RBS Relationship Manager Zarko Hasardzhiev with Steph Pike, sale Legal and Project Development Assistant and David Penny, Commercial and Technical Director both of the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal Trust at their headquarters in Over near Gloucester.
The Royal Bank of Scotland (“RBS”) has shown its support and commitment to the Herefordshire & Gloucestershire Canal Trust through the provision of a £150,000 loan.
This will allow the Trust to develop and own a property at Dymock which will form part of a wider housing development in the local community. This follows only a few months after providing £85k part funding to purchase the only waterside pub on the canal route.
The Herefordshire & Gloucestershire Canal Trust is a not for profit organisation committed to the restoration of the 34 mile canal from Hereford to Gloucester. It boasts 1300 members and leads the way in sustainable income streams to remove the need for long term central or local government financial support. Based at The Wharf House in Gloucester (the Trust’s AA Red Rosette Restaurant with Rooms), the commercially focussed Trust team, headed up by David Penny, forecasts the Canal will generate around £20m a year and will create 500 jobs, figures calculated by British Waterways in a 2009 economic study. By working in partnership with landowners and Local Authorities this enables the Trust to make a sound case for restoring the Canal and its corridor, thus providing recreational facilities for the whole community to enjoy.
The Canal Trust’s latest project to develop a three bedroomed property for a rental income was supported by Zarko Hasardzhiev, relationship manager at RBS. A finance package worth £150,000 will enable the Trust to embark on the building of the house which will integrate with a small housing development and recreational area in the Dymock community. This will add to its impressive portfolio of projects over the years and help meet the demands of housing in the area.
David Penny, Herefordshire & Gloucestershire Canal Trust Commercial Director, explains: “We have grown the Trust since becoming a registered charity in 1992 which helped secure new members and attracted interest across the country and abroad. Since we were established we have restored part of the canal at Monkhide, Oxenhall, and Over as well as other locations allowing us to visualise that Hereford and Gloucester could once again be joined by a navigable canal. It is exciting to see how far we have come since our work on the canal began and the pleasure it will give to communities up and down the 34 mile stretch.
“Our thanks go to RBS for their long-term support and belief in our restoration work and their financial assistance to help us fund our latest investment.”
Zarko Hasardzhiev, relationship manager at RBS said, “Working with David and his team gives you an admiration for their efforts and passion for the British waterways. They are restoring history in a sustainable manner and allowing communities to enjoy this stretch of canal. The Trust is a group of volunteers who are passionate and ambitious and dedicate their time to restoring the Canal, creating jobs and building up a viable proposition when seeking finance. I wish them all the very best with their latest new-build and long-term restoration plans.”