Disclaimer
This information is NOT a reflection of any discussions held or agreements reached at the FoRC meeting. This information was not supplied early enough to be included in any presentations or handouts and it is being circulated as a follow-up action from the meeting.
Islington Boat Club Update
20th October 2022
At the meeting of the Friends of Regent's Canal we were expecting to hear an update from a representative from the Islington Boat Club.
Unfortunately nobody was available. We were supplied some slides a couple of hours before the meeting but they could not be included in time.
Here are some extracts from the two slides:-
Summary
* In May 2022, Islington Council sent formal notice with immediate effect to close the site. This was a result of a site inspection
showing multiple minor to medium failings in the Health and Safety standards of the Building.
* We have been working closely with the Council to address the concerns of safety in some areas around the site (not building
related)
* We are debating the liability of how the building came to be some rundown, including the Council withdrawing their funding of the
Centre over 8 years ago and therefore forcing us to be 100% reliant on charitable funds and individual donations to operate and
repair the building.
* We have been unable to generate revenue because of the closure. This has put financial strain on the Charity, with a projected
£(17,000) shortfall by the end of the fiscal year.
* We are working hard to fundraise for the shortfall to cover overheads, including core staff wages to plan and prepare for the
reopening of the Centre in April, rent for the basin we cannot use and water licences and insurances etc.
How can you help?
* We are looking for Trustees with time & expertise to help negotiate with the Council to
secure Islington Boat Club's future. To ensure we can continue our long history of
providing water sports to the Youth and community of Islington and surrounding areas on
the City Road Basin.
* Become a regular supporter and donor of the club.
* Write to the local Councillors and MP for the area, showing your interest and support for
the club and our importance to the community.
Scan QR for more information on the following:
* We are holding an Auction of 2 fabulous Oil paintings of the Basin.
They were painted and donated by local artist Graham McBride.
* Make Purchase a Mug from our website
* Sign up for our monthly newsletters and update
Unfortunately there were no representatives from the council at the meeting. But shortly before the meeting, Councillor Martin Klute sent the following comment in response to suggestions that the council had withdrawn funding for the club.
I'm not sure that the Council has ever 'funded' the Boat club. I think this is a common misunderstanding.
The council's Childrens' services dept used to buy services from the Club for children and young people, particularly deprived young people, which provided them with income, but the club was unable or unwilling to evidence what services they were providing as part of the Council's QA/funding agreement, and so the Council ceased buying services from them.
The boat club is (or is supposed to be) a self-supporting charity. We have made it clear to them many times that we have no issue with the club offering private sessions to fee-paying residents and business people to cross-fund their community work, but they don't seem to be able to get this going. Comparisons with Laburnum up the road, the London Kayak Company and Wakeup Docklands show this model is perfectly feasible.
For further updates please see our web page.
