Canoe club announces that the weir work could be financed partly from sports funds

A canoe club says a collapsed weir has left “internal hazards” in the water and the club cannot accept new members.

Colchester Canoe Club was severely disrupted in its day-to-day operations by the collapse of the Middle Mill Weir last December.

More than 200 days after the incident, Colchester City Council has announced three possible options for the weir, including a minor reconstruction, replacement with a similar structure and demolition for the purpose of “rewilding”.

At the meeting of the council’s investigative committee, members of the canoe club reported to council members how much the club had suffered since the collapse.

Impact – The canoe club is directly affected by the weir breach (Image: Colchester Canoe Club)

Amanda Gilmore, chair of the club, told the panel members that since its inception, the club has reached around 30,000 children and 50,000 adults and introduced them to the joys of watersports.

She said: “Over the last two years, we have been looking closely at our target audience to expand our services. Some of our members come from socially disadvantaged families. Thanks to the equipment and coaching, some of us have been able to achieve exceptional results and represent our country at competitive level.”

Ms Gilmore explained the social value of the club but said its current plans were on hold.

She said: “For safety reasons, we do not have access to the river in the short term. In the long term, our ability to implement our plan depends entirely on the water level.”

“The current water level poses dangers that we cannot contain to attract new paddlers.”

Canoeing and kayaking are growing in popularity and the Colchester club has produced a number of talented athletes who represent the country in international competitions.

Ms Gilmore said: “The collapse of the building was catastrophic for a number of reasons. One of them was the complete loss of all our club’s activities.”

Members – Chair Amanda Gilmore, Club Treasurer Steve Waters, Club Equipment Officer Liam Robson and Club Head Coach Sara Barwich (Image: Colchester Canoe Club)

Liaison officers have indicated that possible funding from Sport England could be used to repair the dam.

Council leader David King said: “We can perhaps understand the impatience of some after hearing it from Sir Bob, but I know we are doing everything we can.

“One cannot underestimate how difficult it is to make progress on anything that requires regulation and a number of different authorities. We need to find the right balance between being patient enough and being impatient enough to achieve cooperation.”

Mr King added that he was in discussions with Essex Highways, the owner and manager of the footbridge, and had asked a representative to visit the site before any further action was taken to “see and feel the experience and loss first hand”.