Cornwall sailing charity awarded £48,000 of funding from Sport England 

Mylor Sailability is set to build much-needed new facilities

Mylor Sailability is among 148 local sports projects to secure a share of £10 million of National Lottery funding from Sport England’s Inspired Facilities fund.

Since 2011, Inspired Facilities has been helping breathe new life into tired community sports facilities and converting existing buildings into venues suitable for grassroots sport.

Mylor Sailability will receive £48,270 of National Lottery funding for its Let’s get going project. The aim of the project is to set up a base in Mylor Harbour, including classrooms and changing facilities. It will also provide a specifically-adapted pontoon and a hoist to make sailing accessible for those using wheelchairs, or with other severe disabilities. The project will also benefit from £3000 of funding from Mylor Yacht Harbour.

Sport England Property Director, Charles Johnston, said: “The Inspired Facilities Fund has had a huge impact on grassroots sport across the country. Since 2011, we’ve invested £94 million into more than 1,800 projects to improve and refurbish sports clubs and transform non-sporting venues into vibrant community sports clubs.

“It’s great to see Mylor Sailability join the long list of successful clubs to benefit from this fund.”

Founder of the charity, Tracey Boyne said: “The funding for the new building is going to make a phenomenal difference to Mylor Sailability and its members. At the moment we cannot run day-time sessions in the summer months due to the lack of capacity with the commercial school. The new classroom and social area will come complete with a sophisticated projector and hearing loop system to enable us to deliver the shorebased sessions to all participants working through the RYA scheme to help achieve certification. This will also create a social area for members and a shelter in bad weather.

“The extra pontoon section will fit 90 degrees onto the end of our existing pontoon and this will make launching and landing so much easier. It will also make an incredible difference in getting participants into the boats, giving us a lot more room to do this. The addition of the hoist to the pontoon will enable us to up the level of disability that we can accommodate. This will mean being able to take people who are wheelchair users but are not able to manoeuvre themselves onto the boats.”

Sarah Newton, MP for Truro and Falmouth, said: "I was delighted to read of the funding granted to Mylor Sailability and to learn of the exciting changes this money will enable. The new and improved club and sailing facilities should make a real difference to the experience of all those sailing.

"I send my heartiest congratulations to the Club on their successful fundraising effort and hope that other local clubs can be inspired by their example and explore the support on offer from Sport England."

Work on the project will begin this winter. Tracey hopes that by May 2015 the School will therefore be increasing the number of RYA sailing and powerboating courses it can run, bringing the opportunity of sailing to a greater number of people of all abilities in the Falmouth area.

Mylor Sailability is planning a free sailing taster day at the end of April 2015, date to be announced on completion of works.

For more details about the project, please contact Tracey Boyne on 01326 377633 or 07971 520257 or info@mylorsailingschool.co.uk 

Many more communities are set to benefit from the hugely popular fund with the latest round of the Inspired Facilities now open. Community and voluntary organisations, councils and schools can bid for a share of £20 million to help  upgrade facilities that can be unattractive, expensive to run and difficult to maintain, and to convert existing non-sporting buildings into venues that are suitable for grassroots sport.

Applying for funding has never been easier. Based on feedback from previous applicants, the Inspired Facilities Fund is now an open programme which means projects can submit applications as soon as they are ready rather than being restricted by a specific deadline. To find out more and bid, visit www.sportengland.org/inspiredfacilities.