A SUBSTANTIAL donation of £20,000 has been donated to a Bere Alston watersports club.
The donation to Weir Quay Community Watersports Hub Club has been made by the National Grid in order for the club to build a new boatshed for housing and maintaining equipment.
The £20,000 grant from the National Grid’s Community Grant Programme is the maximum available under the scheme.
The programme is designed for community organisations and charities in areas where substantial refurbishment work to electricity pylons is impacting on local people.
National Grid engineers, and their contractor Babcock Networks, started work on an essential project to refurbish the overhead line running between Landulph and Exeter in April 2017. The watersports hub club is based in Weir Quay, near the southernmost point of the line, and is adjacent to a pylon undergoing work.
Project engineer Robbie Griggs said: ‘We’re very pleased that the members of the Weir Quay Community Watersports Hub Club and the wider community will benefit from National Grid’s Community Grant Programme. Local landmarks like the hub club are a great cause and we are very happy to be able to give back to the community whilst we work in the area.’
Graham Reed, company secretary for the hub club, said: ‘The funds granted will make a real difference in allowing both residents and visitors to enjoy the wealth of water sports Weir Quay has to offer and we’re hugely grateful to National Grid for its positive decision. We can’t wait for the grand unveiling and would welcome some National Grid representation on site when we’re ready to crack open the bubbly.’
National Grid is carrying out a £50-million refurbishment of pylons in Devon and part of Cornwall to keep power flowing in the South West and beyond for decades to come. The line of pylons, running between substations in Exeter and Landulph, was built in the 1960s.The refurbishment follows a similar £30-million project carried out in 2016 on overhead lines between Indian Queens and Landulph.
As a recent winner of the Responsible Business of the Year Award, National Grid works hard to minimise the disruption in the community where its engineers work and be a good neighbour.
For more information on the latest project, visit www.nationalgrid.com/exeter