How our Major Projects Framework supported the delivery of a modern leisure centre for East Herts Council, designed to make sport, swimming and exercise more accessible to the local community.
Project overview
Client: East Herts District Council
Project: Grange Paddocks Leisure Centre
Location: Rye Street, Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire
Contract value: £21 million
Completion: Autumn 2021
Framework: Procurement Hub
Facilities: Wet and dry leisure, café and multi-purpose space
Construction partner: Willmott Dixon
Modern leisure facilities play an important role in supporting healthier communities. From swimming and fitness to accessible spaces for people of different ages and abilities, well-designed leisure centres can help more people take part in physical activity and make the most of local services.
Grange Paddocks Leisure Centre in Bishop’s Stortford is an example of this investment in action.
Completed in autumn 2021 for East Herts District Council, the new facility replaced an ageing leisure centre dating from the 1970s with modern wet and dry leisure facilities designed to meet changing community needs.
Delivered through our framework, the project brought together a range of specialist partners to create a contemporary leisure destination with swimming pools, a fitness suite, exercise studios, spectator seating and facilities designed to improve accessibility throughout the building.
Delivering Grange Paddocks through our framework
Our frameworks provide public sector organisations with an established route to construction partners for projects that support essential local services.
Grange Paddocks Leisure Centre demonstrates how framework procurement can support investment in community infrastructure, bringing together the expertise needed to deliver a modern, multi-purpose public facility.
For East Herts District Council, the development replaced an existing leisure centre that no longer met modern expectations. The new building was designed to provide a wider range of facilities while making sport and exercise more accessible to local residents.
The project was delivered by Willmott Dixon, working alongside specialist design and engineering partners, including Saunders Boston Chartered Architects, Varsity Consulting, Couch Perry Wilkes and MLM Group.
Construction began at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, making collaboration and commitment across the project team particularly important. The centre's completion in autumn 2021 marked a significant milestone in the council's investment in local health and wellbeing.
Through our framework, we support public sector clients in accessing experienced construction partners to help turn investment plans into facilities that serve their communities.
A modern leisure centre with extensive facilities
Grange Paddocks brings together a broad range of wet and dry leisure facilities within one modern building. The centre provides opportunities for swimming, fitness classes, gym-based exercise and community leisure activities.
Swimming and aquatic facilities
The centre's swimming provision includes:
A 25-metre, eight-lane competition swimming pool.
A teaching pool for swimming lessons and developing skills.
A water confidence pool to help users build familiarity and confidence in the water.
A spectator area with more than 200 seats.
Family changing facilities and group changing provision for schools.
Together, these facilities support a range of uses, from recreational swimming and lessons to competitive activity and school swimming sessions.
Fitness and dry leisure facilities
Alongside the swimming pools, the centre offers a range of facilities for exercise and fitness, including:
A gym with approximately 130–150 fitness stations.
Two exercise studios, each accommodating up to 40 people and equipped with audio-visual enhancements.
Self-contained football changing facilities.
A café and multi-purpose space.
The combination of wet and dry leisure facilities gives residents access to different ways to stay active in one location, supporting a broad range of interests and abilities.
Designing for accessibility and inclusion
Accessibility was a key consideration in the design of Grange Paddocks Leisure Centre, with facilities intended to make exercise and leisure activities easier to access for disabled users.
The building includes generous spaces for accessible toilets and fully equipped changing rooms, alongside a lift that enables access throughout the facility.
A family changing village and group changing provision also help accommodate different users and activities, including family visits and school swimming sessions.
By considering accessibility throughout the building, the project demonstrates the importance of designing public leisure facilities around the people who use them.
For public sector organisations investing in community buildings, inclusive design is an important part of creating facilities that can serve a wide range of residents and remain useful over the long term.
Sustainability and the building's environmental features
Modern public buildings must balance operational requirements with consideration of their environmental impact.
Grange Paddocks incorporates a number of features designed to support more efficient operation and encourage sustainable travel and resource use.
These include:
Solar panels.
LED lighting activated by sensors.
Recycling facilities throughout the centre.
Cycle racks to support visitors travelling by bicycle.
Together, these features form part of the building's approach to energy use, waste management and sustainable travel.
The project highlights how environmental considerations can be incorporated into leisure developments alongside the practical requirements of delivering a high-quality public facility.
Investing in health and wellbeing across East Herts
At its heart, Grange Paddocks represents an investment in the health and wellbeing of the local community.
Replacing the former 1970s leisure centre with a modern facility gave East Herts Council an opportunity to provide a wider range of activities in a building designed around contemporary expectations for sport, fitness and accessibility.
The swimming pools support lessons and recreational use, while the gym and exercise studios provide options for different forms of physical activity. Accessible changing facilities and building-wide access arrangements help make the centre more inclusive.
The development also provides a venue for community activities, school swimming and competitive swimming, bringing together a range of uses within one public facility.
As councils continue to invest in local infrastructure, projects like Grange Paddocks show the importance of providing buildings that respond to the changing needs of the communities they serve.
A successful example of public sector partnership working
The delivery of Grange Paddocks involved East Herts District Council, Willmott Dixon and a team of specialist consultants working together to create a modern leisure facility.
The project was delivered during a particularly challenging period for construction, with work beginning at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Its completion in autumn 2021 reflected the work of the project team and the continued commitment to delivering the new centre for local residents.
Cllr Eric Buckmaster, Executive Member for Wellbeing at East Herts Council, said:
“This project has been a positive investment for East Herts Council and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the project team, council officers and contractors that have helped bring the project to life. Construction work began at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and the opening of the new leisure centre shows how hard everyone has worked to make this happen.
“I look forward to seeing everyone there and witnessing the start of the journey to a healthier lifestyle for many residents and other visitors to the new Grange Paddocks.”
The project illustrates the value of collaboration between public sector clients, construction partners and specialist consultants when delivering complex community facilities.
“The opening of the new leisure centre shows how hard everyone has worked to make this happen.”
Cllr Eric Buckmaster, Executive Member for Wellbeing at East Herts Council
Supporting public sector construction through our frameworks
At Procurement Hub, we help public sector organisations access procurement routes that support the delivery of important buildings and infrastructure.
Grange Paddocks Leisure Centre is one example of a framework-supported project that has helped turn public investment into a facility designed to serve local residents. From swimming and fitness to accessibility and sustainable features, the development brings together a range of priorities within one community building.
Our frameworks support public sector organisations seeking construction partners for projects that meet local needs and contribute to long-term community value.
Planning a leisure, community or other public sector construction project?
Explore our Major Projects Framework to find out more about how Procurement Hub can support your organisation in accessing construction expertise for major projects.