Bradford on Avon Boat Club has completed work on a £200,000 project to triple the size of its boathouse at Barton Bridge to provide better facilities for its growing membership.

Many of its 197 members live in Bradford on Avon and the surrounding area but the club also attracts members from as far afield as Cirencester and Wincanton.

Club president John Short said: “It has been a ten-year journey.

“The new storage area is needed to accommodate the additional equipment required for the growth in rowing and canoeing membership.”

The boathouse at Bradford on Avon Boat Club.The boathouse at Bradford on Avon Boat Club. (Image: Trevor Porter)

The boat club celebrated its 150th anniversary last year and the changes are designed to enhance its ability to attract new members and provide better facilities.

The project follows a decision by club managers to change the name from ‘rowing club’ to ‘boat club’ and alter its legal status to become a newly-registered charity.

The club has enlarged one of its two boat houses at Barton Bridge on the River Avon to provide more storage space for its canoes, kayaks and rowing boats.

Bradford on Avon Boat Club now has larger storage space for rowing boats, canoes and kayaks. Bradford on Avon Boat Club now has larger storage space for rowing boats, canoes and kayaks. (Image: Bradford on Avon Boat Club)

Club treasurer Mark Stamper said: “The project has been in the making for several years, but last year, soon after the club became a registered charity building work commenced.

“The project has roughly tripled the size of the boathouse, providing far more space for the storage of rowing boats and canoes, and allowing the club to grow its membership base.

“The club celebrated its 150th anniversary last year and now has nearly 200 members, with a 50:50 split between rowers and canoeists.”

The £200,000 project has tripled the size of one of the club's two boathouses.The £200,000 project has tripled the size of one of the club's two boathouses. (Image: Bradford on Avon Boat Club)

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The club started life in 1873 as Bradford on Avon Rowing Club but changed its name to Bradford on Avon Boat Club last year to reflect the fact that it now offers both rowing and canoeing.

It supports both young and old and members compete locally, nationally and internationally, using the old names of BoA Rowing Club and BoA Canoe Club.

A group of rowers were going to Brandenburg in Germany on the weekend of Saturday, September 7 to compete in the World Masters Championships.

Mr Stamper said: “The new boathouse will be officially opened in due course, and it is hoped that this much-improved facility will allow the club to continue for the next 150 years.”

The project was funded by generous grants from the Medlock Charitable Trust, the Landfill Communities Fund, Bradford on Avon Town Council, Wiltshire Council, the Colonel Llewellen Palmer Trust, as well as significant donations and loans from current and past members.