Popular Winter kayak sessions could return at new Princes Parade leisure centre

A new swimming pool and leisure centre on Princes Parade will see the return of winter sessions at a popular canoe club, which uses the nearby Royal Military Canal and English Channel.

Seapoint Canoe Centre says building a new six-lane competition pool on the site of the former municipal waste tip in Hythe will be a major boost for the club, which provides sessions for over 1,000 people every year.

Seapoint has been unable to organise indoor kayak sessions during the winter for the past three years due to a lack of suitable provision in the area, including the existing pool in South Road. After-school clubs are also unable to continue beyond the autumn due to lack of lighting on the canal.

Trustees say a new leisure centre at the eastern end of Princes Parade, located next to where the club is currently based, will revitalise winter training sessions popular with a wide variety of community groups.

Catherine Ferguson, Treasurer at Seapoint Canoe Centre, said: “Being able to run indoor pool sessions in the winter is a very important thing, and these plans for Princes Parade will provide that opportunity. The applicant wants to make the pool suitable for kayaks by using the correct materials, which is certainly not the case with other facilities of this type.

“It will give us the chance to run classes and after-school clubs in the winter and, as a result, help to keep people active whatever the weather is doing outside. We provide classes for local schools and all kinds of youth and disabled groups, so a new pool on Princes Parade can only be a good thing.”

Catherine is also confident the leisure centre, along with the open space, parkland and open promenade on the site will provide major health and wellbeing benefits to local people and visitors to the area.

Seapoint Canoe Centre is the latest major club to support the swimming pool and leisure centre proposals for Princes Parade, following in the footsteps of the biggest swimming club in the district, Hythe Aqua.

Residents can support the plans by visiting https://searchplanapps.shepway.gov.uk/online-applications, using reference Y17/1042/SH, or by writing a letter including their name, address and the application reference to Planning Department, Shepway District Council, Civic Centre, Castle Hill Avenue, Folkestone, CT20 2QY.

For more information about the scheme visit www.princesparade.co.uk; and Seapoint Canoe Centre visit www.seapointcanoeandkayakcentre.co.uk.