, North Yorkshire Council asked Eastfield community groups to agree on a single plan for how £3.2 million in regeneration funding should be used in the area.

This funding is an exception to the authority’s previous decision that money from the £3.2 million reserve would only be allocated after a community led investment plan is developed through the Town Investment Plan (TIP) process.

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