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Bournemouth rowing club may lose historic home

9:30am Monday 6th September 2010 in


A BOURNEMOUTH rowing club established in 1865 is set to lose its prime seafront site to allow for the expansion of the neighbouring Oceanarium.

Westover Rowing Club has been based on the seafront for 145 years, paying an annual rent of just £32.50 for most of that time.

But this deal is set to end on 31 August, 2011, if Bournemouth council goes ahead with a plan to terminate its lease.

The Real Live Leisure Company, which owns the Oceanarium, has already expressed an interest in opening a new marine animal attraction and hospitality facility and so will be given first refusal on the site.

If this deal goes ahead, the Real Live Leisure Company will start development in October 2011, with the new extension opening at Easter 2012.

But if terms cannot be reached by the end of the year, Bournemouth council will instead market the site to other all-weather attraction operators.

The rowing club, which has around 100 members, is currently searching for a permanent new home and is aiming to build a new boathouse in time for the 2012 rowing season.

It will be entitled to £40,000 compensation for quitting the premises, which will kickstart its fundraising campaign.

Westover Rowing Club president Carl McCrudden said they would be “disappointed” if cabinet members decide to terminate their lease but were confident of finding a suitable site to move to.

He added: “It is important to remember that the club has been entirely self-funding for the last century and a half and that as a community amateur sports club our resources are limited.

“Nevertheless, with the full support of British Rowing, the council and a fundraising campaign we hope we will be able to create a new rowing club and sea sports facility that will be the pride of Bournemouth.” Cllr Rod Cooper, cabinet member for economy, leisure and tourism, said: “In view of our aspirations to improve the seafront and the prevailing financial climate, I believe it is the right time to question the current use of this important site.

“It presents us with a unique opportunity to extend an existing, successful all-weather family attraction.”

James Eels, director of the Oceanarium, said: “This site presents us with the only realistic opportunity to expand the Oceanarium and we are considering a number of different options that could deliver a significant new marine exhibit and a multi-use hospitality space.

“This would increase the attraction’s diversity and educational offering in a fun and inspiring way as well as accommodating the increasing demand for a function facility.”

Cabinet members will make a decision on the future of the site on Wednesday.

Comments(19)

chris100 says...
9:36am Mon 6 Sep 10

why will they be entitled to £40,000 compensation for quitting the premises
when the r ent is £32.50 a year ?

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Azphreal says...
9:55am Mon 6 Sep 10

This would increase the attraction’s diversity and education' Which means that at the moment its not making money from holiday makers. This is no different from when i was told the council wanted to kick out 'Happyland' arcade as they wanted the building for other uses (or that it took trade from their expensive arcade).

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Lord Spring says...
10:00am Mon 6 Sep 10

Is money everthing, that is whats ruining this town.
Some people oppose zoo's is not the Aquarium the same type of thing dealing with living objects in captivity

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Syd Poumen says...
10:09am Mon 6 Sep 10

Cllr Rod Cooper said 'I believe it is the right time to question the current use of this important site.'
Right...just in time for the 2012 Olympics, when rowing is likely to be one of the two sports at which Great Britain will excel; the other being Sailing, for which the events will be taking place just 30 miles along the Coast.
Keep Going for Gold, Bournemouth Council! Just maybe one day surfing and dancing will become Olympic Sports!

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durotriges says...
11:44am Mon 6 Sep 10

Tradition and heritage on one side and cash on the other. Tories love one and ignore the other.

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BmthNewshound says...
2:51pm Mon 6 Sep 10

I'm sure if the Council can find £3.2m for the new elitist dance centre at the Pavilion they can afford to support the rowing club in finding a new home. If the Council had been able to grasp the concept of joined up thinking they could have created a new boathouse for the rowing club at Boscombe instead of creating those useless beach pods or at Alum Chine where they’ve built another lot of beach huts most of which are standing empty.

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D50 says...
3:09pm Mon 6 Sep 10

How is the dance centre elitist? I was there at the weekend at the free performance which was superb. There are also plans for classes etc. that anyone can go to. Rowing could just as easily be described as an elitist passtime.

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wonderway says...
5:21pm Mon 6 Sep 10

yea held by cll dunlop lol

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cpolak says...
8:02pm Mon 6 Sep 10

The money is needed to fund the tweaking of the surf reef and of course this will not then be at any cost to the rate payer!!!!

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Luskintyre says...
8:04pm Mon 6 Sep 10

The £40,000 compensation is probably the statutory amount they get for being booted off a site they've been tenants of for a century and a half!!!

I'd be very surprised if the Oceanarium could ever increase their turnover by having a bigger building - I can't really see them going ahead with any new development. This all seems ill thought out to me, particularly as it should be an open-tender bidding - I think something 'fishy' is going on Cllrs Dunlop and Cooper....

Leave the rowing club alone - there's not much history in this town as it is so don't destroy what we've got.

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HLK82 says...
9:39pm Mon 6 Sep 10

I have been an active female rower with the club for the past three years; I moved to Bournemouth and decided to take up a team sport which makes use of the beautiful sea that this club and Bournemouth offers.

We are an amateur club (thereby not costing the tax payer anything), which has been on the site for 145 years. We hope that the Council will either let us stay where we are or allocate us a new piece of land on the sea front (we are a costal rowing club, so need easy access to the sea!!) so that we can fundraise for a brand-new boat club in time for the Olympics that the community and visitors can enjoy for many years…hopefully for another 145 years!

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suziesuzie says...
9:45pm Mon 6 Sep 10

The council should support either the young, talented people as well as everybody wants to try this beautiful sports instead of closing up!with more support they could increase the popularity the rowing sports, the youth would have more interest in it therefore the club would have more chance to show up results etc. I was 11 when I started the kayak and then 15 when I changed for rowing!I knew about the rowing club in my town coz my dad was also a rower and the club located at the most frequented area of the city.It means traditions drive young people to do something valuable and this sport does need a place really next to the water!
I feel lucky could be a member of this club!

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Ziggy starburst says...
10:04pm Mon 6 Sep 10

I smell a rat. Knowing the council they will demolish it under the guise of expanding an educational centre then last minute there will be complications and it will be turned into another trashy food outlet. Bournemouth seafront is a disgrace. It stinks of various fried foods, bins overflowing with fast food boxes etc. Tacky dated amusements further down the prom that SHOULD be bulldozed remain...strange that. Money spinner perhaps. Bournemouths only saving grace is the fantastic beach which cannot be ruined by the greed of a multinational. Yet..

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ErgMan2 says...
10:35pm Mon 6 Sep 10

A survey of Bournemouth sea front between Boscombe and Alum Chine. It also makes a good a commentary on the state of our society:

Food outlets:
Harry Ramsdens
IMAX
KFC
Aruba
Hot Rocks
Offshore Café
West Beach
Harvester
Vesuvio
The Neptune
Urban Reef
Coaster Restaurant
“Happy” Land
+numerous Ice Cream and Burger vendors

Sports:
Rowing Club
Surf Reef

One of the sports sites the council wish to terminate, the other has fallen short of expectations and needs further cash. Yet I would rather see more cash injected into the surf reef and rowing club than see the 'food outlet' list increase.

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James Baker says...
11:21pm Mon 6 Sep 10

Westover & Bournemouth Rowing Club is a welcoming and friendly club, and not in the least bit elitist. People may easily have this perception of rowing from watching The Boat Race on TV, or perhaps hearing about toffs downing champagne at Henley, but I can assure you, our drink of choice is beer.

Were you to come down to the club (and you'd be very welcome) you'd find women and men from all walks of life - electricians, builders, teachers, physios, pharmacists, consultants - all rubbing along together in pursuit of sport - achieving something worthwhile by working together - and friendship. The club brings people from the local community together - something that government spends huge sums of money on annually. It also welcomes newcomers to Bournemouth with open arms, and allows them to feel part of something.

There are very few opportunities for people to do this in a society which increasingly revolves around money as the central way to gain happiness, and you might think that our leaders would value it above other, commercial, interests.

You might also think that at a time when people nationally are being encouraged to keep healthy and take up sports, it is surprising that the council is so happy for a successful, long running sports club to disappear.

The rent we pay sounds very low, but when you consider the costs of keeping an amateur sports club going at all, it does not seem so unreasonable. We certainly do not cost anyone any money, and I hope that locals and tourists alike can take pride in seeing an old-fashioned sports club still thriving in the heart of a coastal town.

Finally, we would obviously be delighted if the council were able to assist us in finding alternative accommodation for 2012 - the Olympic year - enabling us to offer rowing to future generations of people from Bournemouth. However, it would bring great shame on the council if this great, 145 year old, sports club, was pushed aside and left to perish in favour of so called 'progress'.

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Wimwam says...
12:11am Tue 7 Sep 10

Don't be surprised to see the council offer them a factory unit at Bournemouth Airport.........Duh.
..!!!

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Dorset_Born_and_Bred says...
9:04am Tue 7 Sep 10

To lose the rowing club to yet another "Grokel money-making shopfront" would be an absolute disaster.

We should be supporting friendly 'welcome-to-all' sports clubs like WBRC. It is the only club which gives the opportunity to ALL residents to enjoy what Bmouth is famous for - our wonderful coast line.

Any club which promotes clean-living should be supported by residents and the council.

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Wolf 1 says...
10:14am Tue 7 Sep 10

I've been a member of Westover and Bournemouth Rowing Club for ten years and in that time I can count the times on one hand that we've had any coverage in the local press, despite several (unpublished) submissions over the years to celebrate sporting achievement. It's such a shame that when we do finally see an article in the Echo about the club, it's about the club's likely relocation which was represented slightly out of context by stating the clubs paid an annual rent of only £32.50 for most of it's 145 year history. In fact, this minimal rent has only been in place for around six or seven years, following a change in government policy that removed the burden of several thousand pounds a year in council tax to amateur sports clubs, as it was when I joined the club. There's another point to be made here on the lack of positive press over the years - which is the lack of local PRIDE. I'm currently on holiday in Dartmouth, a tourist holiday town not unlike Bournemouth. Dartmouth have just held their annual regatta, following which the local newspaper printed several pagers dedicated to the rowing races - colour photographs and brilliant write up's about the rowing and sailing events. Clearly Dartmouth have pride in their sports clubs - why can't Bournemouth? In the last ten years alone, Westover and Bournemouth Rowing Club has won:-
Ladies '4' Hants & Dorset Champions
Ladies '4' South Coast Champions
(two consecutive years)
Mens '4' Hants & Dorset Champions
Mens '4' South Coast Champions
Mens double scull Boston Marathan winners (31 miles)
Mens double scull qualifiers for Henley Royal Regatta
Mens Hants & Dorset single scull Champion
Mens National Championships coastal scull Gold & Silver medal winners
Mens National Championships coastal scull Silver medal winners
Mens '4' Hants & Dorset Champions
Many, many novice sculling and '4' race wins
Countless Head of the River races
So Bournemouth, where is your PRIDE in these sporting achivements? Where is your sense of history? 145 years competing, winning and representing Bournemouth should not be cast aside and deemed insignificant. Isn't this achievement something to be proud of? And just to address the comment that rowing is elitest - that may be seen to be true at public school level, but we've always been made welcome when we've competed at that status, despite Westover & Bournemouth RC being at the 'working class' end of rowing. We train and race on the sea, it's what makes the club what it is - friendly with a reputation on the coastal rowing circuit as producing gutsy 'row in any conditions' rowers. We are open to everyone. And we are now able to encourage junior rowers into the sport. We would like to grow rowing in Bournemouth and we need public support. Please, please pop along and see for yourselvers what we do and how welcoming we are as a club. 145 years is a huge comitment to sport in a comunity. Please have pride in your local club and lend your support to British Rowing by writing into the Echo and / or Council and support your local rowing club.
Thank you!

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Bad Rabbit says...
11:07am Tue 7 Sep 10

Well Cllr Charon, I guess the question is where do you and your cabinet - looking to the future as you calim place your priorities?

Do you support the Aquarium and the associated Property Development or do you take the two coins and ferry them to the otherside?

What's it to be Ferryman?

Does a Bournemouth Institution go to the underworld to be nibbled on by Cerberus?

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