Three Leisure
Centres

The Brief

In early 2022 we were contracted to support our close partners, Freedom Leisure, in the refurbishment of Ringwood, Totton and Applemore leisure centres, for New Forest District Council.

The scope ranged from modernisation of the reception areas and changing rooms, to the addition of soft-play areas and ‘green agenda’ requirements, such as the installation of air source heat pumps.

Clarkson Alliance played a critical role in ensuring a positive outcome for the complex delivery of all three leisure centres together.

Project Delivery

Following our management of the competitive tender process, work started in June 2022. It was important that all three centres remained open to the public throughout and that work be conducted simultaneously on all three sites, while keeping a tight rein on the budget.

At Ringwood Leisure Centre the extensive reconfiguration included:

• extending the existing soft play area
• refurnishing the whole of the first floor
• demolishing existing offices to make way for a café and seating for the soft-play area and
• improving energy efficiency (introducing energy-efficient lighting and air source heat pumps).

Interesting fact, for those of you of a certain age, did you know that the Brittas Empire was filmed here back in the 90s?

At Totton Leisure Centre the brief included demolishing old offices and:

• creating a new reception and café area
• modernising the first-floor studio
• refurbishing the dry-side changing rooms and
• installing energy-efficient lighting

The requirements at Applemore Leisure Centre were the most extensive. Here the brief was to:

• remove the reception desk to create a more welcoming open-plan entrance, café and reception area
• create a new soft-play area in part of the existing sports hall
• extend and modernise the seating areas and
• again improve energy efficiency (introducing energy-efficient lighting and air source heat pumps).

This involved extensive demolition in one of the busiest areas of any sports centre – the entrance and reception. To accommodate this, a temporary reception was created while work began.

During delivery, our diligent cost and project management of the process and NEC4 contract terms, working closely with our partner, meant that we were able to carefully manage contractor and client relations.

The Outcome

All three centres were opened between October 2022 and March 2023.

There are now three fantastic new leisure centres open to the public is, we think, quite an achievement.