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Safety fears hold up windsports scheme
THE OPENING of a long-awaited £2.5m windsports centre in St Annes will be delayed because of rows over health and safety.
Trax Group already has a lease at the former Fylde International Sand Yacht Club, off St Annes beach, and is ready to open the centre, which will run windsports such as kitesurfing, kite buggying and mini-sandyachting.
Bosses had hoped to open as a pilot scheme this summer.
But that now looks set to be delayed after councillors, mindful of the death of a woman in sandyachting accident eight years ago, said they wanted to make totally sure every step had been taken to ensure the arrangements were safe.
The delay has been a bitter setback for Trax bosses.
Alex Fishpool, manager of the new centre, said: "We're very disappointed.
"It's clear from the questions being asked that many of the councillors had not read the health and safety report that was put together.
"There's little chance of opening by the summer because of the time it will take to train specially qualified staff.
"If we can't get on the beach to do that there's no chance."
Local ward representative Liberal Democrat Coun Howard Henshaw slammed health and safety red tape.
"The fatal accident was obviously very sad but they didn't stop playing football because of the Hillsborough disaster," he said.
"There is an element of risk in any sport."
Coun Simon Renwick, added: "Why can't we just get on with it?"
But other councillors said they wanted to set up a working group to investigate safety.
"I'm not going to just throw my commitment into something just because it's taken a long time," Coun Kiran Mullholland said. "I'm 100 per cent in favour once the correct plans and health and safety assessments are done."
Councillors voted overwhelmingly to set up a working group to investigate health and safety.
Council leisure and tourism boss Coun Susan Fazackerly, who is working with Trax to ensure the success of the project and was not part of the committee, said: "I appreciate Trax's frustrations but I can understand the concerns of the committee.
"The tragic accident is still in a lot of people's minds and we have to take every step possible to ensure the safety of members of the public."
Windsports have been banned from St Annes beach since the death of Carole Cruz, 38, who was mown down by a sand yacht in front of her two children in August 2002.
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Weather for Blackpool
Monday 13 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 3 C to 7 C
Wind Speed: 32 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 6 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 28 mph
Wind direction: North west
