News / Empire Fighting Chance
Ambitious expansion plans to secure future of boxing charity in inner city
The team at Empire Fighting Chance have revealed details of £1.8m expansion plans that they say would secure their long-term future in Easton.
The boxing gym has been working to positively impact young lives in inner city Bristol for decades and officially launched its charity wing in 2013, going on to have national reach with its work to tackle the impact of inequality.
Empire bosses say they feel compelled to respond as a “perfect storm” of austerity, cuts to youth services, Covid and the cost of living crisis means the demand for their services and support is at an all-time high. As such, their current premises are no longer fit for purpose.
is needed now More than ever
Revised plans have been submitted for a two-storey extension to the existing building, The Mill, on Lower Ashley Road and construction of a new multi-purpose sports hall on the site of the existing outdoor basketball court.
Planning has already been secured for a one-storey extension, but the Empire team say they need more space to fulfil their ambition to increase the number of young people in Bristol they work with from 3,500 to 5,000 and create a community hub that offers services and activities to families.
The team at Empire Fighting Chance have revealed details of £1.8m expansion plans that they say would secure their long-term future in Easton – image: Empire Fighting Chance
The charity also aspires to increase the number of young people it reaches though partners from 6,000 to 15,000.
Speaking about the future plans, chief operating officer Jamie Sanigar says: “The expansion will secure our long term future on the site to stay in inner city Bristol, which is imperative when we see property around us going up and up and a lot of change. So, for us to keep our presence here around Easton and the St Paul’s community is vital. It’s of course where we started and part of our heritage, and vital to maintain hold of.
“Secondly, we’ve grown significantly as an organisation over the last six to seven years and we need space for our work to grow and continue to scale up, as we work across more parts of the country.
“But, most importantly, it will give us extra space to deliver our services. And that is directly to young people we work with, but it will also allow us to increase the community space that we can offer for other organisations to use Empire as a base for more support services to young people and families. We want to see The Mill used as a space for multi-agency working, where we can collectively make a real change to the lives of people locally.”
The proposed development will incorporate office space, premises to share with local organisations and flexible spaces for delivery, training and meetings.
Empire bosses add that by expanding and improving their Easton base, they hope to achieve three organisational priorities that will take the charity’s impact to a whole new level.
These are to:
- Create a global centre of excellence at The Mill in which programmes are operating at optimal scale and to the highest possible standard.
- Take on greater responsibility for improving the local community by sharing The Mill with local organisations and a new Office of Violence Prevention for inner city Bristol.
- Grow a movement of individuals and organisations delivering work in their communities across the UK through using The Mill to showcase what Empire does and as a training centre.
Empire bosses say they feel compelled to respond to the “crisis” as a “perfect storm” of austerity, cuts to youth services, Covid and the cost of living crisis means the demand for their services and support is at an all-time high – photo: Empire Fighting Chance
Empire has secured £1.1m of the £1.8m needed to make the ambition a reality. Charity bosses are now working on getting the remaining funding in via existing partners. Anyone interested in getting involved can contact joanna@empirefightingchance.org.
Main image: Empire Fighting Chance
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