Lake access fees April 2017

7th April 2017

LAKE ACCESS FEES –INFORMATION FOR MEMBERS

Marine Lake access for WKSC members has in the past been permitted by the purchase of individual lake licences from Wirral Borough Council. These fees have been set by the Council without any discussion or negotiation with WKSC representatives, and contributed to a very high cost of lake sailing compared with other lake-based clubs.

Also, WKSC is the only lake-accessing club that we are aware of in the North of England and Midlands which does not have a formal arrangement with its landlord/lake owner for lake access. This could present a risk to the future of Club sailing on the lake.

Discussions between WKSC and representatives of Wirral Borough Council over the past 7 months have now culminated in an agreement for WKSC to pay an annual en bloc licence for Club access to the South End of the Marine Lake. The agreement removes the requirement for purchase ofindividual lake licences from the Council.

The Flag Officers and General Committee have agreed that for the period April 2017-March 31st 2018, all dinghies using the boatyard will be subject to an additional fee to cover the cost of lake access, as follows:

Adult dinghies: £77

Junior Dinghies: £37

  • Junior fees only apply to boats that are raced/sailed exclusively by junior members. If raced/sailed by adults then full dinghy fees must be paid.
  • There will be no summer or winter licences, and for this season no other concessions.
  • Dinghy owners may be exempt from buying a lake permit, at the sole discretion of the yard Manager, and upon completion of an opt out form, available on WKSC website.

Payment for the lake permit (s) should be made electronically via WKSC Webcollect, using the following link A step by step guide is also available on WKSC website The permit(s) will be available in the same way as for boat storage. On payment via Webcollect, each boat-owner will be issued with a sticker by the yard manager, to be displayed on the mast of the relevant boat.

The prompt cooperation of all dinghy-owning members will be much appreciated as this will put an additional administrative burden on our hard-working administrator, Sue!

Further consultation will take place at the end of the summer sailing season, to review how this has worked and if felt appropriate to further modify the apportionment of charges.

Wendy Jones, Hon Secretary