BBC reveals new DIY SOS project to help Grenfell Tower community

The project aims to provide new facilities for the 60-year-old Dale Boxing Club (which had been based in the first floor of the Grenfell Tower since 1999) as well as building a separate community space.

Both buildings will be constructed on a site under the A40 Westway.

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“I’m so excited about this project,” Knowles said. “DIY SOS is using its years of experience and vast contacts book to bring together companies from across the construction industry to work together with the local community on this important project.

“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.”

A description of the project is below:

The community in and around Grenfell has always been very strong and close knit and through local research and consultation DIY SOS identified a real need for a low cost community space in the area. The team will work closely with the local residents, including those on the Lancaster West Estate, and Westway Trust, the charity who own the land and will help manage the new buildings to ensure the spaces are accessible and affordable for all.

Since the Grenfell fire, the Dale Boxing Club (which has helped develop boxers including 2008 Olympic Gold Medallist James DeGale and world champion George Groves) has been based in a car park, and the club’s chairman Graham Gater paid tribute to the new project.

“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,” he said. “We are really looking forward to getting a new space.”

If you’re interested in volunteering for the project or donating building supples, you should get in touch with the team at diysos@bbc.co.uk.

The two-part DIY SOS Grenfell special will be broadcast later this year on BBC1