Siblyback Lake Unofficial Guide

There have been some great days of North wind in 2019, perfect for windsurfing at Siblyback Lake. The big problem is, only a few members have been able to use the lake under the buddy system. The many casual customers who used to just turn up and pay when the watersports centre was open cannot use the lake. There are no rescue boats available and no members of watersports staff on-site. Consequently some people have been heading onto the water unofficially. In previous years there have been many people enjoying the lake with their families, but in 2019 following the decision by South West Lakes Trust to close the facility it has literally been deserted. What a waste of a great facility.

On the 3rd April 2019, Neil Reeves Head of Countryside and Recreation at South West Lakes Trust wrote to existing annual members of Siblyback Lake to confirm arrangements for the 2019 season. These are: Current members can continue to access the water this year through the buddy system . This is only available to existing members or those whose membership has recently lapsed.  Launch membership rates are reduced by 25% so Family - £149.25, Single - £101.25 and Concession £74.25 Boat storage is still available at a cost of £63.75 To renew your membership you have to phone 01566 771930 or "drop in" to their office at Roadford Lake! There will be no watersports staff at the lake and no rescue boat available. The changing rooms and toilets will be available but on a reduced cleaning schedule. There will be no camping membership in 2019 The details of the Buddy System have been reiterated as:  Whilst I am pleased (as a member) to be able to continue to use ...

South West Lakes Trust who manage Siblyback Lake, have taken the bizarre decision to close the Outdoor and Active Centre and the Campsite for the 2019 season. So during 2019 you WILL NOT be able to: Hire SUP, Kayaks, Windsurfers or Dinghies at the lake Have sailing, windsurfing or other lessons Launch your own craft (unless you have an Annual Membership and observe the rules of the Buddy System yet to be confirmed) Camp on the campsite Park your motorhome beside the lake There are going to be no staff in the watersports centre and the only staff on-site will be two wardens. The lake path, cafe, fishing and play area are still available as in previous years. Many accommodation providers have web pages with details about the watersports at Siblyback and it will take time for them to update their websites to take account of the closure.

Siblyback Lake is owned by South West Water, the company created in 1989 with the privatisation of the water industry. South West Water lease the lake on a five year rolling lease to South West Lakes Trust which is a company limited by guarantee (registered in England number 3946529) and also a Registered Charity No. 1079966. The trust oversees Roadford Lake, Siblyback, Stithians, Tamar Lakes and Wimbleball from their Head Office at Roadford Lake. They in turn use a subsidiary trading company called South West Lakes Limited (company number 03955075) to run the Outdoor and Active Centres and Camping at their various lakes. Any excess funds in this trading company are then Gift Aided back to the South West Lakes Trust in a curious tax efficient money-go-round. For the year ended 31st January 2018 South West Lakes Limited made a trading profit of £99,282.

Searching today on Google for "Siblyback Lake" and one of the prominent pages that appeared in the results was on the visitcornwall.com website. Strangely a month after the watersports centre was closed, they continued to advertise it on their site. This is likely to lead to confusion and possible disappointment among visitors to Cornwall, the very people their organisation is supposed to help! What is particularly interesting about this is that the Chairman and non-Executive Director of South West Lakes Limited Malcolm Bell is also Chief Executive of Visit Cornwall. South West Lakes Limited is the subsidiary trading company that previously ran the Siblyback watersports business at the lake on behalf of South West Lakes Trust. So VisitCornwall can't really argue that they didn't know about the closure! Malcolm Bell is also a Trustee of the Wheal Martyn Trust Limited which runs the china clay museum just outside St Austell. Following an email to Mr Be...

Today an email was sent by Andy Parsons to attendees of the 13th March meeting. The South West Lakes Trust has now partially reversed its decision to completely close the lake to watersports users in 2019. Annual Members will be permitted to continue launching and using the lake under the Buddy System. Additionally, users of the boat park will be able to continue storing their boats at the lake. What isn't clear is what constitutes a "regular launch participant". If someone comes to the lake once a year that is a "regular launch". We will be seeking clarification on that point. Details of costs and rules are yet to be worked out but at least this looks like a step in the right direction. However, there remains the issue that a lot of people who don't know about the closure of the watersports and camping are going to be disappointed. Around 5000 people used the watersports facility last year. That gives the potential for a lot of disappointed cust...

A petition set up to protest against the decision by the South West Lakes Trust to close watersports and camping at Siblyback Lake has now reached nearly 1000 signatures. This number shows the strength of feeling among users of the lake against this decision. The petition is just part of the on-going pressure being put on South West Lakes Trust to reconsider their decision. You can sign the Petition by following this link: Save Siblyback Lake Watersports