A martial arts instructor has been forced to move his business due to ongoing anti-social behaviour at a youth centre. Russell Suthern, who has been running White Crane Martial Arts from a training hall at Brighton Youth Centre for two decades, claims that his class of students was terrorized by young people associated with a new youth group. Despite seeking help from the youth centre staff, Suthern was left with no choice but to call the police on multiple occasions, including one incident where a young person kicked open the door of his class. As a result, the number of students attending his classes drastically decreased, making it impossible for him to afford the hall hire. He has now relocated his classes to BHASVIC.
Suthern also expressed concerns about the future, stating that even if he could afford the hall hire, the youth centre would not provide alternative spaces during its upcoming refurbishment. He fears that he may not be able to return once the works are complete. Brighton Youth Centre, however, has disputed Suthern’s claims without specifying which ones.
Describing the extent of the anti-social behaviour, Suthern said, “I would have kids outside my door screaming and shouting abuse at me; they were throwing things at our door. At one point, one of them actually went up to our training room and kicked the door open. Every week there was a major problem, especially during my biggest class. Many of my students felt intimidated and started leaving. The new youth group had a significant impact on my class numbers, and I was lucky to have four people attending. The youth centre staff did nothing to stop the disruptive behavior, even when the kids didn’t directly engage with me. They were causing trouble not only for me but also for the residents of the nearby block of flats, Tyson Place, who have made complaints.”
Brighton Youth Centre has submitted plans for the demolition and rebuild of the centre, which will include a cafe, gym, theatre, and an upgraded skatepark. While Suthern supports the redevelopment, he is concerned that no provision has been made for the hirers of the centre to have alternative premises during the construction period. He emphasized the impact on his business, stating, “For those operating on a part-time basis, this may not be a significant problem, but for me, it’s a disaster. When I was at BYC, I had a full-time training hall with all my equipment. Now, I’ve had to put everything in storage and rent a room from BHASVIC a couple of nights a week. It feels like I’m starting from scratch again.”
Suthern is now arguing that he should not be required to pay the outstanding hall rental due to the problems he faced. In response, a spokesperson for Brighton Youth Centre stated, “We support independent groups who use our facilities and strive to provide the best service to young people and other building users. We are open to addressing concerns and misunderstandings, as it seems to be the case here. We are also willing to assist those who experience financial difficulties. After hearing these claims, we have reached a resolution with White Crane Martial Arts, and they have withdrawn their comments.”