HPPCC 3rd/4th September race suspended

[Mark H]

Hi all I am sorry to inform you that the HPPCC race 3rd 4th September has been suspended.
The reason for this is that Serco want to charge us £13,200 to rent the course for the weekend.
No race cards or cheques to be sent in to Mr Barret until further notice. This charge in my opinion will
be the death of Slalom races at HPP. SPORT FOR ALL !
I am sorry for any inconvenience caused
Mark Haylett

[paddlerparent]

Would be interesting to know what s&s are paying for mconkey, n manchester for div 1/2

[Mark H]

That e mail has already been sent, but yes you are right.

[CeeBee]

I've just triple checked that I've read your post correctly and not missed a decimal point somewhere.

So SERCO want to charge a fee of thirteen thousand two hundred pounds to run an event on the slalom course for the weekend.

Hoping they have the made a mistake and added an extra zero.

[Mark H]

No mistake.
They charged us £1,730 last year for the weekend, and they want £13,200 (no mistake). So I hope paddlers and officials understand why we have suspended the race.
A decision to cancel will be taken very shortly.

[CeeBee]

Have they given any explanation for this rise?

When public funding is given to fund these courses, we need to get far better at ensuring that rules are built into the agreement to allow sufficient time for races and training at a reasonable cost.

Assuming 8 hours water time per day so 16 hours in total, this works out at £825 per hour - this is even more expensive than Lee Valley

Hopefully someone can bring pressure to bear to get the charges back to an affordable level.

[Mark H]

I have had a discussion with the WW centre manager
and he just said it was to cover the rafting loss of income.

[John Sturgess]

When HPP was handed back by Sport England to Notts County Council a few years back, NCC mounted a consultation. Three possibilities were suggested: all involved spending millions on new equipment and facilities, and recovering the cost by charging for use.
Among the consultees was Gedling Borough Council, just across the river. As the Council's Sports Development Officer I was delegated the responsibility for replying.
GBC's reply said that none of the three suggested Business Plans would work. Gedling proposed that they should get rid of the staff, and dynamite the hotel etc. They would then be left with a low-maintenance water feature in a country park. They would then put up signs around the course telling people that they paddle at their own risk.
Pie in the sky? Have you been to Augsburg recently?
And what about Health and Safety, you will say? A lot of people do not realise that by employing lots of staff (and indeed by demanding risk assessments all over the place) a Duty of Care is created which would not otherwise exist. What about Ben Nevis?

[Debs]

Any update on whether race is cancelled? Just wondering whether to post entry, thanks?

[Mark H]

Hi Deb,
The race is now on so cards and entries will now be accepted.
Thank you to all who have helped sort this problem out
Cheers Mark H

[Debs]

Great thanks Mark!

[jjayes]

Hi Deb,
The race is now on so cards and entries will now be accepted.
Thank you to all who have helped sort this problem out
Cheers Mark H

Does that mean you are paying the £13,200 or have they come to their senses?