Runcorn Rowing Club

23-02-2021 Fundraising progress

Author: Sue Sljivic Development Co-ordinator Runcorn Rowing Club

PLANNING APPROVED

(Oct 2022)

We received planning consent for our ambitious new clubhouse project which is a tremendous achievement. The development proposals will provide a state of the art boathouse, social area, gym and changing facilities for our members and the local community.

We have spent the last few months in discussions with the club members, local and national stakeholders and governing bodies to ensure that our plans and proposals will be fit for purpose. I am pleased to report that in spite of COVID and the current ‘cost of living crisis’ that our stakeholders are still wholly supportive of the project.

Thanks to ongoing support from RSK Group, we now embark on the next phase of the project. To provide the additional information that the local planning authority require as a condition of our planning consent. We are progressing with the detailed design, structural engineering, bat and ecology surveys, site investigation,contaminated land assessment and flood risk.

Our plans for funding the new development (in the region of £1.5m) are coming together too. Working closely with CWAC (Brio consultation) and Halton Borough Council, the Canal and River Trust as well as the wider Merseyside Sport Provision (MSP) we hope to have funds to start construction in the next couple of years. We will also be launching a ‘buy a brick’ scheme for members and private sector donors, so shake out the piggy bank and think about whether you or any local businesses or the company you work for would be able to put some funds together to help. Feel free to suggest opportunities, specific funds, or indeed direct private contributions to the development fund (e mail: development@runcornrowing.com) as we are always seeking publicity and new ideas to reach our target.

Fundraising progress

(23 Feb 2021)

The last six months have seen us raise over £22,000 towards our planning application. We rowed to Runcorn In Australia before Christmas, cycling, walking and paddling (indoors) over 16,256km and raised an amazing £10,000 on Just Giving, unfortunately we weren’t able to have the planned beach party due to lockdown, but a bake off cake competition for Ed’s Birthday row instead. After Christmas we ran a Crowdfunding event with rewards that raised a further £5,000. The contributions from the club and local community have been amazing.

We submitted our planning application which was validated on the 23rd February 2021. The documents and drawing are available to view on the Halton Borough Council planning portal:
Planning Applications (halton.gov.uk) reference number 21/00102/FUL

The Design and Access Statement (DAS) contains the bulk of the design and baseline data supporting our application. We will be busy over the next few months updating our consultees about the project progress, responding to planning queries and planning our next steps towards the construction of our new clubhouse.

‘A dream written down with a date, is a goal.
A goal broken down into steps is a plan.
A plan with actions becomes reality’

The current design we are working towards:

New development proposals
(7 Nov 2020)
We appointed Glancy Nichols (architects) and Certo (cost consultants) to help is with options and feasibility studies in June 2020. They have been working over the summer months on a number of boathouse options to meet our long list of requirements. We are currently considering two options (one slightly larger than the other) and have been presenting these to our club members in a ‘virtual exhibition’ to get their feedback on the proposals. Further external consultation will be held with key stakeholders and our local community before we get final plans ready for a planning application.

The two options under consideration are shown

Option A: larger clubhouse
Option B: Slightly smaller clubhouse

Finish what you started
(Sept 2019)
The team that had done such an amazing job of purchase additional land, demolishing the existing lock keepers cottage and install a portacabin style clubhouse had run out of steam. The kitchen was incomplete and our adaptive rowers could not enter the old clubhouse to use the changing area and toilets.

I offered to complete the kitchen connections and install the mobile adaptive units we had acquired as a first step, it would give me experience of working with other club members and see if it was something that would give a degree of satisfaction completing. We could then use the kitchen for weekend café, social events and our adaptive rowers could be included in training and club events as they could access the old clubhouse.

Our kitchen was completed, new door installed and the mobile toilets installed by EBL in 2018.It is lovely to see our kitchen being used and events happening in the clubhouse.

Go Large
(Dec 2018)
One of the first discussions with the club was about appetite for development, what would it look like, how keen were club members to help-out and what would they like to see in an ideal development.

We held a club meeting in 2018 to discuss the options:

Do nothing

Finish what we started

Go large

The over riding view was to ‘go large’. I agreed to fulfil a co-ordination role and to endeavor to create some momentum towards the development of new facilities.

Introduction

I joined Runcorn Rowing Club when I moved to the area in 1989 for work and apart from a break and have been a member of Runcorn Rowing Club for the last 30 years. The facilities at the clubhouse have developed over this time with the addition of the Jim Newcombe Shed in 2010. The lock keepers cottage was purchased and demolished to make way for new changing rooms and a new clubhouse. The club room and kitchen were installed in 2015.

The gym, changing rooms, University boathouse, singles shed and the canoe club shed are slowly deteriorating. We are desperately in need of a new boatshed, gym and changing rooms to accommodate our growing rowing and canoeing clubs.

I recently left full time employment at RSK and offered to help with the co-ordination of a new clubhouse.

This Blog is a record of the journey to develop the boathouse into a facility which will be fit for the future for rowing and canoeing on the River Weaver Navigation.