Fort William Tailrace
World Class Freestyle Kayaking Venue
Summary
The construction of a World Class Freestyle Kayaking Venue is planned for just outside Fort William in the Scottish Highlands. The project will provide a unique recreational resource capable of hosting International competitions.
The site is one of three key facilities highlighted by the national governing body’s National Sports Facilities Strategy and is recognised as a high priority project by the Outdoor Capital of the UK steering group.
The Scottish Canoe Association (SCA) has set up a constituted community body named The Fort William Tailrace Development Group to manage and drive the project. This group will later become a company limited by guarantee.
The land owner Alcan has formally stated its broad support of the project and early discussions on site with expert white water course engineers Hydrostadium and EPD indicate that the project has huge potential. A rare maintenance shutdown planned by Alcan during Summer 2006 provides a unique window of opportunity for the development of this project. In order to take advantage of this a tight timeframe is being pursued.
Invitations to tender for a feasibility study have been issued to six specialist consultancy firms, with plans to commission the study during December 2005.
A project budget has been estimated as £600,000. Capital funding for the project is being sought with key partners being Alcan, SportScotland, Lochaber Enterprise, CERS, Highland Council - Highland 2007, and the Scottish Canoe Association. Due to the free resource of fast flowing water, revenue costs are hoped to be minimal.
White Water Canoeing in Scotland
White water canoeing is a popular and growing sport for which Scotland has significant natural resources.
From a canoeists point of view, Fort William is very much the capital of the Wet West Coast of Scotland. With rainfall recorded here on an average of 250 days per year, its easy to see why. The rivers here are generally spate runs which can rise and fall several times during the course of a day
Some of the best white water in the UK can be found here and Fort William is a natural focal point for this activity.
Despite all our rain a major draw back is that our rivers run off quickly and finding good conditions is a bit hit and miss - paddlers will travel for long distances to find the right water conditions.
Artificial White Water
The concept of an artificial white water course is of an urban training site similar to climbing walls and dry ski slopes.
They offer safe and reliable white water conditions.
Normally concrete channels with moveable objects they are designed to replicate features found on a river.
Fort William Tailrace
In 1929, The British Aluminium Company completed their major hydro construction programme of dams and pipework to carry millions of litres of water to their new aluminium smelter at Fort William. The water is piped from Loch Trieg, Loch Laggan, and numerous small burns and rivers for 24km until it is above Fort William. The water then falls through the familiar pipes on the side of Ben Nevis to produce hydro-electricity to power Alcan’s aluminium smelter. The Fort William Tailrace channels the water exiting the generating turbines from the factory to the River Lochy.
The following factors make the exit of the Tailrace an ideal location for an artificial white water facility:
· Large & consistent supply of water
o Sydney Olympic course is 15 cumecs (cubic metres of water per second)
o Tailrace carries 15 – 45 cumecs
· Good water quality
· Sufficient land to accommodate development
Under the right conditions the Tailrace already provides good white water - kayakers surf the wave which forms beneath the bridge at the end of the Tailrace. They use it to practise a branch of the sport called playboating.
This involves performing freestyle tricks and manoeuvres. It is a branch of the sport which is great fun, easily accessible and relatively safe.
The problem with the Tailrace as it is just now is that good conditions can only be found for very short periods of time.
This is because the pool at the end of the channel is affected by the tide and its level is constantly changing. Conditions are usually right for around 20 minutes 2 times a day, and on some tides not at all.
This is further complicated by the changing levels of the River Lochy and Tailrace. This means that the timing of the good 20 minutes is not fixed in relation to high tide. It takes a lot of trial and error and local knowledge to get there at the right time to catch the wave.
For these reasons both locals and especially visitors find it difficult to get much from the site.
Proposed Development
This project’s aim is the creation of a stable white water feature which would be in good condition all the time regardless of river / tidal levels.This would be achieved by the creation of a 2nd channel at the exit of the tailrace.
The advantages of this approach are:
· Independent to Alcan tailrace
· Ability to vary flow
· Does not require a long shut down for construction
Project Benefits
A World Class Freestyle Venue
The creation of this facility would produce a world class white water facility. The venue would be safe, attractive, user friendly, and reliable.
Create a hub where the sport will flourish
Attract Considerable Visitors to Lochaber
We estimate this as a doubling of the number of canoeing visits to Lochaber from 10,000 a year to 20,000 a year. Using the ‘average spend’ patterns from the 2003 Highland visitor study this equates to a potential additional revenue to Lochaber of £6.5 million per annum
An Outdoor Attraction which is Weather-proof
Paddlers could use the facility come rain or shine!
This is the equivalent of being able to turn on the snow at Nevis Range whenever it was needed!
Serve as a Venue for International Competitions
The Outdoor Capital concept recognises the value of events in bringing additional visitor revenue to the town.
This is particularly of importance as this facility could host events in the off peak season, and therefore bring large numbers of people to the town when they are most needed
Bring an exciting outdoor activity within easy reach of Fort William residents
Freestyle canoeing is appealing to young people.
Social Inclusion
There are lots of benefits of engaging local young people in outdoor sports in their local environment
Improve the local Environment of the Tailrace Area
Currently the area has quite a run down, ‘post industrial feel’
Careful Landscaping around the course and new bridges and fencing would make it far more attractive.
The Wider Context
There are great synergies with other key projects for the area.
The project would further enhance and be a clear demonstration of Fort William and Lochaber’s Outdoor Capital status and has been recognised as a high priority project for the OCUK initiative.
Along with Ice Factor, this facility would provide two guaranteed adventure activities for residents and visitors. The white water site would be an attraction for spectators and a great point of interest for those on low level walks, the Great Glen Way, and visitors to old Inverlochy Castle
Feasibility Study
The Fort William Tailrace Development Group has invited six consultants to tender for the feasibility study investigating the creation of the freestyle kayak site at the Fort William tailrace.
The consultants who have been invited to tender are:
§ Halcrow
§ Fairhurst
§ MWH
§ Engineering Paddler Designs
§ Byzak
§ HydroStadium
The primary objectives of the study are:
1. To establish whether a development at this site could produce a World Class Freestyle Kayak Venue, suitable for hosting International events such as the World Freestyle Kayak Championships.
2. To provide an outline design for the site
3. To detail the budget required for the development
4. To address issues raised by the land owner (Alcan)
As part of the tender submission the consultants have been asked to provide details of their proposed methodology and previous relevant commissions.
The deadline for tenders is the 25th November 2005 and the group aims to appoint the successful consultants prior to Christmas 2005 with a planned completion date of March 2006.
Fees for the feasiblity stage will be around £15,000. Funding has been identified as:
Awards for All £5000
Forward Scotland Small Grants Scheme £1000
Lochaber Enterprise £5000
Sport Scotland £5000
SCA - Andy Jackson Fund for Access £2000
Total Available £18,000
Funding
Working in partnership with a number of public and private organisations, the project principally requires capital funding. A capital budget of £600,000 is being sought.
Since the water resource is freely available, the project can be planned in such a way as to avoid the need for significant revenue funding.
The current capital funding plan is outlined below (note these are unconfirmed but hopefully realistic figures):
|
SportScotland, Building for Sport |
300,000 |
|
Lochaber Enterprise |
100,000 |
|
Highland 2007 |
30,000 |
|
CERS (Banavie Quarry) |
50,000 |
|
SCA Actual and In Kind |
60,000 |
|
Landfill Credit Contributions (Duisky / Alcan) |
10,000 |
|
Alcan (Actual and In Kind) |
50,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
£ 600,000 |
Possible additional funding sources:
Arjo Wiggans
Scottish Land Fund
HIPP – ERDF – LEADER
Corporate Sponsorship
Management
The Scottish Canoe Association will set up a Company Limited by guarantee which will be the body owning the project. Income will primarily come from leasing the premises to a third party, commercial usage fees, and event hiring fees.
The facility will be managed and run by agreement with the tenants of the shop.
Contact Details
Kenny Biggin
Project Manager
Fort William Tailrace Development Group
2 Unachan Cottages
Spean Bridge
PH34 4EX
Tel: 01397 712086
email: kennybiggin@yahoo.com
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