Axholme North Leisure Centre

Overview

Mason Clark Associates (MCA) were appointed by North Lincolnshire Council to design a new multi-million pound leisure centre housing a 25m pool, 16 station gym, fitness studio, 3G football pitch and outdoor tennis and netball courts.

This initiative offers a new modern purpose built and well equipped leisure complex which promotes sports and fitness opportunities to the local community, where previous provision was lacking and the nearest centre was over 5 miles away.

Challenges & Solutions

The design of this new modern sports facility presented our teams with a number of different challenges, one of the main ones been due to the presence of a high-water table and underlying peat strata.

• Structural Engineering: design the structural elements of the project including reinforced concrete foundations and pool structure, together with steel frame and concrete structure for biomass silos. We implemented a full dewatering solution to construct the basement, including piled foundations to minimize excavation and provide support to the building.

• Civil Engineering: our civil design work included the drainage and paved areas, as surface water discharge was restricted by the local drainage board it became necessary to design the formation of a swale and unground surface water attenuation to effectively manage storm water before discharging into the adjacent water course via a hydro brake.

• Principal Designer: with the aim of designing out or mitigating any risks identified during the design process a design review of all elements of the building was undertaken. Collaborating with sub-contractors, Ridings Consulting, who undertook the mechanical design works, their scope of works included heating, ventilation and water service installations.

MCA's Contribution

Mason Clark Associates were involved in this project from the beginning through to completion. Our team of engineers responded and adapted to the unforeseen circumstances that were brought about because of the site ground conditions, with the following services playing a pivotal part in the success of the project:

• Regular communication with the council designer, to discuss options for the structure and to work out the structural zones to which we could work within floor depths and column locations.

• Overseeing the tender process.
• Performing value engineering exercises.
• Attending site regularly during the construction phase to check on progress and resolve any queries from the contractor.

Results

The leisure centre was officially opened in December 2018. This new facility is very well received offering classes and activities to the whole community.

The numerous challenges encountered during all phases of this scheme really heightened the project team’s appreciation and awareness of the need for effective communication between all parties and also the importance of keeping a contingency budget for unforeseen circumstances should there be the need to carry out additional works.