Chew Valley Lake Sailing Club signs new lease with Bristol Water

I am delighted to let you know that we have just signed the new 25 year lease with Bristol Water, guaranteeing the future of the sailing at Chew for the foreseeable future.  I am grateful for the help of those involved in the process, particularly Brian and David as Trustees of the club before we incorporated and whose background knowledge and experience was invaluable in negotiating the new lease.

The content of the lease is similar to the previous one and in some parts simplified and with some adjustments to deal with more current issues such as biosecurity and we worked closely and successfully with the team at Bristol Water in producing a workable and appropriate document.

I am particularly grateful to Rob Harrison and his team at Bevan Brittan Solicitors acting on behalf of the club for all of their work in advising on the legal issues and checking the documents.

The new lease was signed on Friday 26 January with a ceremony at the club during which I presented to the senior management of Bristol Water and members of the club and then the documents were signed by Mel Karam the CEO of Bristol Water and Ben Newby, the Customer Services Director, myself and John Smalley.

We largely consumed a celebration cake made by Ali Armstrong of Ali’s Kitchen who, herself learnt to sail at Chew with WESSA when at Chew Valley School a few years ago.

Now that we have the lease in place we have the security to invest in the club facilities and the ongoing improvements to the bar area, the gents changing and the galley are high on the priority list.  We are also in a better position to apply for grants for new equipment from organisations such as the RYA and so we are looking for the opportunities to improve the facilities that might offer wider participation in the sport.

Rob Mitchell – President