26 Jul 2010

All aboard the new Pride of Sefton

A charity which provides canal journeys for community groups and organisations has unveiled its latest addition.

The Pride of Sefton 2 is a brand new, state-of-the-art narrow boat, which will sail on the Leeds Liverpool Canal.

The new boat recently sailed into the old St Winefride's and St Richard's School site in Merton Road in Bootle, and will now be moored Haskayne in West Lancs.

As well as having a user-friendly open-plan interior, it also boasts a pull-down screen, laptop and other facilities for both leisure and business purposes.

Barbara Hardwick, of the Sefton Narrow Boat Committee, said: "We think it would be an ideal place for a business meeting or team event with a difference - for capacity building, or brainstorming sessions, or even interview days - a floating office! It will also be used for our traditional purpose of taking people who are deprived in some way or another - the disabled, the elderly, or those who are socially isolated - out on lovely trips along the canal."

The original Pride of Sefton was built following an appeal that launched in 1980. Since then, she has travelled more than 7,000 miles and carried in excess of 11,000 disabled passengers. Although the original boat is now something of a veteran, she is still fit for active duty and looking forward to a refurbishment over the winter months.

Pride of Sefton 2 cost approximately £110,000, and the funds were raised via a combination of charitable grants, events, and donations from both individuals and businesses.

One of its first functions as a meeting venue will be for the Residents' Panel of NewHeartlands, the Housing Market Renewal pathfinder, to enable local people to discuss housing-based regeneration in Merseyside.

The original boat has also played a vital role in a variety of community-based regeneration projects, such as the Art for Places creative engagement project in Sefton.

For more details, see http://www.prideofsefton.co.uk/