MEMBERS of a disabled sailing charity have reacted with joy after councillors agreed to postpone the demolition of their home by six months.
Rudyard Sailability, which has been fighting a five-year battle for a new boat store at Rudyard Lake, had been facing the prospect of being homeless after planning chiefs recommended the demolition of their existing base.
However, in a behind-closed-doors meeting, councillors rejected the recommendation by 10 votes to four in favour of a six-month reprieve.
The award-winning sailing club recently won an independent planning inquiry.
However, the plans were knocked back by Rudyard Lake Limited, which operates a licence to run the lake from British Waterways.
A condition of planning consent meant that charity’s existing shed could have been demolished by Staffordshire Moorlands District Council a day after a planned mediation meeting in a bid to settle the dispute.
Sailability secretary Jackie Griffiths, whose daughter Tilly suffers from spinal muscular atrophy and uses the club’s facilities regularly, said the decision lifted a cloud that was hanging over their heads.
She said: “It’s fantastic news and has come as such a relief. We’re so pleased that the council has voted for us, which gives us so much hope.
“It’s like a weight has been lifted off our shoulders and we can now get the ball rolling and concentrate on fund-raising.
“We are very hopeful that with all parties coming together we can move forward positively.”
Staffordshire Moorlands MP Charlotte Atkins, a Sailability trustee, thanked Your Leek Paper for putting pressure on the council to defer the demolition.
She said: “I think councillors realised, thanks to help from Your Leek Paper, that this was crunch time for Sailability.
“Just think of the outrage that would have been caused if the recommendation was carried.
“I’m glad councillors have seen sense and averted what would have been a vindictive decision.
“In my opinion the council never supported the findings of the planning inquiry. This decision gives us new hope that Sailability will finally get the highquality boat shed it deserves.”