An extension of the National Sailing Centre at Portland has been agreed – with the building of a ‘world-class performance and innovation centre’ alongside the existing Sailing Academy.
The Royal Yachting Association application, which initially met with some opposition, has been approved by Dorset Council.
The proposals attracted many supporters, both locally and from sailors across the country who train and sail in Portland Harbour, dozens of them writing to back the plans.
David Griffith, chair of the board of directors for the Sailing Academy, in response to the objections, said the proposed new centre would not compete with the WPNSA and 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 would not impact the ability to host events such as World Championships.
The RYA says the proposed new centre would bring together their elite training technical and performance units under one roof, “providing 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.”
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