Basingstoke and Deane Canoe Club is pleased to announce that it has been awarded £60,000 funding by Canoe England for a clubhouse on the Basingstoke Canal.
The Club is working towards building a clubhouse on land that it owns adjacent to the Basingstoke Canal at Colt Hill Wharf in Odiham. Following grant of planning permission in 2008, the Club has been working to finalise the design and secure funding for the clubhouse comprising boat store, changing rooms and a club room.
The Department of Culture, Media and Sport has funded Canoe England’s Capital Grant Programme through its investment in Sport England. This investment aims to increase participation in sport for all by improving facilities at grass roots level.
Alan Macdonald, the Club chairman said, “This support from Canoe England is great news, building on funding already announced by the Hampshire Playing Fields Association and Hart District Council. The Basingstoke Canal at Odiham is the closest publicly navigable water to Basingstoke: building a clubhouse will make participation in canoeing and kayaking easier, not only for Club members but also for those wishing to try out the sport.”
Janella Mansell, the Club’s paddlesport development officer said, “We are lucky to have some great coaches, for example Colin King was Basingstoke and Deane’s Coach of the Year 2012 and Peter Mansell was winner of the Impact on Disability category on the Canoe England volunteer awards 2013. A clubhouse adjacent to the Basingstoke Canal will mean they can spend more time helping people paddling and less time transporting boats around: good news for the coaches, the Club and the wider community”.
