A new boxing club that will host regular fighting events will be coming to the borough after plans were given the green light. 

A pavilion style office at Oaklands Business Centre, Oaklands Park, will be converted into a boxing and gym facility after the proposal received a unanimous decision from the council. 

The site, at Goldoak House, will host several shows on weekends throughout the year between 10am and 6pm, with a guarantee that they will not be held more frequently than once every three months. 

Residents have supported the “great addition” to the area, which they say will “help support” young people in Wokingham. 

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One said: “Great idea changing unused office business units and turning them into a boxing club and gym, we need more for the youth […] to get involved in.  

“Wokingham may have the next Tyson Fury out there.” 

The facilities, which will also contain an office, are to operate 24 hours a day, as the applicant states that many of their members work shifts and will, therefore, need to visit the facilities at night-time. 75 per cent of attendees are expected to frequent the site after 6pm. 

It is predicted that there will be approximately ten members in the gym at any one time, which is to be allocated for non-boxing purposes, with boxing classes starting from 6pm. 

The environmental health officer noted that the facilities have the potential to produce noise or vibrations that are “noticeable and intrusive”, which “must be assessed carefully” due to nearby residencies. 

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To mitigate this, the applicant ensures that music will be played “at a respectful level” at all times and a noise barrier, in the form of fencing, will be constructed to prevent noise from the associated car park. 

A roller door would also be installed – and closed by 6pm at the latest – to keep noise in the building, as well as the implementation of CCTV to ward off anti-social behaviour. 

There will be 39 parking spaces within the confines of the site. The scheme had originally proposed 16 spaces, however, this led to a previous application being rejected. 

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Additional cycle parking will be provided, designed to encourage members to either cycle or walk to the gym. 

Members highlighted the benefits that boxing can have for people and emphasised that these types of clubs offer somewhere to “train and socialise” in an environment that is “safe and secure”. 

“Coming out of lockdown, the gym provided […] a great way of supporting each other through life challenges [and] allowed for people to battle and work harder to get fitter,” one said.