The £28.8m sports park is due to launch in Colchester in April providing accessible and sustainable leisure facilities for the community.
IN a significant boost to the borough’s cycling infrastructure, the new 76-acre sports and leisure facility features a fully floodlit one-mile closed cycle track - the first in Essex. The track will provide leisure cyclists with a safe space to ride their bikes, whilst providing serious cyclists with a facility to challenge themselves and to improve. The development also features a learn to ride facility and cycle pump track, alongside two latest generation 3G pitches and seven traditional grass rugby pitches.
The sports centre building provides a five-court sports hall with facilities for a variety of sports including badminton, futsal and indoor cricket. The building also houses a fully equipped fitness suite, exercise and dance studios, an interactive velo studio, meeting rooms and a café.
The development also includes a new clubhouse, which has been built overlooking the 3G and grass pitches and will be the new home of Colchester Rugby Football Club, whilst an archery range and clubhouse has been constructed to the south of the site which will become home to the Colchester and District Archery Club
The whole facility is set within acres of green open spaces where to date over 500 trees and almost 120,000 hedgerow plants, shrubs, perennials and grasses have been planted for people’s future enjoyment, with further extensive planting planned.
Colchester Borough Council funded the £28.8m development which was project managed by Colchester Amphora Trading. It has been supported by significant funding from groups including Sport England, England and Wales Cricket Club and British Cycling, which awarded the development £590,000 from the Places to Ride capital grands fund. The fund is designed to create a lasting legacy from the 2019 UCI Road World Championships. The work was carried out by construction firm, R G Carter.
“The completion of this inspiring facility marks a huge milestone towards our vision to give all of our residents new and wide-ranging opportunities to play sport, be healthy and enjoy our outdoor spaces. Importantly for me, the Sports Park will be accessible for all, offering activities for all abilities and those with disabilities,” said Cllr Mark Cory, Leader of Colchester Borough Council.
Property, construction and infrastructure consultancy Perfect Circle was appointed by Colchester Borough Council to provide a full suite of consultancy services for the complex, including project management and cost management. The delivery partners were procured through SCAPE consultancy which facilitated a direct award framework designed to drive collaboration, efficiency, time and cost savings.
The new sports and leisure park, part of the wider Colchester Northern Gateway development, will be managed by Leisure World Colchester.
