Melksham canoe club lands grant (From Wiltshire Times)

Melksham canoe club lands grant

9:00pm Saturday 28th January 2012 in Melksham

MELKSHAM’S youth canoe club is celebrating after securing £10,000 in funding to create a new landing stage at its home.

The club, which has won numerous national awards, will use the money to repair a crumbling bank and existing landing stage on the River Avon at Melksham Adven-ture Centre, where it is based.

It successfully applied for £9,000 from Virador Credits and another £1,000 from Melksham Town Council helped it hit its target.

Jon Finch, Wiltshire Youth Canoe Club’s race co-ordinator, said: “It’s a lot of money and it’s taken some working for. Three years ago we started talking about it, but we’re almost ready to order the bits and pieces.

“The bank that the landing stage is on is crumbling and falling into the river, so we’ll make good the bank that is disappearing.

“It’s used every day, twice a day most days, for training and recreational paddling. It’s a landing stage that’s open to the public, not just the canoe club, so it will benefit the wider community.

“It’s just getting more and more unsafe to use, so we decided something had to be done.”

The plan now is for volunteers to do the work in April or May, when the river is typically at its lowest and is not too cold.

Mr Finch said: “The new stage has been designed for us by Mike Lee from the Wilts and Berks Canal Trust and we’ve approached the Environment Agency for permission. They’ve agreed it in principle, so we just need to finish the paperwork.

“It will certainly make it easier to get in and out of the water and easier for less able-bodied people as well. It will open up more opportunities at the canoe club.”

Although the club is predominantly used by those aged eight to 18, all ages are welcome. Call Mr Finch on 07711 055784 for more details.