SOUTH WEST OF ENGLAND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY 
MINUTES OF THE 62nd BOARD MEETING 21 February 2005 
Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, Portland 
 
Present - SW RDA:  
 
Juliet Williams - Chairman 
Nick Buckland - Deputy Chairman  
Cathy Bakewell - Board Member 
Christine Channon - Board Member 
Nigel Costley - Board Member 
Alan Courts - Board Member 
Duncan Hames - Board Member 
Brian Kemp - Board Member 
Jonathon Porritt - Board Member  
Christine Reid - Board Member 
Judith Reynolds - Board Member 
Colin Skellett - Board Member 
Harry Studholme - Board Member 
Eric Thomas - Board Member 
 
SWRA: 
 
Jackie Longworth - Chair, SWRA 
Cllr Paul Crossley - SWRA Executive Committee 
Nigel Hutchings - SWRA Executive Committee 
Cllr Julian Johnson - SWRA Executive Committee 
Cllr Ron Parker - SWRA Executive Committee 
Cllr Tony Phillips - SWRA Executive Committee 
Cllr Chanel Stevens - SWRA Executive Committee 
Cllr Gil Streets - SWRA Executive Committee 
Blair Thomson - SWRA Executive Committee 
Bryony Houlden - SWRA Chief Executive 
 
Guests: 
 
Liz Carter - Director of Regional Policies & Enterprise 
Ged Roddy - Chair, Sport England South West 
Jim Clarke - Regional Director, Sport England South West 
Rod Carr - Chief Executive, Royal Yachting Association 
Mike Lee - Director of Communications and Public Affairs, London 2012 
Jon Armstrong - London 2012  
 
In attendance: 
 
Geoffrey Wilkinson - Chief Executive 
Suzanne Bond - Director of Strategy and Communications 
Nick Lewis - Director of Corporate Services 
Colin Molton - Director of Operations and Development 
Stephen Peacock - Director of Enterprise and Innovation 
Jeff Chinnock - Corporate and Parliamentary Affairs 
Caroline Bloodworth - Corporate and Parliamentary Affairs  
Kay Homer - Head of Operations, Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole 
Bruce Voss - Development Manager, Bournemouth Dorset and Poole 
 
Apologies: 
 
Cllr Pat Hockey - SWRA Executive Committee 
Chris Irwin - SWRA Executive Committee 
Cllr Lady Mavis Dunrossil - SWRA Executive Committee 
Cate Le-Grice Mack - SWRA Executive Committee 
Cllr John Smeaton - SWRA Executive Committee 
Cllr Sir Simon Day - SWRA Executive Committee 
 
1. Welcome and introduction 
 
Juliet Williams welcomed those present to the meeting and explained that it was the first joint meeting of the RDA Board and the SWRA Executive Committee. She also welcomed Ged Roddy and Jim Clarke (Sport England), Rod Carr (Royal Yachting Association), Liz Carter (GOSW).  
 
Jackie Longworth, Chair of the SWRA, thanked Juliet for the invitation to the meeting. 
 
2. The role of sport in the economy and regeneration of South West England 
 
A joint presentation on the role of sport in supporting economic growth and regeneration in the region was provided by Sport England and the RDA. Ged Roddy outlined the broad context, Jim Clarke discussed the economic impact of sporting activities, Colin Molton highlighted RDA support for sport, and Eric Thomas spoke about Sport England's plans for South West England.  
 
During the following discussion, questions were raised about active workplaces and whether and how the TUC could play a part in offering advice and guidance to encourage take up by business. It was agreed that Jim Clarke and Nigel Costley would take this forward. 
 
The issue of the feasibility for smaller companies to create their own sports facilities was raised and it was suggested that employees could be offered vouchers for access to external facilities as an alternative. The need to ensure that sports facilities in schools and colleges were adequate for young people to engage in sport was underlined. It was pointed out that many children gave up sport at age 16. 
 
The opportunity for creating sports facilities that could be used both by schools and local communities was discussed. 
 
3. An Olympic perspective - Rod Carr 
 
Rod Carr provided anecdotes from his experiences of six Olympic Games, including his time as Deputy Chef de Mission for Team GB at the Sydney Olympics. He reviewed the sailing venues of the last 20 years and their legacies. The most successful had been Kiel in Germany which was built for the 1992 Olympic Games and continued to deliver significant economic impact today. 
 
4. London 2012 Olympic bid 
 
Mike Lee provided background information on the progress and timetable of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) bidding process. He also outlined the programme that IOC members had undertaken when visiting London the previous week and provided some feedback on the visit. The general consensus was that the visit had been a successful one, with IOC members particularly noting the level of public support for the bid across the country. Mike Lee thanked those involved in supporting the bid across the region and particularly the support forthcoming from the Weymouth and Portland area. 
 
5. Osprey Quay & the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy 
 
Colin Molton explained the background to the SW RDA acquiring the site (previously Royal Naval Air Station Portland) in March 2000, and the subsequent development of a masterplan. Since that time the mixed use development has progressed, with the infrastructure completed and a phased release of remaining development land scheduled for the next two years. Current occupiers included the Sailing Academy, Luhrs Marine, G3 Systems and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.