Tollesbury Sailing Club has been successful in obtaining a grant towards the cost of a new boat store, changing rooms and showers and a ‘wet’ classroom facility for their cadets.
The club is setting up a dedicated team to manage this exciting project which they hope to have completed ready for the start of the 2017 sailing season.
With a current estimated total cost of the project around £90k, TSC is looking for additional funding although they do have sufficient club funds available to see the project through.
Planning permission has already been granted by Maldon District Council, who have set some strict, although achievable, conditions as the site is in a flood risk area. The project will also provide the club with a modern sewage plant to help reduce pollution.
The size and shape of the building have been set in stone by the planning permission (well in concrete anyway), but the club is welcoming ideas from their members for ‘filling’ the spaces and will be consulting with their members over the next few week.
The grant application process was initiated by Derek Burchell during his time as the previous Commodore. ‘I am delighted to see this project becoming a certainty with the award of the grant’ said Derek. He continued ‘The new facilities can only be a good thing as the club moves forward and seeks to attract new members. I am very grateful for the support and encouragement I received from club members in completing the grant application process’.
Andy Hobden, the current Commodore, said ‘What great news. Having recently tried to have a shower in our current changing rooms I can confirm how unsatisfactory they are and our growing fleet of modern support boats do need decent undercover winter storage, so the new facility will be very welcome.’