A BOLD programme to extend facilities at the Ocean Village Clubhouse has received the backing of members.
An Extraordinary General Meeting of members gave its approval to the £300,000 development programme intended to improve facilities at the Ocean Village clubhouse.
City planners have already given their approval to the proposals.
The proposals include an additional Members' lounge, a ground floor lobby and new lift for members, toilet facilities for the disabled, improved conference facilities for the Admiral's Room and staff changing and toilet facilities.
The Commodore said the development committee had spent months working on the plan to identify a workable solution to achieve all the requirements needed.
Central to the plan is the provision of an additional lounge to be used by Members and guests whenever there is another event in the clubhouse that impinges upon a member’s use of their club’s facilities ( mainly the lounge and bar).
A new ground floor entrance is to be provided with a lift installed to the first floor reception area, offices and foyer. On the second floor new arrangements will enhance the facilities of the Admirals Room so that it can be used for dining.
That will be made possible by installation of a new lift facility to specially service the Admirals Room.
The plan also includes provision of toilet facilities for use by disabled members and provide a changing room and separate toilet for staff.
It will also allow the re-arrangement and possible increase of current very limited storage.
The Commodore said: "The new lounge will be a comfortable 'snug' for members to escape to when ever the main lounge is occupied with an event, or perhaps for a member to hold a select dinner party on a quiet evening, having views over the marina and additional balcony space accessed through patio doors.
"For the first time we will have our own ground floor lobby with lift and toilet facilities that will accommodate wheelchairs.
"Additionally, the new dumb waiter serving the second floor means staff will no longer have to carry large amounts of furniture, crockery and food up and down stairs. The additional storage space will mean our public rooms should be less cluttered with equipment and furniture thus improving the ambience for members and our guests."
The Commodore told members that from the outset it had been clear there were many pieces to a complex puzzle that needed to be solved before proceeding. Many of these pieces were interdependent.
"This made the whole process somewhat slower than we would have wished. The requirement for our own lift really taxed the team because space is at a premium and the general design of the building presented a host of problems. This together with structural calculations all took time to resolve and it was clear that until we had a near-completed plan, we could not seek landlord consent for the project or submit the necessary detailed drawings for our licence requirements.
Although the proposed plan began to take shape around December last year and embraced many ideas from previously considered proposals, it has been constantly refined over the last few months."
