A new boathouse and 80-seat restaurant are set to be built after plans were approved. Ashfield District Council’s Planning Committee approved the plans on Wednesday, February 1, and the plans to demolish the former sailing club building at Kings Mill Reservoir were also approved.
The boathouse and restaurant form part of Ashfield District Council’s £62.6million Towns Fund projects. The new building will provide modern, accessible changing and storage facilities for water sports on the ground floor, as well as a dedicated space for a restaurant on the first floor.
Activities such as paddle boarding, sailing, kayaking and open-water swimming have also been supported by the plans. The new offering is expected to bring more people to the reservoir by offering more opportunities for people to access water sports.
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Plans were initially submitted for the site in 2022, since which the council has completed surveys and site investigations at the sailing club building, including Bat Surveys, to ensure that the wildlife is protected. It is also hoped that local habitats will be enhanced by the new facility, as the building will include new bat roosts, bird nesting boxes, and a replacement open-front pole-mounted kestrel nesting box.
Councillor Samantha Deakin, Executive Lead Member for Parks, Town Centres and Environmental Services said: “The plans for Kings Mill Reservoir are extremely exciting. We can’t wait to be able to open up the offer of a variety of great new activities to visitors.
"The location of the new restaurant offering will be a fantastic addition to the reservoir, and will bring in even more visitors to Ashfield. I want to reassure residents that the demolition and construction phases of this project will be done sensitively to ensure none of the resident wildlife will be disturbed.”
Construction will begin in May 2023 for the new extended car park to accommodate the new leisure building. The demolition of the sailing club building will happen later this year with the construction of the new building due to start in late summer.
The new facilities are expected to be completed during the summer of 2024. The new leisure facilities will complement the expansion of the Mill Adventure Base to include new outdoor activities which will be operational in 2023. The plans for the reservoir are one of 17 projects being funded as part of the £62.6m Towns Fund, which the council secured from the government in June 2021.
Cllr Matthew Relf, Executive Lead Member for Regeneration and Corporate Transformation added: "This is another positive step for our plans to make Mill Waters one of the top tourist destinations in the East Midlands. We want to hear from clubs or individuals, who are keen to get involved in developing and running water sports activities at the reservoir.
"Please get in touch with the team if you are interested”.
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