Hengistbury Head Outdoor Centre in Southbourne to close (From Bournemouth Echo)
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Hengistbury Head Outdoor Centre in Southbourne to close
8:57am Saturday 7th March 2009 in
CAMPAIGNERS fighting to keep a Bournemouth watersports and activity centre open have lost their battle.
Bournemouth council said it "little option" but to close the Hengistbury Head Outdoor Centre at Soubourne after efforts to find a private operator failed.
Cllr Malcolm Davies, cabinet member for education, said: "The buildings are now in a poor state of repair and it requires a subsidy of at least £100,00 a year.
"The centre has been losing money and therefore, regrettably, it is not economically viable for the council to continue to maintain the running of the centre and to allow it to continue to decline."
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Comments(15)
beachhutman
says...
11:48am Sat 7 Mar 09
I understand from Councillor Malcolm Davies the Council will see the Surf Reef built as it would be foolish to abandon this project. He also has said 22 companies had expressed an interest in the Hengistbury Head Outdoor Centre. He also said at a recent meeting one large company just "couldn't get the finance" to proceed.
I would have thought, and hoped; a local college with a budget of £27million pounds a year, instead of bussing its students to Calshot. might try to run the Hengistbury Head Outdoor Education Centre, taking advantage of the location of the centre which is at least in the same County.
I have suggested this to the College, but it is in the middle of seeking completion according to the Echo of its own £120million pounds of a capital rebuilding programme.
The Outdoor centre at Hengistbury Head would cost £300,000 to put right according to Malcolm Davies. he says it looks pretty black for it's future, compared say with Weymouth's centre which will benefit most from the Olympics in 2012.
It seems to my eye that some people are concentrating on the bottom line when instead they should think not in black and white but in colour.
The colour of money to sort this god-awful mess out and not throw away the pallette of experiences and the pictures that this centre has painted in the eyes of 12,000 schoolchildren's visits a year and the technicolour that could have been inserted into this location by the local college if the political will were strong enough.
I am deeply, deeply saddened by this.
rook
says...
12:15pm Sat 7 Mar 09
The fact that no private buyer can be found shows that this is not really a profit-making concern.
Bob49
says...
12:21pm Sat 7 Mar 09
That's priceless.
A cobbled together course for those too dim to get a proper job and a fantasy for those too dim to accept reality.
And some wondered how the old rogue was able to con so many over the Lapland dodge.
Winton boy
says...
2:11pm Sat 7 Mar 09
solitaire
says...
3:33pm Sat 7 Mar 09
Chris...
says...
4:05pm Sat 7 Mar 09
I suppose more flats, more dross will appear there now.
Trifecta
says...
4:29pm Sat 7 Mar 09
Emulated
says...
5:18pm Sat 7 Mar 09
Ask the council why it spends money on a propaganda rag BH Life instead of this Outdoor centre and listen to the spin. The answers are beyond belief and simply show that their prestige is much more inportant than what the voters want.
hanami
says...
8:27pm Sat 7 Mar 09
What a pity that this fantastic resource is being lost. Thousands of local school children have benefited from visits here, pond-dipping and learning about the environment, and many others have learnt to sail and kayak. I did a sailing course here myself and was looking forward to my sons doing the same thing when old enough. Now they won't have the chance, as all the commercial sailing schools charge prices beyond our budget.
With the 2012 Olympics coming up and the spotlight turning on Weymouth for the sailing events, there will be an even greater interest amongst youngsters keen to try out this great sport. It's such a shame that the Centre's reasonably priced RYA courses and fantastic instructors will no longer be there for them.
Was there really no way the funding for this much-loved Centre could be found? I know it's a question of prioritising, but why should surfing get all the investment?
richw
says...
9:16pm Sat 7 Mar 09
ttorets
says...
10:09pm Sat 7 Mar 09
Binky
says...
12:27am Sun 8 Mar 09
I've received a brochure through the post, and was about to write out a cheque for my son to go on a sailing course this summer. There are plenty of other activities planned - more information please, Echo.
Emulated
says...
3:41pm Sun 8 Mar 09
Binky wrote:Council Website. Thats it !
Hengistbury Head Outdoor Centre to close? When? I've received a brochure through the post, and was about to write out a cheque for my son to go on a sailing course this summer. There are plenty of other activities planned - more information please, Echo.
Hengistbury Head Outdoor Centre
PRESS RELEASE - 6 March 2009
Councillor Malcolm Davies, Cabinet Member for Education and Children’s Services at Bournemouth Borough Council, said:
We have not received any tenders from organisations interested in taking over the watersports and dry land activities at Hengistbury Head, despite 22 packs being sent out to interested parties. As a result of this, the high running costs and the prevailing economic climate, we have made the difficult business decision to close Hengistbury Head Outdoor Centre.
The Centre has faced an uncertain future for a number of years. The buildings are now in a poor state of repair and it requires a subsidy of at least £100,000 per year. The Centre has been losing money and therefore, regrettably, it is not economically viable for the Council to continue to maintain the running of the Centre and to allow it to continue to decline.
Options are being considered but it is likely that we will now work with Natural England to return the Head to its natural habitat making the area available to the public all year round, with the beautiful views across the harbour accessible for all.
All staff at the Centre have been informed and consulted on this decision. Two members of staff have been re-deployed into educational roles within the Council and we are now working closely with the remaining staff to re-deploy them into suitable positions.
time nor Tide
says...
3:02am Wed 18 Mar 09
so where is the commonsense in the providence thinking here?
umm save a little now -- against cost 1000 times more in the future -- umm thats a hard one
over to the officers =-- ooooh thats also a very hard call -over to the consultants === ummm big study in that one ... many pounds
in that time we witness and experience the results of neglecting what commonsense tells us is needed to divert young people from what they will do without good stewardship from our civic fathers and mothers to ensure that at least rundown facilities are available..
since when was run-down non rehabilatatable by its users with some fostering and resources from councils?
i'm too distressed to where this is all leading .....more words escape me .....
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Hengistbury Head Outdoor Centre to close
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Glashen says...
10:48am Sat 7 Mar 09
Could a charitable trust not have got Lottery Funding and come up with a self funding option given time.
This of course all leads on from the debacle of the E-Learning Centre planned some years ago.
As I said the problem seems to have been a desire by the council to get the centre of their hands and when no-one came forward, they have moved immediately to close the centre.