By Neil Huntingford
A Ferry for Sunbury moves a step closer and your chance to be involved!
Those of you who can remember pre-Covid, may recall that there was talk of developing a ferry service between Lower Sunbury and Elmbridge, opening up a much needed local link across the River Thames. In fact, Spelthorne Borough Council set up a River Thames Task Group, made up of councillors, officers and local community representatives to explore ways of making the river more accessible to the local community as well as attracting visitors to the area.
Despite, the pandemic and national lockdowns, the Council’s Task Group has continued to meet, (by video links of course), and forge ahead with various projects, one of which is the idea of a Sunbury Ferry. The past year has been about engaging and partnering with local organisations such as the Middle Thames Yacht Club, LoSRA, and the Environment Agency with a view to making this exciting local project a viable proposition.
It soon became clear, that for the project to work, it would need kick-start funding and would only be financially sustainable in the long-term if it was managed and operated by a team of trained community volunteers. Spelthorne Borough Council has long championed the project and has generously pulled the budget together to support the ambition of seeing the ferry on the water and running a weekend service this summer.
To take the project forward, a small not-for-profit company – Sunbury Ferry Ltd – has recently been set up by two local residents and they are now looking for a show of interest from those in the community who would be interested in becoming a volunteer. They estimate they will need about twelve volunteers who will receive a fully-funded two day training course resulting in a Royal Yacht Association (RYA) qualification. It is anticipated that volunteers will then be asked to commit to helping on the ferry for half a day every three weeks throughout the summer weekends.
If you have a love of the river and would be interested in helping with this exciting local initiative, please drop a line to either Simon Harris: simon.sunburyferry@gmail.com or Neil Huntingford: neil.sunburyferry@gmail.com for further information.
(Image shows the company’s generic boat, before fitting out as ferry)