Telford judo club with big plans asks council for help to secure permanent lease for home

Wrekin Star Judo Club was founded in 1965 and its current home is above the market building in Wellington.

A Telford & Wrekin Council public consultation has been held for over a month to shape proposals for the future of Wellington Market.

This comes after the council received government funding through its Capital Regeneration Programme.

Wrekin Star Judo Club (WSJC) is the only judo club in Telford and wants a permanent lease to enable it to grow.

Anna Halliday, chairperson, said that after ‘many years’ of searching for a suitable home the club relocated its training room to Market Approach last year.

The club currently pays full commercial rates to use the room twice a week and is requesting a full-time lease for a minimum of one year.

Mrs Halliday addressed Wellington Town Council on Tuesday night asking for its support.

She said: “We are entirely self-sufficient, work independently, don’t ask people for money or help.

“The club seeks to remain in Wellington with the current venue offering an ideal location to facilitate our strategic programme.

“Despite extensive searches and drawing on wide-ranging local knowledge, no suitable alternative premises has yet been identified as a permanent home for WSJC.

“This is a priority for the club, as without a base, the club cannot operate.

“With the market being redeveloped there is a potential risk that we could find ourselves without a home.

“We hoped this might be the stable base from which to grow our club. We are asking you to support a local club, help us stay in Wellington and help us do what we do best.”

Wrekin Star Judo Club is affiliated with the British Judo Association (BJA) and has a membership which spans from six-year-olds to over-60s.

All of its coaches are fully trained with over 100 years of coaching expertise between them.

“We work with people aged from six to over 60, from complete beginners to Olympic and Commonwealth athletes, we have gold medal winners,” added Mrs Halliday.

“We have a strong and rapidly growing membership of juniors, plus an increasing senior membership. We currently offer judo on two nights each week, plus opportunities for competition and enrichment events.

“We work hard to keep our fees low and are run by volunteers - we don’t aim to make a profit, we aim to make a difference. We want to ask for the council to endorse and support what we are doing.”

In a paper given to Wellington Town Council the club states that it has been identified by the BJA and Midland Area Judo Association to host future training events, competitions and seminars.

Thanks to a combination of grants and self-funding the club has bought a new mat costing £20,000.

The paper states that the club ‘envisages’ that the space could be multi-functional and enable wider community access to groups and organisations.

Mrs Halliday added that the club brings footfall into the middle of Wellington with 9,000 visits per year, which it predicts could ‘significantly multiply’ if given permanent access to the facility.

The club hopes that Telford & Wrekin Council along with Wellington Town Council can offer support in securing a tenure and ensuring ‘affordable rent’ as it moves to constitute a not-for-profit social enterprise.

You can find out more about the Wellington Market regeneration project and complete the consultation survey here.

The survey will remain open until midnight on February 19.