Molesey councillors to decide on Boat Club application for funds

Steve Bax, second from right, at the Molesey Boat Club ground breaking
ceremony for the rowing tank on June 15th.

The first formal meeting of the Local Spending Board for East and West Molesey will be held this Thursday (September 11th) at the Council offices in Esher.
It will meet to consider applications from local good causes for a share of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) money. This is a tax that Elmbridge Council levies on developers who are building in the borough, to ensure that development pays towards local improvements.
The spending board is comprised of Molesey's nine Elmbridge Borough councillors, among them our very own Councillor Steve Bax, and will debate requests for funds from three applicants - Molesey Boat Club, the Thames Project and St Paul's Church.
At the last 'informal' hearing earlier in the summer, members provisionally agreed to allocate £40,000 to Molesey Boat Club to help towards the creation of an indoor rowing centre in Graburn Way. This would be a replacement for the tank that was lost when Elmbridge's old leisure centre was demolished in 2004 and replaced with the Xcel Centre at Walton.
Bill Raspin, Chairman of the Boat Club, said: “The rowing tank will be available for the whole community to use and will en- able us to provide a safe and stable environment for both able bodied and disabled people including schools and clubs to try out rowing and gain confidence before going onto the water.”
The facility will cost close to £300k and will be mainly covered by fundraising and donations. The club has asked Molesey councillors for £80,000 but as there is only £81,000 in the pot currently (that was the figure in June - it may have increased) it is likely to be offered around half.
A separate bid from the Thames Landscape Strategy seeks to enhance the entrance to Hurst Park from Barge Walk at a cost of £5,700. While St Paul's Church in East Molesey is seeking £10,000 to cover unexpected costs that have arisen from essential repairs being carried out to its spire.
Elmbridge's Conservative run council is leading the way as the first local authority to charge CIL, which is a more local version of the previous Section 106. The Council charges developers £125 per square metre, and £100 psm for a retail development.
CIL bids can be made by going to www.elmbridge. gov.uk/planning