IT IS disingenuous for Vibrant Partnerships to suggest that the Spring Lee Cruising Club is being shut down due to antisocial behaviour (Antisocial behaviour caused club house closure) writes Simon Thorpe.
Let us be clear; Vibrant Partnerships is evicting Spring Lee Cruising Club from its premises because it thinks it can make more money as a chandlery, plain and simple.
This was confirmed in their recent letter to Spring Lee Cruising Club (SLCC) which stated, 'senior management have decided they would like a chandlery to be opened which will expand the core business of the facility'.
More profit
This move is a small part of a larger review being undertaken by Lee Valley Leisure Trust, aimed at squeezing more profit out of their venues in the face of reducing government subsidy.
If Vibrant Partnerships had concerns about security or antisocial behaviour you would reasonably expect them to voice them to us. However my committee has had no communication at all from Vibrant Partnerships prior to being told of our eviction on 9th March. The closure was presented as a fait accompli and came out of a clear blue sky. In large part this is what has upset so many berth holders at our marina.
New premises
That said, Vibrant Partnerships and Springfield Marina's management team are now working pro-actively with the SLCC to provide alternative premises elsewhere within the marina. We warmly welcome this, and are looking forward to being able to vacate our current unit as soon as new premises are ready for occupation.
Recent interaction with Vibrant Partnerships has been unfortunately negative and, in our view, avoidable. At this point we would like to mend bridges, put some better communication structures in place, and move on.
[Simon Thorpe is SLCC Commodore.]