The High Ropes Course has eight obstacles and hangs in the air space above the climbing wall
Ben Raemer won the National Skateboarding Championships hosted at the XC centre last year
ROGER SHERIDAN DIRECTOR, MML CONSULTING LTD
How did the XC concept evolve? The idea for XC came from conversations I had with Dave Coe, the chief executive of Dacorum Sports Trust, about the lack of relevant sports provision for young people generally across the leisure sector but specifically in the Hemel Hempstead area. I was initially engaged to undertake a
feasibility study to look at a facility mix, find an existing building to house this provision and look at the business case for providing one. It was through this process, which in-
volved wider consultation regarding young people’s needs, that I engaged with Youth Connexions Hertfordshire to look at combining a new building that met the or- ganisation’s aspirations to provide young people with a one-stop-shop for informa- tion, advice, guidance and activity. The feasibility process also confirmed
the drop of in regular activity of young people within the 13- to 19-year-old age group and the attraction to that group of extreme, individual focused activities such as climbing and skateboarding.
Issue 1 2012 © cybertrek 2012
What did you bring to project? I brought together evidence regarding the lack of provision and activity within the 13- to 19 years age group to make the myplace funding application. This opportunity was introduced to Dacorum Borough Council, which agreed to provide us with the land at a peppercorn lease. We developed the scheme from
scratch, and along with the social and business case, submitted the myplace funding application for a full grant of £5m. The application was successful and was supplemented with a £250,000 pledge from the sports trust.
What did the design process involve? Before we selected specialist designers, we visited climbing and bouldering cen- tres and skateparks across the country for examples of best practice. We noticed that out of the few indoor
skateparks in the UK most are based in converted, low-rent, low-costs facilities. Our ambition was to provide a high-qual- ity facility that mirrored the standards set for local authority leisure centres, so that visitors could relax in a well-managed, purpose-built space, rather than a build- ing conversion.
Visitors can relax in a well- managed, purposed-built space, rather than a building conversion
The final project offers a clean, mod-
ern, light and airy space with high ceilings, open-ended walls and scope for future enhancement/development.
What lessons have you learned from this project? I have developed a concept model, which embraces some of the things that we’ve learned and further refined its design where applicable. I’ve evaluated another four develop-
ment sites across the UK. But meanwhile, should local authorities want to repli- cate the model in a suitable community, we have an excellent starting point from which to begin discussions. Importantly for local authorities, the
XC model demonstrates that it’s possible to deliver top-class, safe and well-man- aged facilities, that do not require a revenue surplus.
Read Sports Management online
sportsmanagement.co.uk/digital 29
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84