To design and build a new leisure facility to replace the aging Chafford Sports Complex in the south of Havering.
Built in the 1970s, Chafford Sports Complex was no longer fit for purpose and presenting a significant financial challenge for the local authority.
ReCreation was approached to design and develop a new facility, improving the health and well-being outcomes for the local community. Consisting of a 25m pool, spin studio, yoga/dance space and a fitness facilities, the new facility needed to be both cost effective and future proof.
Like many London boroughs, Havering is experiencing rapid population growth and needs new leisure facilities to address long term community wellbeing. Building a new centre in the south of the borough in Rainham was the ideal location.
Working closely with the council and its planning department, ReCreation’s professional design team was able to fulfil the brief exactly as desired. The facility was to be built on a green space and was therefore designed to be ‘part of the park, not on the park’. We did this by building up the ground to the main entrance, incorporating new outdoor adult activity equipment, a new playground and even a new orchard to the north of the site. To help the local wildlife, we also added swift boxes into the brickwork itself to form homes for nesting birds.
Contract Value: £7.5m
Client: Havering Council
Contractor: Piper Hill
Construction Time: 14 months
Opening Date: May 2023
