September 14th 2022 marks 15 years since the extension to the Durham ARC clubhouse was opened. The Club first moved to the current site from its previous home at what is now St. Leonard’s School boathouse in 1971, the building being declared officially open on December 22nd 1971.
The opening of the new extension on September 14th 2007, by Roberta Blackman-Woods MP was the culmination of 10 years of effort, the need to extend the facilities due to the increased number of members having been identified by 1997.
A strip of land was purchased from Durham University in 1998 and fundraising got underway in earnest.
Acquisition of boats had taken a back seat while the project progressed, with Barry Hudson as project manager, although in 1999 the club started a pilot scheme with Durham Johnston School to link schools and clubs by taking ergos into the schools to introduce rowing. This pilot became the Amateur Rowing Association’s flagship Young People and Coaching Programme “Project Oarsome”. The Club officially joined the scheme in December and a fleet of eight lightweight Janousek boats (four 1x, two 2x and two 4x) was provided for an outlay of £45,000 with funding from the Lottery Sports Fund, Henley Regatta Stewards Charity and a local property company called Helios Properties.
Planning permission for the building was granted in 2003 and by 2006 the target of £1 million had been amassed through grants, loans and general fundraising.
In 2005 the Club had entered into partnership with Durham County Council Education Department’s Learning Links special projects team, through which the Club was included in a scheme called “Playing for Success” which involved placing a learning unit into a sports club. By incorporating a classroom into the building scheme PfS was to contribute £79,000 partnership funding. Durham County Cricket Club was already a member of PfS.
The Club vacated the site in November 2006 while work took place and operated with key boats housed inside and outside Clive Hole’s Old Coal Yard with much of the Club’s equipment stored off site in a barn loaned by a club member who was a farmer.
A building completion certificate was issued by the Council in August 2007, and after the opening of the extension attention turned towards funding for the renewal of the boat fleet.
The Local Network Fund for Children and Young People awarded £7,000 towards the £8,500 cost of a new Janousek 4-/4x called “Lasting Impact”.
Six boats were acquired from Newcastle Royal Grammar School, who had closed their boat club, assisted by a donation from former workmates and family of recently deceased member Doug Turner, and a coxed four was named “Doug Turner”.
In 2008 “Playing for Success” purchased a Janousek 4+ for the Club.
After a lengthy funding process in partnership with Gilesgate Sports College a package of £12,000 was raised to be used for equipment mainly for children and young people and people with disabilities or who were otherwise disadvantaged. This funded the purchase of a Janousek 2x “Gilesgate” and two Burgashell recreational boats, the 2x+ “Dun Cow” and single “Evergreen” together with six pairs of sculls.
A 2002-built lightweight Raymond Sims eight “Winterbrook” was purchased from Wallingford Rowing Club for £4,500.
The full “Project Oarsome” fleet of Janousek boats was sent for refurbishment in 2008.
The extension to the boatstore was completed in November 2009.
The Playing for Success initiative was aimed at improving literacy, numeracy and ICT standards among demotivated Key Stage 2 and 3 pupils. Durham Education and Watersports Centre was registered as a charity based at the clubhouse with the aim of promoting community participation in healthy recreation for the benefit of groups from local schools who attended out-of-hours water sessions and used the classroom and ICT facilities for project work, under the supervision of a member of staff funded through PfS.
Financial pressures in central and local government meant the PfS scheme was short-lived and funding was withdrawn in 2011. The Education & Watersports Centre continued to operate for a time on a voluntary basis serving as a base for further government initiatives aimed at improving ICT literacy for adults, but lack of resources and a general loss of interest led to the charity becoming dormant and it ceased to trade actively, eventually being dissolved on March 31st 2022 as the Club became a charity in its own right.