Sailing club face eviction after years of helping the community.
SYM Sailing Club (Stubbers Young Mariners) is facing eviction from Stubbers Activity Centre, its home since 1982. The local club has been running for 39 years and has helped hundreds of local children in the summer who visit Stubbers for outdoor pursuits.
SYM is a Royal Yachting Association (RYA) recognised training centre which teaches people of all ages and abilities to sail safely and affordably. The Club is unique as it is managed by volunteers, has its own fleet of 35 boats and all the instructors are RYA qualified.
Honorary Secretary David Nissim told the Havering Daily: “We were just getting ready to get started again when we were informed by Stubbers that they were re-developing their site and that there was no place for us anymore. We are a well establish club that have been supporting the community for years. We are going to fight this eviction.”
As a community based club they have helped Cubs, Scouts, Guides, an Autistic Society group, GCSE students, Duke of Edinburgh candidates and even trained young sailors to represent Havering in the London Youth Games. The family friendly atmosphere builds personal confidence, independence, diverse thinking and supports good mental health all whilst being an environmentally friendly sport.
The club is actively fighting this eviction, engaging local MP’s and councillors, and launching a legal challenge to preserve this valuable resource for Havering and Essex.
Its not just SYM who are facing eviction. Havering Sailing Club – who sailed on Saturdays at Stubbers, have been forced to look elsewhere after 35 years of sailing at the venue. Club members were shocked to receive very little notice that they were prevented from sailing on their arranged day.