Maidstone Sailing Club has closed after a vote of its members at an extraordinary meeting.

Club Commodore David Fillery said members were left with no choice after Maidstone council, which had sold their clubhouse to housing developers, failed to come to their rescue.

A last-minute draft lease of an alternative patch of land offered by the council failed to convince members that the authority was serious.

Mr Fillery said: “The ground they offered is currently being used by Raven, the developers at Mote House. There are huge piles of rubble on it.

“In any case, there were several points in the draft lease that were just unacceptable, and it was only for one year, with no provision to renew it.

“Raven told us we had to quit the site completely the next day. The council just left it too late to act.”

A motion to wind up the club with immediate effect was passed by a two-to-one majority of the members.

Terry MacDonald was one of the few members who voted in favour of continuing, but he acknowledged afterwards: “I’m afraid that does now mean the end of sailing at Mote Park.

“The idea of starting again from scratch to form another sailing club is just not feasible.”

The club’s assets will now be offered to other sailing clubs, with any cash raised going to the RNLI.

Mr Fillery said: “It’s very, very depressing.”

Council spokesman Roger Adley said: “It is a shame that the sailing club has decided to call it a day. Lots of people will miss the boats on the lake.

“We had to act to preserve Mote House and have been encouraging the club, for several years now, to make the necessary arrangements with us to keep going.

“We granted planning permission for a new clubhouse, but the club could not proceed because it did not have a business plan.

Storage

“We have also agreed to grant a year’s lease for a secure storage area for boats so the club could keep going while they work up a full business plan for a clubhouse.”

Mr Adley added that if anyone was interested in sailing on the lake, they should “come and talk to us”.

Maidstone council sold Mote House, including the Old Brewhouse that had been home to the sailing club for the past 50 years, to developer Raven Audley Court for £3.47 million in 2006.

No money was allocated to finding the sailing club a new home.