A SAILING club are “extremely appreciative” and “delighted” to be receiving a £75,000 bursary to revamp their changing rooms.

Tollesbury Sailing Club received the bursary from Sport England, who awarded funds to 14 community sports projects in the East of England to breathe new life into ‘tired’ facilities.

The club applied for the bursary in January and received confirmation of the funds at the beginning of May.

Lynn Highfield, publicity officer for the sailing club, said: “We are delighted to confirm that we have been awarded a grant through Sport England's Inspired Facilities scheme.

“We had only just received planning permission for our build in April, in advance of the award being made, so it was fantastic timing.

“Our changing facilities have been in a poor state of repair for some time and we had been looking for grants to help upgrade them.”

The sailing club’s changing rooms were built in the 1960s, and are often damp and unventilated.

A membership survey found 73% of respondents considered the changing facilities to be ‘poor’.

Lynn added: “Maintenance of the clubs' facilities is an on-going process relying mainly on volunteers to do the work.

“The last major refurbishment was to the Clubhouse in 2007 for Princess Ann's visit to open our new disabled lift and toilet.

“We are pleased to say that the new changing rooms will also now include a disabled toilet and shower for our members.”

The sailing club has over 500 members and they hope the renovation of the facilities will encourage many more people to join.

Sport England’s ‘Inspired Facilities’ fund is designed to give a cash boost to some of England’s most in-need clubs. Since 2011, Inspired Facilities has invested £122 million in 2,215 projects nationally, 244 of which are based in the East of England.

Work on Tollesbury Sailing Club is expected to start within the next six months, aiming for completion in April/May 2017.