The end of HPP?

Train2Win · Post by **Train2Win** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 10:49 am

As everyone is no doubt aware, Sport England has indicated that it may pull its funding from the National Watersports Centre, Holme Pierrepont. This is despite them having signed a contract that committed them to running the centre until 2009.

The loss of Sport England will signal an uncertain future for the Slalom Course as a racing and training venue and almost certainly have a massive detrimental effect on the other training facilities, such as the gym and regatta lake, as well as the centre building itself.

Sport England reportedly loses £1.5M a year on the site as a whole, with the slalom course being the only part of the business actually generating revanue, mainly it must be assumed , from rafting. Also proposed venues such as Broxbourne Slalom Course and Reading Rowing Centre, according to Sport England, apparantly cast doubt on the necessity of Holme Pierrepont as the National Centre and indeed its viability as a centre of excellance (see Evening Post).

This news comes of course after the 2012 Olympic bid has been secured and to most it has been a complete shock. It is shameful in my opinion that a sporting organisation such as Sport England should consider walking away from such an important venue. It has after all helped to produce medals from Campbell Walsh; Helen Reeves; Paul Ratcliffe and Tim Brabents to name but a few. If the centre is closed or sold then it will be a massive blow to the slalom paddlers who train there, who after all represent almost all the world standard paddlers in the country, with the exception of some of the juniors. Also lets not forget the many sprint and rowing athletes who train at HPP, the loss of funding would most likely mean they would have to relocate to another venue - a harsh prospect to those who have built a life in Nottingham.

The proposed site near London, though heralded as good news by those involved in Canoe Slalom, is only beneficial if it complements not replaces the existing site in Nottingham. The loss of HPP would mean that (when and if the new course is actually built) the entire World Class and GB Canoeing would have to relocate to a much more expensive location. Also the fact that Broxbourne will be a pumped site means that it will be very expensive to run and therefore, it will be unlikely to run all the time. This means that there will be limited water time available, and non-World Class athletes will most likely have to train on the slots reserved for rafts and recreational paddlers. This will not be condusive to good training to say the least!

In addition to the damage to elite watersport, recreational interests would also be harmed by the closure of the Watersports Centre. Many recreational paddlers frequently use the both the slalom course and the flat water. In addition, HPP is a country park and is enjoyed by many Nottingham residents who use it to cycle, walk and run. Also the centre attracts up to 60, 000 youngsters to try canoeing each year. Given that Sport England's mandate is to encourage uptake of sport amongst young people and to foster its develpment at the grass roots, it seems ludicrous that they should cut funding of a site like this.

I urge all slalom, sprint and recreational paddlers to write to local MPs, Sport England, The Minister of Sport, the press...whoever....to broadcast the fact that the proposed government cuts will likely result fewer medals in Sprint and Slalom - sports that have produced medals in Sydney and Athens; as well as the fact that an important recreational site may be lost.

NW paddler · Post by **NW paddler** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 1:34 pm

"The loss of HPP would mean that (when and if the new course is actually built) the entire World Class and GB Canoeing would have to relocate to a much more expensive location."

Nottingham is already a 3 hour drive for people in the NW. If World Class has to move how do we manage weekend training. At least Nottingham is central fro those travelling north and south. Pus the added travel and accommodation cost!

We'll write to our MP.

Anne · Post by **Anne** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 3:09 pm

It is correct thst Sport England has indicated their intentions to pull out of HPP, and other sites. However at present there is no specific date as to when that will happen. My understanding is if they pulled out before their contract with Leisure Connections ends in 2009 they will inccur a very large financial penalty. This DOES NOT necesarily mean the loss of HPP there are many other options and intersted parties.

helen · Post by **helen** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 5:41 pm

its a pity but i heard that at the moment they are changing the looping pool and adding extra blocks in

Dee · Post by **Dee** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 7:08 pm

One of the great things about HPP is that it is one of the few (and as far as I know only) moving water venues with gates where I can take my son at any open time and know that there will be other people on the water in the very unlikely event of a swim. I would be sorry to see it go but find it hard to believe that this is likely even if Sport England do pull out. I'd like to know how much of this is scare-mongering by the press etc and whether there is genuine concern about the future of HPP. Anne's comment seems to imply that there is unlikely to be a real issue?

Anne · Post by **Anne** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 7:19 pm

Obviously nothing is ever certain, I can only go by information I have!!

Patrick · Post by **Patrick** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 11:40 pm

If they're making money from rafting on the slalom course. then they probably won't close it.

kanu.63 · Post by **kanu.63** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 8:04 pm

How can HPP close from a funding probulem ? When sites like Teeside survive with less water time and no funding at all ?

guest. · Post by **guest.** » Tue Jan 24, 2006 2:25 pm

it is not the slalom course thats making a loss i am lead to believe. its the aoccomodation ect...

malky · Post by **malky** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 9:47 am

are you suprised the accommodation is making a loss?? apart from big race weekends it never really seems that busy. plus it has massive overheads by having many full time satff on plus the kitchen always running having a full menu on but how much of the food goes to waste? also the accomodation is terribly over priced for what it is. the place is not really that nice and at nearly £30 bed and breakfast in the place its not hard to get better value for money!

fishy · Post by **fishy** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 11:21 am

they also have the rowing lake to maintain and that only really gets used during the summer

fison · Post by **fison** » Sat Jan 28, 2006 3:51 pm

can the slalom course not stand on its own what with all the money they must get from paddlers ie course shut, early morning bookings, Team only days or do they not get money off them.

i may have missed the point sorry if i have then please advise me why it may be shutting down as ti the likes of Teesside as stated before they are not subsidised ???

PaulR · Post by **PaulR** » Sat Jan 28, 2006 9:05 pm

Your not looking at other things that the slalom course offers, during the day (granted mostly in the summer) the course is fully booked early morning into late afternoon with rafting, that by itself generates a lot of income.

Compare this to the amount of maintenance that isn't truly needed to the place on a day to day basis then they're quids in!!

As regards the accommodation, I would have to agree and state that leisure connections are looking to be something that they're not. They’re not an ultra posh inner city hotel, they're just taking advantage of those rowing teams and sometimes slalom training squads that need a place to stay- fairly local that offers conference room etc

Train2Win · Post by **Train2Win** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 9:43 am

As I stated in the original post I the canoe slalom course is apparently the only part of the business making money, presumubly from rafting. However that still doesn't solve the problem of what will happen to the rest of the site if and when Sport England pull out.

There are other facilities such as the gym to maintain, and the loss of these would be affect many people who would have to pay to use another gym in town, no doubt one that would be less well-equipped and harder to get to. Also there are other sports using HPP, what would happen to them?

Also, who would buy the slalom course? If the answer is a rafting company, then there is no guarentee that slalom would still get its 8-10 exclusive use slot, and the gates may well either be put permanently in eddies (an extreme annoyance as anyone who's trained at Teesside will testify) or be removed completely.

Its all very well saying "it'll be ok", but we need to think ahead and get answers to the question of the site's long-term future instead of burying our heads in the sand.

Anne · Post by **Anne** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 11:38 am

No one can ever be totally certain about it's long term future, but there are a number of options around that should not mean the loss of HPP as a slalom training site.