Canoe Foundation Fuels Paddle Sport Access with over £12,000 Funding for Midlands/East England Projects

Welcome to the latest installment in our mini-series of regional funding articles! Today we’ll be looking at Canoe Foundation funding in the Midlands and East of England.

The Canoe Foundation has recently allocated funding to three impactful projects in the Midlands and East of England, aimed at enhancing accessibility to paddle sports and fostering community engagement. These initiatives promise to create safe and inclusive environments for individuals of all ages and backgrounds to enjoy the joys of paddle sports!

Birmingham Paddlesport Project: New Storage Container (£5,730)

We awarded The Birmingham Paddlesport Project £5,730 to establish storage containers at strategic locations near the Grand Union Canal and Birmingham Fazeley Canal. These containers, located at Star City and Port Loop, are essential for overcoming transportation obstacles and improving access to paddle sports in urban Birmingham. The initiative, now part of ‘Into the Green and Blue,’ aims to empower individuals, particularly women from ethnic minorities, by enhancing their well-being and community engagement through paddlesports.

A representative from the Birmingham Paddlesport Project said, “We are delighted to receive this funding from the Canoe Foundation. It will play a crucial role in enhancing access to water sports in Birmingham, especially for underrepresented communities. The new storage containers will provide a safe and convenient space for storing equipment, enabling more people to participate in paddlesports and experience the benefits of being on the water.”

Paddle Peak, Derbyshire: Cromford Canal Access Path and Floating Pontoon (£5,000)

Paddle Peak, based in Derbyshire’s Derwent Valley, will utilise its £5,000 grant to establish a community paddle sports base alongside the Cromford Canal. This initiative involves creating/ reinstating an access path and installing adaptable floating pontoons to facilitate safe access to the water. With the goal of introducing more local youngsters to kayaking, the project aims to benefit approximately 50 youngsters weekly, along with school and youth groups, fostering a safe and guaranteed water access point.

Pete Astles of Paddle Peak said “The excellent funding will help us create our very own community paddlesports base in Cromford for local young people to experience kayaking on the Cromford Canal and River Derwent. We will use the funds to reinstate an access path and install some floating docks to enable safe access to the water.”

Middle Level Commissioners (MLC), Stanground, Cambridgeshire: Stanground Canoe Portage (£1,672)

The Middle Level Commissioners were awarded £1,672 for the installation of a formal launch site near Stanground Lock, Peterborough. This launch site will improve portage access for paddlers entering the MLC system from the River Nene, reducing erosion of the riverbank caused by informal use. The project aims to benefit existing paddlers and encourage new users, fostering community engagement and potentially establishing a local paddling club in Stanground.

Paul Burrows, Chief Executive of MLC said “I’m delighted with the award of Canoe Foundation income to help us develop our first paddling portage on our system, which will hopefully be the first of many. There’s already established paddling access on the Nene in Peterborough, so adding a proper portage at our Stanground Lock site will better enable users to paddle between Peterborough and Whittlesey.”

Congratulations to our newly awarded Midlands and East of England projects! We can’t wait to see the positive impact our funding will make in the coming months and years. Stay tuned for the next installment of our regional funding updates!

As a charity, we rely on donations to continue supporting grassroots groups that enhance physical access to paddle sports across the UK. Please consider contributing a one-off or regular donation to the Canoe Foundation. Your support helps ensure sustainable and accessible waterways and coastlines for everyone in the UK. Thank you for being part of our mission to improve places to paddle!