sports buildings


Towers Health & Racquets Club


A long-standing sports enthusiast with a passion for racquets sports has opened Bedford’s only high end sports and racquet club with the aim of driving participation.


WHEN Bedford’s only squash club closed many years ago, local resident Mathew Towers made a promise that if he was ever in a position to improve the racquets and gym facilities in Bedford, he would. Fast forward to 2017 and he has done just that with the launch of Towers Health & Racquets Club. “When I moved to Bedford in the late 1980s,


it was relatively well served, with the Kimbolton Road squash club, two large tennis clubs and some decent pay-and-play facilities. In the following 25 years, the world moved on, but Bedford stood still in terms of racquets sports provision. The squash club closed. Bradgate Road tennis club closed. There was little new investment and north Bedfordshire had no permanent indoor tennis courts,” says Towers. After selling his previous business in 2012,


Towers started to realise his dream, buying a plot of land to the north of the town centre. He worked with the Dutch practice, Hooper Architects, for more than two years on the


design of the club and appointed Dutch contractors Pellikaan to build it. He also visited clubs throughout the UK and the Netherlands as part of his research, including those operated by Pellikaan. “I drew on ideas from lots of clubs that I


visited and had plenty of my own ideas. I particularly liked the way some of the Pellikaan clubs had a real community feel, acting as social hubs for the town and not just places to exercise,” says Towers. Taking one year to build, the 4,265sq m


development offers three indoor and four outdoor tennis courts, four squash courts, a 475sq m gym equipped by Technogym, a high energy studio, mind & body studio and a group cycling studio housed over two floors. The centre also accommodates a 20m pool, sauna, steam room, feature shower and hydro pool. Additional facilities include treatment rooms, a café/bar area and a kids club. The club offers the only indoor tennis courts


in North Bedfordshire as well as the only private squash club in Bedford. Likewise, the venue houses the town’s only high end swimming and spa facility and offers the widest range of exercise classes in the area, including a comprehensive Les Mills offering. Targeting families; those in middle to old age


who want to stay healthy and active; as well as aspirational singles, the club currently has


more than 2,000 members with plans for further growth. Towers has often been asked why he


wanted to build a high-end health and racquets club in Bedford. “The implication was that such a club could


not possibly succeed or that Bedford was not a suitable place for such a club. I personally think it betrayed a lack of confidence in the town that I certainly did not share,” he says. “We want Towers Health and Racquets


Club to feel like a club and not just a place where members come to work out. We’re also aiming to stimulate a renaissance in squash in the area, drive increased tennis participation, and make Bedford a healthier and happier place to live.”


www.clubtowers.com www.pellikaan.com/en


pactfacilities.co.uk 23


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