The ‘DIY SOS’ team have embarked on one of their most important projects to date, as they rebuild a community space destroyed in the Grenfell Tower fire.
On Monday (26 March), the BBC series started work on rebuilding a boxing club, as well as a brand new multi-use space for locals, and is now calling for volunteers and donations of building supplies and interiors.
One of the spaces will be available for the whole community to use for a range of activities, while the other will be used as the new home for the Dale Youth Boxing Academy, which was previously housed in Grenfell Tower.
The new building will be situated close to the tower under the A40 Westway.
David Brindley, BBC Head of Commissioning, Popular Factual and Factual Entertainment, said: “This will be one of DIY SOS’s most important builds. It’s great news that the team have been able to work with the local community to find a site and a design that will leave a lasting legacy for all to share.”
Host Nick Knowles also shared his excitement about the project, saying: “It’s daunting in terms of scale and size even for us but we all make an important statement when we come together to work on something so ambitious, so positive and so needed.”
The Dale Youth Boxing Club was founded 60 years ago and had been based on the first floor of the Grenfell Tower for 18 years, prior to the the fire in June 2017. Since then, the club has set up a temporary base in a car park.
Over the years, the Dale Youth Boxing Club has successfully nurtured 200 Amateur Boxing Association champions, including the 2008 Beijing Olympic gold medal winner James DeGale and current world champion George Groves.
The club’s chairman Graham Gater said of the build: “After the Grenfell Tower fire, the club was in boxing terms knocked down, but thanks to BBC ‘DIY SOS’ and all the people who are volunteering and donating we are now able to beat the count, through their generous and immensely inspirational support.
“We are really looking forward to getting a new space.”
The team will work closely with the local residents, including those on the Lancaster West Estate, and Westway Trust - the charity which owns the land - and will help manage the new buildings to ensure the spaces are accessible and affordable for all.
If you wish to donate products, get involved or work as a volunteer, please email diysos@bbc.co.uk.