We were appointed as part of Places for People’s team in their winning competition bid to design, build, operate, and maintain Wyre Forest’s new leisure centre. The new build would replace the existing Glades Leisure Centre and Stourport Sports Centre, and was part of a masterplan to redevelop a brownfield site formerly occupied by the British Sugar factory. The new leisure centre was one of the first sites to be developed and operational, so acted as a catalyst for the regeneration of the site.
The site included habitats for reptiles, foraging bats and birds. We sympathetically developed the proposals with our client and other stakeholders (including the council's leisure department, planners and Sport England) to manage the site challenges.
The external and pitch lighting was carefully designed to avoid impacting birds and bats, and the landscaping included reptile fencing and a planting scheme to enhance the ecology across the site. We managed to implement these features while delivering Football Association-standard 3G pitches.
"It is not often that you see a public leisure facility with the sort of quality finish that we have got here. I must admit it really has exceeded all the expectations that we have from the council and everybody else."
The new leisure centre includes a six-lane swimming pool, learner pool with movable floor, sports halls and studios, a fitness suite, and a steam room and sauna. Not only did it meet Sport England funding requirements, but it achieved BREEAM 'Very Good' accreditation.
The completed leisure centre was so successful during its initial year of operation that we designed and delivered an extension to the car park while the centre remained in operation.
