ELY S deputy mayor has put in a last-minute bid for Roswell Lakes to save the city s sailing club. Cllr Ron Bradney, who owns the Atrium Club in Newnham Street, Ely, hopes to buy the land and secure the club s future with a permanent lease and a new club

ELY'S deputy mayor has put in a last-minute bid for Roswell Lakes to save the city's sailing club.

Cllr Ron Bradney, who owns the Atrium Club in Newnham Street, Ely, hopes to buy the land and secure the club's future with a permanent lease and a new club house.

As The Ely Standard reported exclusively last week, Ely Sailing Club is under threat in its 60th anniversary year because the owner of the lakes, the Thomas Parsons Charity, has put the site up for sale.

The 120-member club had feared it would be unable to raise the £225,000 asking price for the lakes, and its vice-commodore Alan White said Cllr Bradney's bid may represent a "wonderful opportunity".

"I see it as a fantastic chance for East Cambridgeshire," he said.

If Cllr Bradney's bid is accepted, he will re-locate the Atrium to the site with a "sympathetically-designed building", and will maintain free public access to the lakes.

"The bid could be an all-round win-win situation," Mr White said.

Cllr Bradney said he has already put in a bid, which has not been accepted.

"But we are going to try again," he said. "We want to rescue Roswell Lakes and the sailing club from the jaws of defeat."

He said he would explore the possibility of a partnership deal with the sailing club to keep the lakes out of the hands of developers from outside the city.

"We want to put in a trail around the lake to allow people to jog there safely," he said, "and we would encourage dog walkers and the community to make the most of the site.