A NEW ‘international standard’ rowing lake is set to be built in Upton after plans were backed by the council.

The work would see a further 475,000 tonnes of sand and gravel pulled from Ryall North Quarry in Upton in the next two years before being filled in and transformed into one of the country’s few kilometre-long racing venues for rowers.

Plans include creating a one-kilometre-long lake for rowing competitions alongside wildlife-rich ponds and hedges, reeds and marshes and other green spaces for conservation.

The extension of the quarry and later restoration would bleed into Fish Meadow, land used for the popular Mello and Sunshine festivals which brings in thousands of visitors and is a big moneymaker for the town.

Building materials supplier CEMEX, which has already dug up millions of tonnes of sand and gravel from quarries around Upton, and the landowners said the festivals will not be disrupted by the two-year quarry work or the watersports venue.

The application was approved by Worcestershire County Council’s planning committee at a meeting in County Hall on Tuesday (October 25).

Upton district and county councillor Martin Allen was an enthusiastic backer of the plan and said it would give a huge boost to the “struggling” town.

“Visitors to Upton would not just come at festival times but all over the year, greatly helping the local economy and Upton needs help,” he said. “It has really struggled in the last few years.

“Those who come to use the lake will need accommodation and places to eat, drink and shop and Upton can provide all of those.

“There is some concern from the festivals that they will not be able to function because of the loss of land but as we have heard, they will actually get an increase in land and I think it’s going to be in a better position.”

Alongside rowing, the lake, which would measure almost 1.3km long by between 135 and 265 metres at its widest point, could also be used by all ages and abilities for canoeing, swimming, windsurfing and bell-boating.

It would be only the fourth FISA-complaint rowing facility in England – with the closest venues more than a hundred miles away in Nottingham and Thames Valley.

Cllr Chris Rogers said the quarry would be in an “ideal location with minimal loss to the local amenity” and the rowing plans were a “win-win” for the county.