Derry City Council is prepared to meet the Foyle Paddlers canoe club which it is evicting from its Prehen Boathouse premises.
The Paddlers – Ireland’s largest canoe club – are angered they have to vacate the premises by Wednesday next – during the LegenDerry Maritime Festival during which they will provide 500 hours of voluntary programmes.
A club spokesperson has hit out at the Council for failing to offer any “alternative support mechanism” for the provision of the club’s needs when the eviction takes place.
“During our tenancy we have striven to maintain and secure a building that had been neglected by council and left to rot.”
The spokesperson concluded: “We deserve the support of Derry City Council to keep alive the sterling services that the club has provided throughout its history.
However, the Council has stressed the club – and local rowing club – were being moved out due to health and safety concerns.
A spokesperson said the Council had been in consultation with the Foyle Paddlers and the local Rowing Club “for some time now” in terms of the situation with Prehen Boathouse and concerns it had in relation to the property and health and safety requirements.
The spokesperson said Council fully acknowledgesd the significance of both organizations and the important role they played in the city’s sports offering and the excellent work they did in promoting water-based activities and the riverfront.
The spokesperson said it was “with that in mind” that the Council had been “working proactively” to ensure the health and safety of both clubs was addressed.
The Council spokesperson said: “Following a recent health and safety risk assessment of the public building it was recommended that a number of floors and areas at the Boathouse should be closed off and access restricted.
“This was communicated to the two clubs affected and steps put into place to facilitate their needs in terms of providing limited storage and access to permitted areas.
“Both organizations have been using the Council-owned facility for a long number of years in the absence of any formal contract or lease and in view of the health and safety assessment this arrangement was no longer permitted to continue.
“Derry City Council has issued a letter from its legal team to the clubs to formalize the arrangements and to reiterate the health and safety message and the new systems in place with regard to access to the building.
The spokesperson concluded: “The Council is more than happy to meet with the clubs to address any outstanding concerns they may have and to look at what further assistance we can give them moving forward.”
Tags:
