On September 23, 2000, I watched an aging Steve Redgrave transcend sport and win his fifth consecutive Olympic medal.

The sport was rowing. Shortly after I would take it up and for the past nine years I haven’t looked back. Much of that time has been spent at Westover and Bournemouth Rowing Club, targeted by the council for effective closure.

For the uninitiated it is difficult to comprehend why anyone would wish to regularly get up before dawn to spend their free time on the sea, tired and cold.

But for those who have touched the sport, the passion of those involved is evident.

I am heartbroken to be notified of Bournemouth’s plan to redevelop the seafront, and to literally sweep our rowing club into the Pier toilets.

A 144 year history should never be forgotten and most certainly never be discarded in this manner.

The club has been treated with disdain by the council.

In the upcoming debate which will inevitably follow your newspaper’s coverage, much will be made of the token rent the club pays and the privileged position they occupy. This is certainly the case; the Club does occupy a prime spot and pay a rent affordable to an amateur sports club. However we have always been open to consultation with the council and have offered solutions to the council’s plan to make better use of the sea front.

Alas these proposals, which include the use of Durley Chine as a seas sports and life saving centre have largely been ignored.

And this brings me the crux of the matter. The problem is not whether the club should occupy the site, on the contrary we would happily move given a suitable proposal. The problem is why the council ignore the very people they represent.

Kieran Pulford, vice captain, Westover and Bournemouth Rowing Club