THE captain of Upton Rowing Club presented a "vision for the future" when he unveiled the club's plans to create a water sports facility after a gravel extraction programme is complete.

The club hope to make use of a lake which will be created by Cemex UK, after their gravel extraction operation on flood meadows, near Upton, is complete.

Planning application for the work has been submitted to Worcestershire County Council for the work to go ahead, and it is believed the lake could be used as a nature spot.

But Maurice Smith , captain of the rowing club, said at the Upton Town Council meeting on Tuesday, March 24, the water facility on the lake could be used for wind-surfing, kayaking and other sports and could even host sporting events with a six-lane racing course.

Mr Smith also said the water facility could be used for rowing classes and when the river is not safe due to flooding.

He said: "If this went ahead it would be a unique facility in the West Midlands. There are only a handful of places like this throughout the UK.

"We are trying to deliver a positive outcome for the town and that raises its profile, which will bring people here from all over.

"We want to convince Cemex and the planning authorities to consider leaving us a lake which can be to the benefit of a lot of people after the excavation project."

It is hoped that extraction continues further south than is currently planned to be able to create the racing lanes, but if this doesn't go ahead, the lake could still be used as a teaching facility and recreation spot.

The extraction would take around eight years to be completed if the application is accepted, while work on creating the water facility would start two years after, if proposals are accepted.

The rowing club is also proposing that direct access from the River Severn to the lake, located in Ryall North, is created and that a storage and toilet facility is constructed eventually too.

Upton councillor Mike Ostick said: "This plan is a vision for the future and creates a unique facility of this type for the West Midlands, let alone the Malvern area and Upton.

"We should all get behind this."

Ian Southcott, of Cemex UK, says he supports the idea but investigations will have to be carried out to see how viable it is.

He said: "This would appear to be an exciting and attractive proposal but one that would come into being if the extraction area were extended at a future time, on the assumption that an extension was viable and acceptable.

"It should be fully explored and researched as part of any future extension of the site.

"However, to include this proposal in the current scheme would bring about considerable delay and cause significant problems. Therefore we will need to run with the proposed land form which is consistent with the size of extraction proposed.

"However, if we seek to extend, this could be changed  to align with a rowing lake end use, if an extension was viable and acceptable.

"If this meant changing the current proposed land form at that point, and if all parties were content with such a proposal, then we are confident that this could be effected."