£10,000 grant helps put Redcar Boating Lake on course for revival

Redcar’s seafront boating lake is on course for relaunch after a £10,000 grant helped buy the first in a long line of new equipment.

The Boating Lake Ltd, which has signed a deal to operate the Coatham lake until 2021, has been granted the money by the Coastal Communities Fund.

And with plans to offer rowing boats, kayaks and electric launches for hire, including an adapted rowing boat for disabled people, as well as developing a crazy golf course and a tea room around the lake perimeter, work is progressing at a high rate of knots.

A slated first sailing over the Easter weekend will mark a key achievement in a two year programme of investment to ensure the lake will be shipshape for years to come. It is hoped the new attractions will allow visitors to practise kayaking and paddle boarding on calmer waters than they would get in the North Sea.

Also benefiting from the redevelopments will be the Redcar Sea Cadets, who will have access to the lake and the equipment, and long-time lake users, Redcar Model Boat Club.

Over the winter, the Majuba Road lake was dredged to allow for improvement works.

Councillor Mark Hannon, Redcar and Cleveland Council’s Cabinet member for economic development, said: “This is another brilliant example of the Coastal Communities Fund making a difference in the local area and supporting a business which can be of benefit to the wider borough.

“We have seen in the past just how popular the boating lake is with visitors and hopefully with the new management in place, we can see it making waves once again.”

In a statement on its Facebook page, The Boating Lake Ltd said: “This is a privately funded project and success will be very much dependant on people using the venue. With support we can continue to invest to create a great venue which will create jobs, bring people and money to Redcar and resurrect what used to be an iconic Redcar landmark.”