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Official handover of new £4m RYA
Portland House
01 February 2010
A £4 million multi purpose facility for the RYA (Royal Yachting
Association) at Osprey Quay on Portland in Dorset has been
officially handed over.
RYA Portland House has been developed by
regeneration company the Sutton Harbour Group in partnership with
the South West RDA (Regional Development Agency) and will be the
hub of performance sailing in the run up to and during the 2012
Olympic and Paralympic Games.
It is the first phase of Sutton Harbour’s £30
million leisure and tourism development called Castle Court near
Portland Castle, and the latest development to take shape at Osprey
Quay where the RDA is investing £40 million to transform the former
Royal Navy Air Station into a major employment centre with up to
1,400 jobs by 2016.
James Watt, development manager at the South
West RDA with responsibility for Osprey Quay, said: “RYA Portland
House is another exciting addition to the range of leisure and
employment uses being developed at Osprey Quay. Our investment has
helped make this site attractive to private investors like Sutton
Harbour and there is now more than £80 million of private sector
investment either spent or in the pipeline. Osprey Quay already
supports more than 300 jobs with many more to come by the time it
is fully developed.”
Nigel Godefroy, chief executive of the Sutton
Harbour Group, said: “This is just the first phase of our Castle
Court scheme and we’re very proud to have delivered this high
quality building on time and on budget despite market conditions.
We are currently in detailed discussions with both the Council and
the RDA over the content of Phase two, the construction of which we
intend to complete before 2012. This next exciting phase is
likely to include a combination of employment space, food store,
hotel, and associated high quality public realm and we are on
target to submit a planning application in the next few
months.”
Mike Wigley, RYA Treasurer and chairman of the
Portland Working Party, said “We are delighted with the new RYA
Portland House facility which we believe will be instrumental in
providing a performance advantage for our potential Olympic sailors
in the run up to and during the 2012 Olympic Games.
“But as well as being earmarked for 2012
preparations the facility will also be available for use by class
associations, RYA personal members, members of affiliated clubs, as
well as berth holder associations and Sailability for events,
meetings, conferences, training and competition activities.”
Cllr Geoff Petherick, brief holder for
economic development at Weymouth and Portland Borough Council,
said: “It is fantastic to witness the regeneration of Osprey Quay,
and the handover of RYA Portland House is another example of how
the 2012 Games are transforming the area into an outstanding
location for world-class sailing. In less than 1000 days, sailing
teams from around the globe will be here to participate in the
Games, and I am sure that I speak for residents across the Borough
in saying that this is a very exciting prospect indeed.”
The five-storey RYA Portland House includes a
reception area, meeting rooms, storage, a small retail unit, three
floors of 24 en-suite bedrooms and a top floor clubroom, bar and
dining area with views over the water.
The building was designed by the Architects
Design Group and built by Midas Construction. It is expected to
achieve a BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental
Assessment Method) ‘excellent’ rating because of its high
environmental performance.
Elsewhere at Osprey Quay work has almost
finished on the old Mere Tank Farm site, which has been cleared,
levelled and services installed to provide flexible space for
activities related to the 2012 Games, after which it will be
available for a range of employment uses. The work has been paid
for by the RDA and managed by the Borough Council.
A planning application has now been submitted
for 17 small business units at Osprey Quay and work is also
progressing well on a low carbon housing scheme that aims to be an
exemplar of green development. Sustainable developer ZeroC, in
partnership with the RDA, is building 77 low carbon homes to the
north of Victoria Road, which should be completed in December.
The RDA has earmarked up to £500,000 from the
sale of the land to Zero C to be spent on community facilities,
including a new skate park, new seating and play facilities at
Victoria Gardens and an upgrade of Officer’s Field nearby, keeping
it as a permanent sports field and open space.
Last year saw the completion of the £27
million Portland Marina by marina developers and operators Dean
& Reddyhoff, including a range of shoreside facilities for boat
owners, The Boat That Rocks bar and restaurant, 15 new
business/retail units and five large commercial units.
Osprey Quay is located at the gateway to the
Isle of Portland, adjacent to the Weymouth and Portland National
Sailing Academy (WPNSA), the UK’s world class sailing academy and
venue for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games sailing events.
Copy ends
Notes to editors:
1. The
Sutton Harbour Group is a
regeneration and transport company established more than 160 years
ago and listed on the Alternative Investment Market of the London
Stock Exchange. With its headquarters in Plymouth in Devon, the
company is a past winner of the Secretary of State’s Award for
Regeneration and has won a string of other awards for its
regeneration projects in Plymouth’s historic Sutton Harbour,
delivered in partnership with Plymouth City Council. The group
expects to start work shortly on the second phase of a major
regeneration and restoration scheme in Exeter in Devon in
partnership with Exeter City Council. For more information visit
http://www.sutton-harbour.co.uk/
2. The
South West RDA leads the development of a sustainable economy,
investing to unlock the region's business
potential. It is
helping companies respond to the economic crisis and
charts a course for recovery. The RDA is developing or expanding
initiatives which include: establishing a Business Loan Fund;
coordinating the response to large companies in difficulty;
preparing for economic recovery.
3. The
RYA is the national body for all forms of recreational, competitive
and professional boating. It represents dinghy and yacht
racing, motor and sail cruising, RIBs and sportsboats, powerboat
racing, windsurfing, inland cruising and personal watercraft.
The RYA is recognised by all government
offices as being the negotiating body for the activities it
represents. It continually fights for the rights and freedoms of
its 102,000 personal members, the majority of whom choose to go
afloat for purely recreational non-competitive pleasure on coastal
and inland waters. There are an estimated further 500,000 boat
owners nationally who are members of RYA affiliated clubs and class
associations.
The RYA also sets and maintains a recognised
standard for recreational boat training through a network of 2,340
RYA Recognised Training Centres in over 43 countries. On average
155,000 people per year complete RYA training courses.
The RYA is committed to promoting all forms of
boating and making them accessible to everyone. For more
information please refer to our web site http://www.rya.org.uk/
RYA Sailability is the leading UK charity for
disabled sailing and is the official charity of the RYA. Registered
Charity Number: 1084351
You can find the RYA at RYA House, Ensign Way,
Hamble, Southampton, SO31 4YA
For more information
contact:
Jason Clark
Deborah Clark & Associates
01208-77900
07980-834368
jason@dca-pr.co.uk