| Surf's Up....in Nottingham?! |
| Written by surfing genie | |
| Thursday, 04 September 2008 | |
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THE crashing waves of Hawaii stand thousands of miles away. But surfers could soon be waxing their boards in anticipation of a trip to Notts. Holme Pierrepont is set for a £9m overhaul which will see England's first indoor surfing machines. The move will make the National Water Sports Centre more accessible with a range of extreme sports. "It will turn Holme Pierrepont into one of the UK's most exciting watersports destinations," said county councillor Chris Baron. "It will be a catalyst to get more people in the county into sports. It is very exciting." The plans hope to increase visitors from 86,000 per year to 150,000. The first phase – which has yet to get council backing and planning consent – will be ready in two years. It includes the southern area of the regatta lake becoming an extreme sports zone. A new £5m building, with an iconic wave-shaped roof, will be built near the south-west bank of the lake. It will house two indoor surfing machines called FlowRiders, which jet a thin but fast stream of water up a curved, springy membrane in the shape of a wave. They can be used for surfing by people of all ages and abilities – and be used by up to 48 people per hour. A large changing area will also be housed in the new building as well as a cafe/restaurant. At a cost of £300,000, the tow cable, used by water skiers, will be moved from the Ski Lagoon to the Winfield Lake, near the white water slalom. Seven-hundred metres of the southern part of the regatta lake will be cordoned off for recreational watersports such as sailing, canoeing and windsurfing. The northern part of the lake, a stretch of 1,300 metres, will be used by athletes. Up to £1m will be spent upgrading the campsite, with 40 new static caravans, a children's play area and washing area. And £500,000 will be spent modernising the accommodation and conference rooms. If after four years the centre is financially solvent, further plans include turning the current Ski Lagoon into a marina. It could be linked with the disused Grantham Canal and the River Trent, attracting boaters. A large hotel may also be built and a footbridge across the Trent could take walkers and cyclists to Colwick Park. Coun Steve Carroll, cabinet member for Culture and Regeneration, said: "We are going to take Holme Pierrepont to the next level." Sport England will pay £4m and the county council £5.5m. This has to be agreed by a full council meeting next Thursday, but officers have recommended approval. Project manager Ian Bebbington, the former manager of the centre, said: "It is about bringing it up to a decent standard and having a bit more of a commercial approach. "The biggest problem now is that you have to book. We want to get it to where people can just turn up." The centre is set to undergo a name change, with council bosses believing the word 'national' in the title puts locals off. Coun Baron said: "In a consultation people told us they wanted extreme sports – and if this is not extreme than I don't know what is. "The facilities are going to be so much better. We are known as a sporting county. We are now going where other districts have not dared to go." Simon Starr, director of Sports Nottinghamshire, said: "It is always nice to be first to have anything. And if it is encouraging people to try surfing and bringing people to Holme Pierrepont, that has got to be a wonderful thing for the county." Nottingham University Surf Club vice-president Oliver Sherrington, 21, from Lenton, said: "It sounds good. I think it will be popular." Olympic Gold Medallist Dr Tim Brabants said: "I'm pleased to hear that the long-term plan is focused not only on providing world class facilities for elite sports people, but will also encourage community use." This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |
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