The St Annes North Beach Wind Sports Centre was officially opened on Friday 2 December in a ceremony featuring speeches from Cllr Ben Aitken, Mayor of Fylde, and Cllr Karen Buckley, the Leader of Fylde.
Officers, councillors, contractors and community partners attended the formal event hosted by the Beachcomber Café at the Wind Sports Centre, where a plaque was unveiled commemorating the refurbishment of the facility.
Mayor Aitken and Cllr Buckley both expressed their gratitude to all those involved in the completion of the project and spoke of their vision for the centre as a headquarters for beach sports and as an invaluable asset for the local community.
Cllr Karen Buckley, Leader of Fylde, said: “The opening of the North Beach Wind Sports Centre is a wonderful win for Fylde. It was a bold decision by my colleagues and I to wrestle this building back into council ownership and stay firm to that decision although challenged when the vision of the previous tenant did not match ours.
We have a gem on our doorstep in St Annes beach, loved by residents and tourists alike, and a facility such as this was much needed and has been widely welcomed. These sands are amongst the best in the UK for wind sports, attracting visitors from around the world, and the opportunity is here in St Annes to showcase the shear breadth of appeal of our natural environment.
I thank everyone who has made this happen, and I am delighted to see this wonderful amenity for people across Fylde and beyond to enjoy.”
The newly renovated facility will be home to local beach sports groups running club activities and providing tuition, a ranger station for Fylde Council’s Coastal Rangers, a purpose-built Changing Places accessible bathroom, and the Beachcomber Café offering food and refreshments.
The St Annes Wind Sports Centre is located next to North Beach Car Park in St Annes, off Clifton Drive North, post code FY8 2PP.
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