Youth club 'gobsmacked' as funding reinstated

John Plummer (left), pictured with former members of the Lifstan Boys Club, said it "should never have got this far"

Government funding for a new youth and boxing club building has been reinstated several months after being suddenly withdrawn, leaving members "gobsmacked".

The Lifstan Boys Club building in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, was due to be knocked down and rebuilt with the help of a £1.5m grant from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), but the funding was pulled at the last moment.

After weeks of campaigning - including writing to the culture secretary - the grant has now been reinstated.

Volunteer staff at the clubs told the BBC they had been "at the point of starting to give up hope" when the U-turn was confirmed.

'Blown away'

Lifstan Boys Club has been running since the 1950s and moved into its Lifstan Way premises in the 1960s, with Southend Amateur Boxing Club joining a few years later.

A pre-fabricated building, it was only meant to last for 30 years, and its roof and floor were too costly to maintain or repair.

The Lifstan Boys Club building - which the club moved into in the 1960s - was only meant to last 30 years

The £1.5m grant for a replacement building was secured from the DCMS as part of its Youth Investment Fund, which was managed by Social Investment Business (SIB).

The funding was pulled by SIB earlier this year - despite £200,000 already being spent on preparatory work and surveys - in a move which volunteer staff at the clubs described as "gutting".

The decision to reinstate the grant has been welcomed by the Essex Boys and Girls Clubs (EBGC), an umbrella organisation which secured the funding.

"I opened [the email] up and was just blown away," said Jay Solder, deputy county director for EBGC.

"The money is back but we need to make the project a reality. We need to make it happen - it's such a vital asset for the community."

'Joyous celebrations'

The Southend Amateur Boxing Club had moved out of the Lifstan building two years ago in anticipation of the rebuild. It has since been based in a former dance studio a couple of miles away, where a month's rent costs the same as a year at Lifstan.

"We were looking at six weeks and we'd have no money to stay," head coach Danny Neville told the BBC.

"The email came through and there were joyous celebrations all round!

"We were a bit gobsmacked really and couldn't believe it - we just never thought they'd overturn it."

The new building is set to be much larger, with plans for boxing facilities alongside provision for youth clubs and adult community initiatives.

Danny Neville, head coach at Southend Amateur Boxing Club, said he was "gobsmacked" by the news

John Plummer, treasurer of both clubs, said "it should never have come to this".

"Thankfully, someone's seen sense somewhere along the line and we're now on our way to start all over again," he added.

Bayo Alaba, the Labour MP for Southend East and Rochford, had written directly to the culture secretary Lisa Nandy about the club's fate.

He told the BBC he understood that the clubs had been "frustrated, rightly so", but that he was "over the moon" that the funding had been reinstated.

"It's an institution and [people] don't want to see a cut - they want to see investment," he said.

"We've got our heritage back and we can plan for the future for our young people."

'Greater flexibility'

Confirming the funding, a DCMS spokesperson said it is "working with [SIB] to reinstate the grant to its original value of £1.5m".


"This government is prioritising high-quality provision for youth services and ensuring we provide young people with the opportunities they need to thrive," they added. 


"Through our Plan for Change, we have conducted the biggest listening exercise with young people in a generation to ensure they have a genuine voice in shaping the policies that affect their lives."

In a statement, SIB confirmed that "the greater flexibility on DCMS' funding means they have given us approval for the grant to go ahead".

"This is good news for young people in Southend and we look forward to supporting the build and making the project a success," a spokesperson added.