The Dukeries Leisure Centre project aimed to address a pressing gap in community water‐leisure provision following the decline in usable pool services in a facility dating from the 1950s. Faced with escalating operating costs and the risk of closure – together with prohibitive capital costs for a full traditional rebuild (on the order of about £12 million) – the client (a local authority/leisure partner) sought an alternative way to provide a modern pool service for the district. Key priorities were keeping the building stand-alone yet ensuring good connectivity with the existing dry‐side leisure accommodation, serving a deprived area with rising demand, enabling shared use with the academy school on the same site, and incorporating digital access control to provide an integrated customer experience, all while maintaining operational efficiencies and staff levels.
Delivered through a partnership with ReCreation led the build of a new 20m × 10m, five-lane pool extension adjoining the existing building. This expansion included a unisex changing village, spectator area, pool plant room, reception, storage, and a new accessible, integrated. Construction used prefabricated pool tank technology and a structural steel frame with a reinforced concrete mezzanine floor over metal decking, improving speed and reducing cost. The facility is fully accessible and has replaced lost capacity while enabling new community activities. It has been achieved with modest capital investment (approximately £2.7-3 million contract value) and without increasing staffing overheads.
Contract Value: £3m
Client: Newark & Sherwood Council
Contractor: Ascot Services
Construction Time: 10 months
Opening Date: Spring 2021
