Southampton City Council and Coalporters Amateur Rowing Club celebrate opening of new boat storage area

Southampton City Council have been working alongside Northam based rowing Club ‘Coalporters Amateur Rowing Club’ to transform an abandoned archway under Northam Bridge into a dedicated boat storage area

The space was previously being misused for anti-social behaviour and fly tipping but after five years of fundraising, the storage area has been transformed into a community area where families can come and enjoy rowing and the club can offer better training and facilities.

The £120,000 development will offer opportunities to Southampton residents of all ages to participate in rowing and has been made possible through fundraising initiatives and a generous donation from Sport England who donated £40,000.

Celebrations at the new boat storage area kicked off early last Saturday afternoon with an opening event with a buffet and drinks. This gave everyone a chance to check out the new facility. Celebrations continued into the evening at the main Club Hall. The Right Worshipful Lord Mayor of Southampton, Councillor Jacqui Rayment attended the event along with MP Alan Whitehead and local councillors.

Club coach and volunteer Nick Chmarny said:

“We have lots of people from this area come down and start rowing with their kids, this storage gives us a bigger capacity to take the boats out more. It's been a long road, difficult trying to get all the various government bodies ticking off different things and the Covid pandemic on top of that. We're in a really good place now for people to come down and row.”

The Right Worshipful Lord Mayor of Southampton, Councillor Jacqui Rayment said:

“We are delighted to support the new facility for the Coalporters Amateur Rowing Club. It will enable them to offer more opportunities for local residents to participate in rowing. The opening event was a fantastic day and demonstrates the Rowing Club’s commitment to community spirit.”