Fears of corrosion risks demolition for Seaford Sailing Club building

Seaford Sailing Club’s building in Marine Parade, Seaford, could be forced to close after beams in the building were found to have corroded. Club members are preparing to fundraise for a new building as the current site nears the end of its use.

Club commodore Terry Jones said on social media: “The building has had a full structural survey and the horizontal beams on the seaward side are corroded. Once the building is closed at the end of the sea sailing season we will be able to fully look at the beams from the inside and get quotes for the possible repairs.

“The cost of repair will have to extend the life of the clubhouse by a number of years to make it economically viable. Our hope is that the building can be saved. However if it cannot be saved we will be putting in some temporary changing rooms and facilities for members so that they can continue sailing.”

According to Jones the site will only be demolished once enough funds have been raised for a replacement building, but fundraising for this will likely take several years.

In 2012 the building was described as “at the end of its life” in a structural survey.

The club had nearly 1,000 individual members in 2022 with nearly 2,000 boat trips from the site in the same time period. It was first founded in 1952 and includes windsurfers and catamaran users as well as kayakers and canoeists.

The club have organised racing series on Sundays and Wednesday evenings throughout the summer. They also have facilities at the inland lake at Piddinghoe, where they sail all year round with a winter sailing series.

Also at Piddinghoe they have a RYA Training Centre offering sailing & windsurfing training at the Seaford club building. The Training Centre also offers RYA powerboat training on the sea and on the lake.

NSSC has a third presence at Newhaven Marina where they keep safety boats, and where some small keel-boat owners who race with us keep their craft.