Help NPBA Restore & Reopen The Trades Ground Floor

by Northern Powerhouse Boxing Academy in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom

Total raised £37,890

raised so far

264

supporters

Help us refurbish this town centre space, closed since the 2015 Hebden Bridge Floods, into a vibrant hub for exercise, youth, and community.

by Northern Powerhouse Boxing Academy in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom

We're still collecting donations

On the 30th November 2024 we'd raised £37,810 with 261 supporters in 54 days. But as every pound matters, we're continuing to collect donations from supporters.

 donated match funding
Aviva Community Fund is providing live match funding

 New stretch target

All money raised will go towards our total refurbishment cost of £320,000.  More money raised through crowdfunder will mean we need to find less from grant awarding bodies at a time when so many community organisations are seeking funding.


A Few Helpful Notes Before We Begin

This Crowdfunder offers REWARDS generously provided by local businesses, and we are incredibly grateful for their support. If you’d prefer, you can also donate without selecting a reward.

We’re delighted to have match funding from the Aviva Community Fund - £1 for £1 up to £250! They’ll match the first donation from each supporter, so if you’re considering multiple rewards, please select the higher-value one first to help us maximise this support.

The Project:

Our goal is to refurbish the ground floor of The Trades in Hebden Bridge, a space that has been closed since the floods of 2015. We plan to create a flood-resilient, energy-efficient community hub that promotes physical and mental well-being for everyone in our local community. This new facility will house our boxing club while also offering a safe space for people of all ages to participate in structured exercise, socialise, and access support. A key focus of our project is creating a space where young people can engage in structured activities or simply relax and feel safe. The space will also feature a dedicated homework/chill-out room, changing rooms, shower facilities, and a kitchen, ensuring a welcoming environment for all.

Making this space flood-resilient and soundproofed (ensuring that neither tenant impacts the other) makes this an expensive project, which is why it has remained empty for so long. This has deprived the Upper Calder Valley of a community space originally built by local trade unions in 1924 to serve the people.

We know that many of you love our club, many love this important building, and many want to support organisations like ours that support our community. That’s why we’re asking for your donations to help us reach our goal and breathe new life into this historic building. We’re calling on our local community to help us raise the final 10% needed to reach our £320,000 target.

Our story:

Northern Powerhouse Boxing Academy is proud to be the first women-led boxing club in the UK. Our mission is to make positive contributions to the physical and mental well-being of our community by providing a safe, inclusive space where everyone is welcomed and empowered through boxing, exercise, and social inclusion.

We run twenty timetabled sessions per week, along with workshops, courses, holiday clubs, and free access to sport for those who need it most. Many of our programmes are funded so that financial barriers do not prevent people from accessing the benefits of sport and exercise. We are dedicated to making fitness accessible, especially in our rural area where opportunities for organised indoor sports are limited.

Each year, we support around 400-500 individuals, with a total of 6000-7000 participation. Our members range in age from 7 to 77, and come from diverse social backgrounds, ethnicities, and genders. While we primarily serve the communities of Todmorden, Hebden Bridge, and Mytholmroyd, we also welcome participants from much further afield. Our work extends beyond our gym, reaching into local schools, social services, youth and community groups, with a list and testimonials provided below.

The feedback from our members clearly shows that NPBA provides crucial support during difficult times—sometimes even proving to be lifesaving. We want to expand this essential support to as many people as possible across the valley, which is why we are moving to a bigger and better premises!

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The need for a bigger facility

For the past 6 years, our premises at Eastwood have served us well, but they now limit what we can achieve. By creating a new, larger facility, we will have the capacity to offer more programmes and reach more people across the community. This new space will be fully accessible for people of all ages and abilities, enabling us to expand the community work, workshops, and events that already have a positive impact on those around us.

With a larger facility, we will increase our reach, enhance our programmes, and support even more people in improving their physical and mental well-being. We believe in the power of community-driven spaces, and this new facility will help us make an even greater difference in the lives of the individuals and families we serve.

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The Trades Building

Our new premises will be located on the ground floor of The Trades Building, a disused community space in the heart of Hebden Bridge, on the edge of Calder Holmes Park.

This space has remained closed since 2015, when it was flooded along with the rest of Hebden Bridge Town Centre. Between 2017 and 2020, funds were raised by the local community and various grant providers to bring the space to a 'first fix' stage, including some flood prevention measures and wheelchair-accessible facilities.

Built in 1924 by local trade unions, The Trades Club has deep community roots. Funded by contributions from textile workers, it was intended as a union headquarters and recreational space. As the textile industry declined, the building fell into disuse until the Labour Party's local branch took it on, now administered by the Building Management Committee. It is held in trust for the community which means it will never be leased or refurbished by a for-profit organisation. However, without a community-driven initiative, this space risks remaining empty for many more years. We have a viable strategy to bring this space back to life, and we hope others share our vision.

Our aim is to create a community asset that honours the principles on which it was founded in 1925. We want this space to truly benefit the people of Hebden Bridge.

(Pic below.. Post 2015 floods....preparing for the new floor)

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Big plans for a big space

Our new premises will cover approximately 150 square metres - more than double the space we had before! In addition to the expansive main area, there will be a kitchen, a shower, a locker room, and a homework room - a quiet space for young people to use.

The benefits of moving to this building are numerous:

  • A Community Hub: We'll create a space that is not only used by NPBA but is also open to other community-driven social and recreational groups, making it a true community hub.

  • Revitalising a beloved space: We'll bring a cherished but disused ground-floor space back to life - something the local community has long been eager to see happen.

  • Central, accessible location: With our new, centrally located premises, those with limited mobility due to age, injury, or disability will find it easier to attend, ensuring that our services are accessible to all.

  • After-school youth services: We'll create a welcoming indoor space for young people to go after school - a much-needed provision in Hebden Bridge that provides a safe and supportive environment.

  • Outdoor opportunities: With our proximity to Calder Holmes Park, we can offer outdoor programmes that foster a sense of community and belonging. These activities will help make our green spaces more welcoming and safer for everyone, particularly women and young people, to enjoy.

    (Pic below - the premises in 2023 with a new floor)

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How we’ll spend the money raised

The funds raised will be used to complete essential work to make the ground floor space well insulated and flood-resilient. If you live in Hebden Bridge, you know that flooding is a reality. That's why we're implementing special measures so that, in the event of a flood, we can simply clean up and reopen quickly, ensuring minimal disruption to our services.

Our commitment to the environment

The building has already undergone work for flood protection and wheelchair accessibility. We plan to add further flood mitigation measures to ensure the space remains operational even after flooding.

We will install new glazing and insulation to improve energy efficiency and provide soundproofing, ensuring a comfortable environment for all users. Additionally, a renewable energy heat pump will make our facility sustainable, resilient to energy costs and environmentally friendly.

The space will be accessible to everyone, not only for wheelchair users but also for those with other physical disabilities and neurodiverse needs, ensuring inclusivity for all members of our community.

All this work doesn't come cheap, but it’s crucial to refurbish this space to a high standard so it can serve the community for years to come.

How we'll use your support

The total cost to refurbish the ground floor is approximately £320,000. This includes:

  • Soundproofing: Ceiling, walls, and glazing
  • Flooring: Concrete base and surface covering
  • Flood Defence Work
  • Plumbing in Heat Pump system plus WC's and Shower Room
  • Internal Building Work: Walls, damp proofing, flood resistant boarding, and plastering
  • Waste Removal & Skip Hire
  • Painting and decorating
  • Roof Repair & Velux Window Installation
  • Electrics: CCTV, alarm system, lighting, and rewiring
  • Purchase of Air Source Heat Pump
  • Locker Room, Meeting Room, Office Joinery
  • Kitchen installation
  • Relocation Costs
  • New Gym Equipment
  • Professional Fees: Building control, Architect, Project Management, structural engineer and more!
  • Contingency: Inflation and non-recoverable VAT

    Our funding plan:
  • Rural England Fund: £79,000 (funding agreed)
  • Gosling Foundation: £10,000  (funding agreed)
  • Community Foundation for Calderdale: £5,000  (funding agreed)
  • National Lottery Reaching Communities: £195,000 (awaiting Stage 2 decision)
  • Crowdfunder: £32,000

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Our commitment to the Community

We provide much more than boxing and fitness classes. Our special workshops and courses address important topics like teenage self-defence and menopause wellbeing. Here are a few:

  • Moving Through Menopause: As a women-led organisation, we've seen the impact of menopause firsthand. Since 2022, our program has helped women stay active and healthy, featuring workshops with an expert panel, including a GP, and an eight-week funded training program.

  • Trans & Non-Binary Class: A fully funded weekly boxing class, creating a safe space for the trans and non-binary community. This initiative, developed in response to the pandemic, helps inform England Boxing's Trans Inclusion Policy. Watch the video here: NPBA Trans & NB Boxing Film.

  • Self Protection & StreetWise Workshops: Free workshops for teenage girls as well as in primary schools to help with the transition to secondary school.

  • Girls Only Sessions: The only exclusive exercise class for teenage girls in Calderdale, helping prevent dropout from sport with around 20 teenage girls attending weekly.

  • Free School Meals Program: Since 2020, children on Free School Meals can participate in our programs for free, ensuring everyone has access.

We also collaborate with local organisations like Active Calderdale, Upper Valley Social Prescribing, CAHMS, Reach4Wrd, Cloud Youth Club, Calderdale Young Carers, Calderdale Care Leavers, St Augustine's Centre for Refugees, TimeOut Calderdale, Project Challenge, and local primary and secondary schools.

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Testimonials

Local charity senior staff member: “Thank you for opening your doors and allowing our centre members to access your facilities. It has been one of my highlights of the year to have arranged this. It has allowed a group of vulnerable women to not only access physical fitness but to improve self-confidence and self-esteem, where ordinarily they wouldn’t have had that opportunity. Seeing the pictures of the women after their session has been fantastic. It helps us to make the women feel like Calderdale is home.”

Trans/Non Binary Session Participant: "I currently make a 4 hour round trip to come to these Trans Accessible boxing sessions, that alone should be a testament to how important and needed community, sports and well-being activities are for this demographic. Coming to these boxing sessions has given me more confidence accessing group exercise: many full contact sports gyms are incredibly inaccessible and potentially unsafe to go to as a transgender person. As someone in recovery from alcohol and substance abuse, being part of a community of like minded people who engage in a physical, social activity is incredibly important for my mental well-being."

NPBA Member: "For over 3 years I have been attending NPBA - it’s a main strand of my coping strategy for dealing with life's stresses, the menopause and keeping my mental health on track. I have tried other gyms and training in the past and I never took to it, there was always a competitive atmosphere rather than the supportive atmosphere I found at NPBA. The efforts of the coaches to keep our ‘boxing family’ together and connected during the pandemic has been astounding and I really am not sure where I would be if I didn’t have this community to support me during this time."

Parent: "As parents we struggled to find a club or sport facility local to us (living in a semi-rural area) that suited our daughter’s interests and that would give her the opportunity to learn fitness skills and improve her physical health. Northern Powerhouse Boxing Academy has provided our daughter (12) with an invaluable after school sports activity, and opportunity to develop confidence in a friendly, diverse, supportive and empowering community space."

Local Primary School Headteacher: "The series of workshops were carefully planned to scaffold learning around personal well-being and development as well as introducing pupils to basic physical skills. By the end of the course, pupils were more able to recognise and value their own emotions, see others' perspectives and respond to others with greater empathy. The instructors were incredibly skilled in their delivery and in planning a scheme that fully met the needs of the pupils. Their attention to safeguarding was second to none."

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How you can play your part

There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.

1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!

2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.

3. Fundraise for us. If you want to run your own fundraiser – maybe a sponsored activity or similar – use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know.

4. Offer your services and help. This is a big project and we need lots of help, whether it is giving your professional time to help us or just picking up a paint brush when the time is right. Please get in touch if you'd like to help us in any way!


In the Event of Project Changes
If, for any reason, this project does not go ahead, we will get in touch directly to discuss how you’d like us to handle your donation. If we are unable to contact you, your donation will be refunded.

Rewards

This project offered rewards

£80 or more

"Visit Hebden Bridge" - Annual business listing

This reward offers a 1 year listing with visithebdenbridge.com - a great way to promote your business to tourists and locals alike. Your listing fee goes straight to our fundraiser. Visit Hebden Bridge will be in touch to get your listing up and running! (£100 Value)

£15 or more

NPBA T-Shirt / Kids

We will contact you for your preferred size and colour. We aim to deliver these in time for Christmas 2024

£20 or more

Your Name on Our Fundraising Tree

Help us fill our fundraising tree, which will be painted on the wall in our new gym! A £20 donation will add your name to a leaf on the tree, while a £40 donation will place your name on a brightly colored bird. (See details below.)

£25 or more

NPBA T-Shirt / Adult

We will contact you for your preferred size and colour. We aim to deliver these in time for Christmas 2024

£30 or more

NPBA Hoodie - Kids

We will contact you for your preferred size and colour. We aim to deliver these in time for Christmas 2024

£40 or more

NPBA Pullover Hoodie - Adult

We will contact you for your preferred size and colour. We aim to deliver these before Christmas 2024

£40 or more

2025 Annual Membership

Get your 2025 individual membership with this reward and enjoy exclusive club member benefits.

£50 or more

Buy a Bird on Our Fundraising Tree

Add your name to a brightly coloured bird on our fundraising tree, which will be painted on the wall of our new gym! A £50 donation secures your name on a vibrant bird.

£60 or more

Try Out Any 10 Classes in Our New Gym (Value £70)

New to NPBA? Experience any 10 classes at our brand-new gym when we open in 2025!

£80 or more

Buy Roots on Our Fundraising Tree. Businesses only

With a donation of £80, add your business name to the roots of our Fundraising Tree, which will be painted on the wall of our new gym. Show your support and be one of only six businesses to secure a root on our tree.

£100 or more

NPBA Hoodie, Tee & 1 Years Membership

Hoodie, Tee & 1-Year Membership Bundle Select this bundle to receive an NPBA hoodie, tee, and a full year’s membership! We’ll contact you for your preferred size and colour, with merch delivery expected before Christmas 2024

£250 or more

5-Year NPBA Membership

Secure your NPBA membership from 2025-2030 with this reward! Enjoy all the exclusive benefits of NPBA membership, including class discounts, access to bundle savings, workshop discounts, and partner perks, for five full years.

£15 or more

CBD Infused Tea from The Tonic (Value £19)

The Tonic CBD Infused Teas (RRP £19) are a tasty and easy way to get your daily CBD dose. We will contact you to arrange delivery. www.thetonictribe.com

£15 or more

Pennine Cropshare Bumper Veg Bag (Value £22)

Organic, seasonal veg - Potatoes, carrots and onions, plus another seven varieties of veg, this has been nick-named the Backbreaking Bumper. There are a number of collection points in locally. Voucher / online purchase code will be supplied. www.penninecropshare.co.uk.

£20 or more

Iglu salt and mud sauna session (Value £25)

A voucher for an enhanced 90-minute sauna experience with a Rhassoul mud and salt spa sessions offered by Iglu Sauna www.iglusauna.co.uk

£20 or more

Pennine Cropshare Veg & Fruit Bag (Value £26)

Organic veg box contains potatoes, carrots and onions plus another four varieties of veg, plus a large fruit bag containing four varieties of fruit (approx 18 items). There are a number of collection points in locally. Voucher / online purchase code will be supplied. www.penninecropshare.co.uk

£25 or more

Fleur De Lys Bouquet of Flowers (Value £30)

A bouquet of fresh flowers from Fleur de Lys in Hebden Bridge Collect in-store or delivered locally for a small additional cost. RRP £30

£25 or more

Old Town Post Office Cafe Voucher (Value £30)

Enjoy the food, beverages and wonderful cake at the Old Town Post Office Cafe, HX7 8RY

£25 or more

HebTroCo Voucher (Value £30)

Treat yourself to some high quality clothing (and other stuff) all made by Hebden Bridge's very own HebTroCo. Voucher will be supplied as an online discount code and includes free delivery within the UK. www.hebtro.co

£35 or more

Voucher for Fratelli of Hebden Bridge (Value £40)

Enjoy a delicious Italian meal at Fratelli, located in the centre of Hebden Bridge. www.fratelliofhebden.co.uk

£50 or more

Voucher for Therapuetic Kneads (Value £60)

A £60 voucher for a holistic treatment, including massage, reiki, aromatherapy and reflexology, offered by Therapeutic Kneads, Hebden Bridge www.therapeutickneads.co.uk

£50 or more

Voucher - Two-Hour Blitz Clean by Diamond Clean

A voucher for a two-hour blitz clean, covering all aspects of your property by the Diamond Clean Team www.facebook.com/TheCleanTeam2022

£60 or more

Haircut at Blow Hairstudio (Value £70)

A hair cut worth £70 at Blow Hairstudio, Hebden Bridge www.blow-hairstudio.co.uk

£60 or more

Textile Workshop Crafts in the Valley (Value £70)

Voucher for Full-Day Textile Workshop at Crafts in the Valley Studio in Cragg Vale. This experience worth £70 lets you dive into the world of textiles, offering hands-on learning in either Felting or Batik techniques. www.craftsinthevalley.co.uk

£70 or more

Glass Workshop Crafts in the Valley (Value £80)

Beginners Fused Glass Workshop at the Crafts in the Valley. This full day workshop offers an introduction to fused glass. Create a hanging star, coaster, slump dish, and a set of dichroic glass jewellery. Finish by decoupaging a jewellery box to store your unique creations. More info at: craftsinthevalley.co.uk

£120 or more

Mental Health and Well-Being Clean (£150 Value)

Diamond Clean Team have donated a very special Mental Health and Well-Being Clean, designed to lift spirits and lighten the load. Either for yourself or as a gift for someone who could do with a helping hand.

£250 or more

Kate Lycett Ltd Edition Signed Print (Value £290)

Limited Edition Signed Print of Hebden Bridge by Iconic Local Artist Kate Lycett. This exclusive print features many beloved local landmarks, including the Trades Club building. Copy the URL below to view the artwork: https://www.katelycett.co.uk/gallery/728/ Can be delivered locally. Postal charges may apply if being sent further afield.

£350 or more

British Recycled Plastic - York Bench (Value £790)

Stylish, steel and recycled plastic bench with backrest and arms. Comfortably seats three adults. Classic looks with black steel frame and brown slats. 1800mm long. Supplied fully assembled for convenience. This outdoor bench is ex-display but in great condition, only having been transported to 1 exhibition. Google British Recycled Plastic - York Bench to see how it looks. Free delivery within Calderdale or collect Cragg Vale.

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