Weymouth and Portland Borough Council has served Weymouth Angling Club with a notice to bring to an end the lease on its harbourside clubhouse – so that it can be demolished to make way for a car park.
113 year old Weymouth Angling Club is one of the best in the country with over 400 members, including a thriving 70-strong junior section, and has been based on the site for nearly forty years.
The Angling Trust has offered to support the club in its battle with the Council and has issued an appeal to all anglers to contact local Weymouth Councillors before a crucial vote at 10am on Monday 21 October. Details of all Councillors can be found on the Council Web Site HERE.
The highest priority councillors are the four representing wards in Weymouth, as well as Ray Banham, the Liberal Democrat Mayor (see below for more details).
All the members of the club are furious about the proposals and frightened for the future of their club if the Council decides to demolish their club house to make space for more cars. They point out that there are plenty of parking spaces available in the nearby Pavilion car park, and there is a park and ride scheme in operation in the town.
Weymouth Angling Club Chairman Billy Short said: “This clubhouse is of vital importance not only to our members, but also to the economy of Weymouth, because angling visits generate hundreds of thousands of pounds in income for the town. People come from all over the country to fish in and around Weymouth. To lose it for a few more car parking spaces is tragic, after nearly 40 years of us operating from this site. We are determined to fight this all the way.”
Mark Lloyd, Chief Executive of the Angling Trust said: “These proposals have sickened anglers throughout the country. Weymouth is one of the most important ports for sea angling in the whole of the UK, and just last week hosted the Angling Trust’s National Boat Championships. The Council should be celebrating the fact that it has a thriving community club in the heart of the town providing sustainable and wholesome activity for young people that teaches them about the sea, gets them into the great outdoors and encourages healthy eating. Instead they want to knock down 40 years of angling heritage and destroy a 113 year old angling club, just to create a few extra car parking spaces.”
The Angling Trust will be attending the meeting to support Weymouth Angling Club.
List of Councillors
Jane Hall, Weymouth East, Conservative
John Birtwistle, Weymouth East, Liberal Democrat
Dominic Lonsdale, Weymouth West, Conservative
Richard Kosior, Weymouth West, Conservative
Colin Huckle, Weymouth West, Labour
Contact them via this web page:
http://webapps-wpbc.dorsetforyou.com/apps/democracy/councillors.asp as soon as possible before the deadline of 10am on Monday morning, and let them know what you think about the proposals.
