A personal trainer at the heart of a beloved community gym that coaches ex-servicemen battling mental health issues has hit out at the ‘nasty’ council as it faces closure.
Bethnal Green Weightlifting Club (BGWLC) in East London was founded in 1926 and claims to be London’s oldest powerlifting gym.
The non-profit charity, which survived World War Two and was set up to help ex-soldiers who had fought for the country, who had fought for the country, has been located inside a council-owned building on Turin Street rent-free since 1948.
But in August, the gym – which was set up to help make the sport more accessible -was served a Section 25 notice and told their tenancy would be terminated by Tower Hamlets Council.
The gym, which is considered a cornerstone of the community, now has until January 31 to change the council’s mind; or else it faces being turfed out of the building it has occupied for close to a century.
It comes amid reports that the government is sending envoys to oversee Tower Hamlets council after inspectors raised questions about controversial mayor Lutfur Rahman’s leadership, according to the Guardian.
As the gym’s future is under threat, its heartbroken regulars and staff (who train gymgoers voluntarily) have warned the council is making a ‘mistake’ and hit out at the local authority for its ‘nasty’ attitude.
Ben Davis, chairman of British powerlifting, can often be found at BGWLC, not only training for his own goals, but also coaching others completely free of charge.
Ben Davis said he joined the club straight after his stint in the armed forces and said the community has helped him with his mental health

Ben Davis, chairman of British powerlifting, can often be found at BGWLC, not only training for his own goals, but also coaching others completely free of charge

Bethnal Green Weightlifting Club (BGWLC) has been around since 1926 and pride themselves on being London ‘s oldest powerlifting gym
The 39-year-old, from Woolwich, spent 13 years in the army in various combat roles and officially left in 2018 after fighting in Afghanistan.
He joined the club straight after his stint in the armed forces and said the community has helped him with his mental health.
Ben told FEMAIL: ‘I’d be lying if I said at points, since I left the army, I hadn’t suffered with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in various different forms.’
‘I think just being a gym wouldn’t have gotten me through those tougher times. It’s the community sport and the ability to relax the body and mind.
‘The support and the community at this club specifically and the people I have met is one-of-a-kind.
‘Bethnal Green is unique in its ability to bring people from all different backgrounds and throw them into this safe space.’
Ben, who now works as a business manager for a bank, said the club would put a smile on his face on his darker days, adding that the group is very ‘close-knit’ and provides ‘moral support’.
The club is self-funded through some members who can afford a fee to use the services, but there are others who are allowed to use the gym for free due to their financial circumstances.
Ben added: ‘I think it’s just really disappointing that something that is so steeped in history in what has been an Olympic year and the growth of powerlifting, how we can end up in a situation where there is an unwillingness to recognise that you’ve got a community centre and a hub of athletes located in the same place and being shut down.’

Martin Bass said Tower Hamlets council hadn’t been nasty before but ‘they’re nasty now’

Martin Bass (centre) is one of head coaches at BGWLC and he first stepped foot inside the building aged 20
BGWLC is near the Professional Development Centre building, but they have their own entrances and are separated by a large car park.
The Professional Development Centre building will be developed into an Institute of Academic Excellence and prestigious new Institute of Academic Excellence sixth-form centre.
Members of the gym attended a meeting with Councillor Kabir Ahmed where they discussed the gym’s closure. They were told that Tower Hamlets wanted BGWLC as a new ‘Resident’s Hub’.
In September, the club submitted a freedom of information request to the council and found out that there were currently no official plans, nor formal budget, for the building that the gym is in.
Martin Bass, 75, is one of head coaches at BGWLC and he first stepped foot inside the building aged 20.
‘I was born three turnings away from the gym. When I finished work early, I would park in the car park go to the gym, stay there until 9pm and then go home. That’s what I’ve done my whole life,’ he said.
‘Every second I’ve been in there, I’ve enjoyed. It’s what I do. It’s what I get out of bed for. I love every second of it, I love the people in there.’
Martin and Ben said that the council itself previously used the gym for classes up until around 2012 ,when the club took over and ran the operations, with the local authority’s blessing.

The non-profit charity, which has survived two World Wars and was set up to help men who had fought for the country, has been located inside a council-owned building on Turin Street rent-free since 1948
Ever since, Tower Hamlets Council have gone back and forth with BGWLC about signing a commercial lease, which was allegedly set at around £1,000-a-week.
Speaking about the Section 25 notice, Martin said: ‘We’re good people, we want to do a deal with them and from their side, they’ve never been nasty to us.
‘But they’re nasty now. For whatever reason, they want us out now.’
Speaking about the plans to open the new Institute of Academic Excellence sixth-form centre in the club’s neighbouring building, Martin said: ‘The irony is, when we first heard about the IAE we thought it was a great idea. We saw a real opportunity for partnership.
‘The Club has delivered services on behalf of the council for most of the last sixty years. The idea of opening extra sessions to train those students – a healthy mind in a healthy body – we were delighted.
‘We’re an asset to the community and the Council just can’t seem to see it.’
The gym also provides an ‘safe space’ for its female users who say they find the environment ’empowering’.
Moa Wikner, 29, said: ‘At the club, there is a large number of females which was very empowering when I first joined.
‘To be surrounded and inspired by strong women was amazing and in the club you aren’t “strong for a guy/strong for a girl” you look at your own potential and growth.

Moa said she’s trained at a variety of spaces throughout her life, but nothing quite compares to BGWLC

Moa says that the thought of the inclusive space being taken away has left her feeling ‘un-rooted’
‘I also believe the members of the club has a great insight and respect for the work that goes in to the sport and if powerlifting and weight lifting comes across as male dominated, that isn’t what it feels like in the gym.’
Moa who works as the head of NFF Retail at Natural Fitness Food, Third Space, said she’s trained at a variety of spaces throughout her life, but nothing quite compares to BGWLC.
When she has trained in previous gyms, Moa has been subjected to strangers hassling her.
She added: ‘Bethnal Green Weightlifting is a safe space for women. Having trained at a variety of sports facilities in my life, I can attest to BGWLC being a place where you can come and train as you are, where training is empowering as focus is on the capabilities of your body rather than superficial and where everyone’s victory is celebrated.
‘We cheer each other on, spot each other and support each other. And you don’t get unsolicited advice from strangers which has happened a number of times training in commercial gyms.’
Moa says that the thought of the inclusive space being taken away has left her feeling ‘un-rooted’.
‘It’s a big part of my life in London not just from a sports point of view but from the social aspect. The people have become like family and that’s irreplaceable,’ she said.
And Moa is not the only one feeling this way.
Public servant Charlotte De Val agrees and says she finds BGWLC to be ‘wholly welcoming’ towards women.

Public servant Charlotte De Val agrees and says she finds BGWLC to be ‘wholly welcoming’ towards women
She said: ‘There are lots of women at the club, and plenty that have been here or a long time or repeatedly come back to visit which I think says a lot.
I think that’s because they have been valued by the club’s leadership and not treated as second-hand athletes, particularly for our women masters lifters who can be often overlooked.
‘Women are given all the attention and support they deserve, knowing that many won’t have come from a gym background because that was never encouraged when the majority of us were younger.’
Charlotte first joined the gym after they hosted a competition for LGBTQ+ people getting into powerlifting. Head coach Martin then invited her back afterwards.
Speaking about the potential closure, she said: ‘Destroying an existing historic, community sports club in the hope that they might use it for a different type of community hub seems unnecessary. And the impact on this community is incredibly painful.’
BGWLC has now hired a lawyer to liaise with the council and see if they can come to an arrangement about the gym’s lease.
Tower Hamlets Council has been contacted for comment.