New sailing centre planned next to Olympic site

The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) wants to build a performance and innovation centre off Portland Beach Road

A sailing centre proposal to build a new performance centre has received mixed responses from the public.

The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) wants to build a performance and innovation centre close to the existing Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy off Portland Beach Road which is home to many Olympic sailors.

The RYA said the proposed new centre would “providing state of the art, purpose-built facilities” for its elite training.

Opposition from Shock Sailing said: “We do not believe the proposed location for the development is suitable for a number of reasons.”

The plans are open to public comment until 15 June

Portland councillors previously claimed the proposed three-storey building was “inappropriate” for the site and suggested smaller units on several sites might be better.

Portland Town Council said initial concerns had now been addressed and “it is now satisfied with the proposal".

Shock Sailing wrote to Dorset Council in opposition about the proposed location for the development, suggesting there was a “more suitable location for this building in the rear of the gravel boat storage area.”

It said: “The planning document provided by the applicant refers to the new RYA building location as being adjacent to the current Sailing Academy.

“This is highly misleading, the location for the proposed building is very much inside the grounds of the Academy and indeed on land that is an integral part of the infrastructure of the Academy.”

It added: “That removing the use of that land to build the new centre is likely to result in 60 fewer boats being stored there – reducing the opportunities for maintenance work and other goods and services as well as available space to host large-scale sailing events.”

The RYA said the proposed new centre would “provide state of the art, purpose-built facilities"

Chair of the board of directors for the Sailing Academy, David Griffith said he “believes that if there is any impact on local businesses it would be minimal – and could lead to an increase in demand for specialist marine suppliers.”

Mr Griffith said: “The Academy is satisfied the new use of some of the land will not impact the ability to host events such as World Championships.”

The RYA said the proposed new centre would “provide state of the art, purpose-built facilities in a new holistic performance and innovation centre to enable structured and informal communication and collaboration between departments.”