West End Extra - Letters to the Editor: Fighting a losing battle to save top boxing club

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West End Extra - LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Published: 25 January 2008

Fighting a losing battle to save top boxing club

• IT is truly shameful that Westminster’s Deputy Chief Executive should try to cover-up the Conservatives’ decade-long neglect of the All Stars Boxing Club by claiming that the recent flurry of “activity” demonstrates the council’s belated help to one of Wesminster’s most successful sporting clubs (‘We’re in your corner,’ Tories tell Stars, January 18).
The fact of the matter is that the All Stars chairman, as well as myself, have been writing to successive council leaders and chief executives for the past 10 years urging action to help the All Stars. All have been ignored by the Conservatives. I believe the All Stars is owed an explanation for the council’s failure to help.
It says that the All Stars do not have qualified sports coaches. What nonsense! The All Stars has five current national boxing champions for which Isola Akay and his fellow coaches must be congratulated.
Even though the All Stars keep producing champions, in Conservative Westminster this counts for nothing.
The council also has the audacity to claim that that the All Stars have been applying for grants under the wrong category! The council say that the All Stars have been applying for “youth” grants when they should have been applying under “sports” grants. So why didn’t someone at the council tell them to apply under the correct category?
There is over £70 million sitting in the council’s bank balances. There can be no excuse for any future failure to help the All Stars.
Cllr Paul Dimoldenberg
Leader of the Labour Group
Westminster City Council
City Hall, Victoria Street
SW1

Send your letters to: The Letters Editor, West End Extra, 40 Camden Road, London, NW1 9DR or email to letters@westendextra.co.uk. The deadline for letters is midday Wednesday. The editor regrets that anonymous letters cannot be published, although names and addresses can be withheld. Please include a full name, postal address and telephone number.
Letters may be edited for reasons of space.

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