THE Winsford Marina building is set to be reopened in an attempt to ‘enhance the use of the town’s waterways’.

The building at the marina has been closed for more than a year and Winsford Town Council has been working hard to get the building reopened and back into the hands of community groups.

The town council has announced that it has agreed with Cheshire West and Chester Council to take over the ownership of the building for an initial trial period of six months.

Mark Bailey, Winsford Town Council clerk, said: “A number of community groups are interested in using the building and that is something we’re going to pursue, and members of the boating community will be using the building for shows and things like that.

“The town council needs to do a bit of work to make sure the building is safe first.”

The council says it is in talks with the groups around Winsford who want to use the building and there has also been talk of opening public toilets at the marina building.

Cllr Mike Kennedy, deputy mayor of Winsford, said: “It’s extremely good news, it’s something that we at the town council have been looking at and it will be really beneficial especially with the Neighbourhood Plan enhancing the River Weaver and Flashes. We hope this can encourage groups in the area to be part of that.

“For the foreseeable future, it will be really beneficial to have groups involved that will enhance the waterways whether it be boating activities, trips or teaching skills on the water.

“Obviously we have got the new moorings and with that we’ve got a lot of narrowboats coming into the marina now, so there’s a possibility that we could use the building for toilets as well, because that is something we lack.

“There are some issues to be looked at, but anything that can improve the use of the waterways in Winsford is a good thing and my hope is that if it’s proven to do that, why not then make it permanent?”