Hayling Island is a
very popular
windsurfing
destination, but it
was once equally
popular as a holiday
venue. Now, with the
help of Lottery
funding, the island is
hoping to re-establish
itself as a year-round
destination.
There’s a little more to Hayling Island than meets the
passing eye. It’s still a haven for windsurfers and
kitesurfers who make their way to the seafront any
time there’s enough wind. Few though realise that
nearly fifty years ago, in 1958 to be precise, a young
lad called Peter Chilvers, launched the very first
windsurfer from the island’s beach. The fact would
have possibly passed un-noticed but for a series of
Patent infringement law suits launched by the
Windsurfer Corporation in the early 70s. Windsurfer
Corporation was of course behind the commercial
development of the windsurfer and independent of
anything that Peter Chilvers had done, and indeed
its head people, Hoyle Schweitzer and Jim Drake
were totally unaware of Peter’s invention. BiC Sport
fought the patent battle and produced Peter Chilvers
in court. The result was a verdict in favour of BiC
Sport on the basis of ‘prior art’ and the affirmation of
Peter Chilvers as the inventor of windsurfing. And it
happened right there on Hayling Island.
Historically though Hayling was once a popular
destination for visitors from London. A train service
existed linking the North and South of the island
with the South Coast which made it accessible from
London and other parts of the home counties. But
like other South Coast resorts it suffered as cheaper
air travel opened up overseas destinations.
But if you look beyond the West Beach, the most
popular launch site for windsurfing, you’ll find a
thriving population of people with a wide diversity of
interest. There’s even a splendid street called the
Crescent which may not quite match up to Bath’s
famous row of Georgian buildings, but still stands
as a unique piece of architecture.
We take access to West Beach for granted but it is
in the minority as only about a third of Hayling’s
beach front has easy access for everyone.
THE BID
With all this mind, Havent Borough Council have
prepared a bid to the Lottery funded Living
Landmarks Programme to revitalise the whole area.
At the centre of it is windsurfing, something which
has not happened to our sport either in this country
or abroad. The proposal, if successful, would see
the refurbishment of the whole of the seafront
including erecting a special building, described as a
‘modern pier’, which would provide World class
windsurfing facilities including restaurants and
facilities for other tourists.
The promenade would be expanded to give full
access to the whole of the beach front. It would also
make the Special Site of Scientific Interest (SSSI)
more accessible and there are plans to revitalise
this area as well. The old railway route, the Hayling
Billy, has recently been turned into a cycleway and
footpath which has proved to be very popular. The
bid includes extending this to the windsurfing
facility, linking the two centres of windsurfing in the
North and South of the island. A plan also exists to
re-establish a railway along this route as well as
keeping the foot and cycle paths intact in a bid to
cut down on the North- South traffic congestion.
The cost of all this is seen to be in the region of
£39m of which £24.5m would come from the Living
Landmarks programme funded by the Big Lottery
Fund. The rest would come from a variety of other
sources including private development. The
council’s coastal defence team would be involved
as well as English Nature who would ensure that the
SSSI would be safeguarded. And, at the centre of
all of this is windsurfing and Peter Chilvers who has
become the ambassador to the project.
HOW FAR?
The project has reached the end of the initial stage.
Following an on site inspection in April the island
has now been ‘short listed’ onto a long list. That
does seem very much but Hayling is one of 75
projects out of many hundreds which have
progressed through the initial stages.
“This is wonderful news“ said Peter Chilvers. “I
know we have some tough competition and a few
more stages to go through, but this bid is unique
and if we are successful the benefits to the Borough
of Havant and the community of Hayling Island will
be enormous. Not to mention that the windsurfing
community will be watching progress very closely,
we want to start a windsurfing academy that builds
on the history of its roots on the Island and promote
and give access to this sport for local residents.”
The next stage will be the announcement of the
short list. If Hayling Island is chosen, the Lottery will
award a grant to fund the next stage which is to
prepare a more detailed proposal to be submitted
by next May. The final result will be announced in
September 2007. The proposal has received
overwhelming positive support from the local
community. According to the Council ‘the people of
Hayling Island feel strongly that the Island should
be celebrated as the birthplace of windsurfing.’
However, if Hayling Island is to get the equivalent of
Weymouth’s National Sailing Academy it also needs
the support of the windsurfing community itself. The
council is particularly interested in hearing from
clubs and organisations who would use the
proposed facilities. And of course it wants to hear
from individuals who already windsurf from the West
Beach and who would most benefit from the
projects success. To register support for Destination
Hayling Island either visit www.hayling.co.uk, or
write to Claire Hughes or Paul Ramshaw, Project
Leaders, Destination Hayling Island, Havant
Borough Council, Civic Offices, Havant, PO9 2AX.
