Livingston club not allowed to put up boxing ring

Dec 15 2011 by Allan Valente, West Lothian Courier

A LIVINGSTON martial arts club that received council and community centre donations to buy a boxing ring has been banned from erecting it after spending more than £2000.

Cobra Martial Arts Scotland, whose members use the Mosswood Community Education Centre twice a week, started a fundraising campaign in August to buy a boxing ring to place in room GP2 after seemingly getting the go-ahead from members of the centre’s committee.

West Lothian Council also awarded the club £400, while the Mosswood committee itself gave £50.

However, two weeks after buying the ring, the club were told they would not be allowed to permanently place it in the room.

Sensei James McLelland, founder member and president of the club, said: “They absolutely knew the ring was meant to be going into that room.

“Later on the chairman of the committee sent me a letter saying that I shouldn’t have been promised the space.

“But the night I was promised it members of the committee also donated £50 to the fund so they must have some say in things.

“They said at the time that as long as they had enough space to get into the hatch in the room for functions then it wouldn’t be a problem having the ring left up in there.

“We talked about a portable ring but that just moves about, it doesn’t fold away.”

James says the ring which was bought does fold away but would take too long to assemble and take apart before each session.

He added that the council offered the club, which has been operating in Livingston for the past 20 years and moved into Mosswood more than three years ago, an alternative space in Fauldhouse which was too far away.

James added: “We received £400 from the council after submitting forms and looking for help and it was paid into our account as part of a disbursement fund.

“They also offered a space in an industrial unit costing £580 a month, which we couldn’t afford, and we found it unsuitable with lorries going in and out with kids there anyway.”

And James, who paid half of the £2200 needed for the ring out of his own pocket, said: “It’s not as if the club isn’t going well – one of the boys in the class is ranked number two in Scotland and one of our girls is a UK champion, so we have had plenty of success.

“We don’t make money, we are not commercial. We’re a club doing it for the community. Mosswood gets the credit when these guys do well.”

A West Lothian Council spokesperson said: “During discussions with the management committee prior to the purchase of the boxing ring, the club was advised to investigate buying a portable ring due to concerns that a permanent one would not be a viable option.

“As a community facility, Mosswood needs to be able to flexibly cater for a wide range of youth, adult, social and educational activities, and allowing a room to be dedicated to one group who only use it two nights would not be appropriate in this instance.

“A boxing ring would prevent other groups who regularly use the General Purpose 2 room from holding their meetings, events and computer classes.

“These include Knightsridge Tenants & Residents Association, Knightsridge Gala day Committee, Burnhouse School, Knit In and Adult Education classes, as well as booked functions, who use the room for a buffet and/or a licensed bar.

“We appreciate the disappointment this might cause to the club, and hope we can still accommodate their training at Mosswood in the future. Our Sports and Outdoor Education Team are keen to work with Cobra Martial Arts to try and find a resolution.”