Lee Valley White Water Centre benefits from £4.5m legacy plans

 

 

Just five weeks after winning gold and silver at the Olympic Canoe Slalom event, Tim Baillie, Etienne Stott, David Florence and Richard Hounslow returned to Lee Valley White Water Centre to celebrate its opening.

The medallists joined Chief Executive of Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, Shaun Dawson in unveiling the £4.5m plans to create a state of the art gym and physiotherapy suite, outdoor classroom, a stylish new pavilion overlooking the Olympic Standard Competition Course, more changing rooms, additional car parking, toilets and catering facilities across the venue.

Shaun Dawson said: “We’ve been delighted that since we opened in April 2011, more than 155,000 people have visited, of whom 40,000 have taken to the water – double the number we had expected. With Team GB’s magnificent performance at the Games, the centre’s status and interest will only grow.”

A range of new community programmes will build on the interest in white water sports, which was praised by the University of Hertfordshire Canoe and Kayak Club. The club’s president, Steven Young said: “To be on the same course as Great Britain’s medal winning canoeists was an honour and truly inspiring.

“Lee Valley White Water Centre is a fantastic venue and the fact that ordinary canoeists can use it at the same time as Olympic champions highlights its enormous legacy potential. It is an asset for the whole region and will help us attract new members, enhance our skills and allow more Olympic medallists to be produced.”

A planning application will be submitted with work due to begin in January 2013. The funding is expected to be provided by the Authority, Sport England and the British Canoe Union.

This article is taken from the Herts is Ready for Winners newsletter September 2012

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