A FUNDRAISING site aimed at raising money to help launch a specialist sailing school in Borth is now up and running with the woman behind the proposal saying she is excited at opening the attraction.

Emma Heathcote, a former Borth resident who was a member of the village’s RNLI lifeboat crew, has launched the crowdfunding site to set up Ysgol Hwylio Borth Sailing School, saying that the development could provide a major economic boost for Borth.

The idea of launching a sailing school in Borth came to Emma two years ago and has taken the next step after the crowdfunding site went live on Tuesday, 1 May, with Emma hoping to raise £300,000 in total.

She said: “This is a once in a lifetime chance to attract significant development funding for Borth, to boost economic prosperity, provide new jobs and offer year-round trade for local businesses in Borth.

“The project is hugely ambitious but by working together as a community we can do this.

“One question I’m always asked is ‘what if we don’t achieve our target funding of £300,000?’

“To some degree, plans for Ysgol Hwylio Borth Sailing School are scalable downwards.

“However, I am certain that the focus of our plans should be job creation and economic impact on local businesses, so any funding we do attract will be used as leverage to apply for additional funding from alternative sources.”

Emma has said she thinks the development could create ten new jobs, six of which would be full-time, as well as seven freelance sailing instructor posts.

That would mean the school could provide a range of courses year-round with the winter months dedicated to shore-based courses covering things such as navigation, maintenance and first aid.

As well as the crowdfunding site, Emma is hoping to attract grant funding and said if the funding bid goes well, the school could even open a second base in Aberystwyth.

Emma is now looking to raise awareness of the crowdfunding site, producing a leaflet which she will be distributing in Borth toward the end of May, but said that anyone who would like to distribute or display the leaflet can get copies by emailing her on [email protected]