SLM EVERYONE ACTIVE
■ FIA Operator of the Year 2010
■ Operates 72 swimming pools and 76 leisure centres in partnership with 23 councils across England
Clockwise from left: The busy opening day at the centre, the gymnastics arena, one of the two cricket pitches, and the athletics stadium
■ One million people registered to use its facilities
■ One of the UK’s largest providers of swimming instruction, teaching 77,000 students each week nationwide
– interactive indoor biking simulators that incorporate an upper body and core workout thanks to laterally moving handlebars. The bikes are linked to enable group racing and user interaction. Indeed, users can engage with other
exercisers and track their progress across all their fi tness and sporting activities with SLM’s newly developed online tool for planning, sharing and learning – My Everyone Active. Meanwhile the gymnastics arena offers
some of the best facilities in the UK and will be the new home of South Essex Gymnastics Club. The size of a 10-court sports hall, the arena houses a full spectrum of Olympic standard rhythmic and artistic gymnastics equipment. There’s also an eight-court sports hall
for team games and badminton, while two multi-purpose studios provide ample space for a range of group exercise classes. Other facilities on offer include a café, two conference/ meeting rooms, a crèche with outside play area and treatment rooms. Set in the scenic 100-hectare parkland of Gloucester Park, the facilities are not
june 2011 © cybertrek 2011
limited to the main building. “It’s unusual for the local community to have access to such a wide variety of facilities in one venue,” says Duncan Jefford, SLM regional director. “Outdoors at Basildon, we have six fi ve-a-side football pitches, 12 netball courts, 10 full-size grass football pitches, two cricket pitches, a hockey pitch and a brand new athletics stadium, all surrounded by acres of parkland.”
stakeholder interest To achieve high standards across the board on a project the size of Basildon Sporting Village required centralised management skills and experience. Basildon Council set out to appoint one company that could take the project from conception to completion and beyond. Community Solutions for Leisure
(Basildon) – a subsidiary of Morgan Sindall Investments – was able to provide design, build and ongoing operation for the sporting village. S&P Architects and PMP Leisure Consultants worked closely with the council and design team to ensure the aim of creating a centre of sporting excellence
was realised in a way that would benefi t the region as a whole. Workshops were held with members
of local sports groups to identify and deliver the best outcomes for all interested parties. Construction work was carried out by Morgan Sindall. With £16m of funding coming from
Essex County Council, the Homes and Communities Agency, Sport England, East of England Development Agency and the Veolia ES Cleanaway Pitsea Marshes Trust, the project has been carefully managed to ensure the right results for all stakeholders. “One of the greatest challenges was
keeping the key partners happy about their investment in the project, so good internal communications were important,” says Jefford. “We also had a responsibility to meet the needs of everyone who used the two previous facilities at the site.” These facilities comprised a swimming pool at the other side of the park – now closed – and an athletics track, grass football pitches and synthetic pitches, which now form part of the new sporting village’s extensive
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