ISG has been appointed to construct four new leisure centres in Birmingham with a total contract value of £30 million, as part of the Birmingham Sports and Leisure Facilities Framework.
The four leisure centres; Erdington, Stechford, Northfield and Icknield Port Loop (IPL) will be developed and operated by Serco on behalf of Birmingham City Council. The £6.5 million Erdington scheme has recently commenced on site, with the remaining leisure centre schemes following in a rolling programme, culminating in the completion of the IPL facility in late 2018.
All four centres will offer wet and dry facilities, with Erdington, Stechford and Northfield classified as community leisure centres, and IPL designated as a ‘competition facility’ in line with Sport England standards. The Erdington, Stechford and Northfield schemes will see ISG construct new leisure centres to replace existing community facilities. The Erdington and Stechford projects are being constructed on nearby sites to enable the existing buildings to remain open. ISG will demolish the existing structure and build a new leisure centre on the same site at Northfield.
The Erdington, Northfield and Stechford schemes involve the construction of a six-lane, 25 metre pool, learner pool, fitness studio, dance studio and wet and dry change areas in a two-storey steel frame building. The Erdington project also includes a health suite with steam and sauna facilities. Stechford will also benefit from the addition of a 100 capacity poolside seating area for local community galas, a café and terrace and a four-court sports hall, along with sports wheelchair accessible lift.
The IPL scheme involves construction of an entirely new leisure centre on the edge of a brownfield site earmarked for the development of 3,000 new homes. This project will include an eight-lane, 25 metre competition pool, with a 250-capacity spectator seating area, along with a learner pool, steam and sauna facilities, fitness suite, dance studio and wet and dry change facilities.
All four leisure centres have been designed to minimise lifecycle costs and drive sustainability, across both building fabric and building services specification. High levels of insulation will improve thermal performance and reduce air leakage, while LED lighting throughout will be supplemented by maximising natural light through extensive use of structural glazing. Heat recovery systems for the pools and low water consumption sanitary ware have also been built into the council’s ambitious sustainability strategy.
Rob Martin, regional managing director for ISG’s UK Construction West business, commented: “Birmingham City Council has made a significant investment in modernising its leisure infrastructure and the appointment of the highly-experienced Serco and ISG consortium is a key element in the provision of outstanding community leisure facilities to drive increasing levels of participation.
“The adoption of a framework procurement approach is an ideal format for driving efficiencies throughout this intensive works programme, encouraging collaboration, project learning and promoting best practice. We are looking forward to working with our local supply chain partners to deliver modern leisure amenities that will become a central community asset for generations to come.”