Fundraiser begins to get Black Country sailing club's starter hut rebuilt after fire

Himley Hall Sailing Club have started a fundraising campaign to replace the starter hut and equipment store, which was devastated by fire in December.

The fire on the morning on December 11 also destroyed the decking left to the club by the families of former members, and has left the club needing to raise tens of thousands of pounds to replace the hut and an array of lost equipment.

The club has started a Just Giving page to ask for help with paying for the new hut, which was insured alongside some of the equipment, but the decking was not insured and the excesses for the insurance means the club is looking to raise £10,000 for the hut and £30,000 for the CCTV and railings.

Club member and commodore Alan Dean said the club wasn't certain how much it would cost, but said the club had some plans.

He said: "We haven't got the quotes yet because this is a listed park and we have to get planning permission.

"We're out doing the drawings to see what the planners will approve as when it was built 25 years ago, it cost £5,000, and this time around, we'll have to find some way of having a steel structure that they'll approve, which is going to be tricky."

Mr Dean said it was the latest in a long line of issues, which include boats being damaged and stolen, but said the club was full of strong people who just wanted to get things back to normal.

He said: "We have a very strong group of members who help to renew things and have been doing some work on the decking.

"They were here last week doing some work and they'll be here again next week doing some work, so we may very well rebuild this ourselves."

To find out more about the Just Giving campaign and to make a donation, go to justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Himleyhallsailingclub?utm_term=Kkjb35mNe