Ashfield council issues statement on plans for Sutton Sailing Club and King's Mill Reservoir

Concerns were raised by members of the 60-year-old club that it could be forced to close after the council announced it is moving forward with the car park plans, which would be located on the part of King’s Mill Reservoir where the club houses its boats.

A 2,000-strong petition has been launched to stop the car park from taking place, with the sailing club also separately hitting out at the council for “increasing the rent by 4,000 per cent, effectively closing one of the area’s oldest non-profit volunteer groups”.

But following the petition launch, the council has issued a statement justifying its potential rent increases – saying the previous lease for the club was signed in 2005 and that its current rate “no longer reflects current market value”.

Theresa Hodgkinson, director for place and communities at the council, said: “The current Sailing Club lease expired in October 2019.

“Before this, the council met with the club and communicated with them many times, to look at new arrangements for a lease which would allow the club to continue to support their 48 active members from across the region.

“The previous lease was signed in 2005. The charges were £75 ground rent per annum and £25 per boat registered.

“In 2018/19 this was a charge of £1,100. These charges were set 15 years ago and no longer reflect current market value and opportunities at the site.

“Similar leases in the area are valued at over £10,000 per year. Our proposed flat fee of £3,000 per annum is considerably lower than that charged to other Nottinghamshire based clubs and remains highly subsidised and favourable to the sailing club.”

The car park plans would see land where the club houses its boat taken over by the authority in order to introduce the pay-and-display car park, which would accompany the new cafe and visitor centre currently under construction and help bring additional income to the site.

The first hour of the car park would be free and then cost £1 for an additional two hours, meaning visitors get three hours parking for £1. The council’s study show that the majority of visitors stay for less than an hour.

Mrs Hodgkinson added that the council wants to work “proactively” with the club to reach an agreement and recognised there are additional concerns to be met.

“We recognise there are groups that operate alongside the sailing club and we have met with the Sea Cadets, who may be affected”, she said.

“The sailing club currently charge the Sea Cadets Circa £1,500 per year in membership and boat storage fees, £400 more than they pay the council.

“We want to ensure that the Sea Cadets continue to have a base at the reservoir and will continue to work with them to ensure they deliver their valuable service into the future.

“Council officers have been working closely with them to ensure we continue to support them being able to fully use our site.”

A spokesman for the Sailing Club previously told the Chad: “We’ve sent an impact assessment to the council saying what the club does for the local community, especially in terms of access to sailing for people from a variety of backgrounds across the locality, and they’ve just not been interested.

“They have ignored us and they are taking the land off us basically to turn it into a pay and display car park which means everybody will have to pay to park at the Res and we will struggle to function as a club.”