Five Acres

This project is for a new leisure centre with a four-court sports hall and changing facilities, as well as refurbishment of a former further education college block. Externally there will be a new 3G sports pitch (full sized rugby and football pitch) with a sports pavilion, and associated external works including car parking and landscaping.

Our team has worked with the council to progress the project through the design stages, supporting delivery of a sustainable leisure facility.

Upon completion of concept designs, it was apparent the available budget was insufficient to satisfy the council’s brief. Furthermore, the Levelling Up Fund grant for the scheme requires that it is spent by the end of the 2024/25 financial year, putting pressure on the programme.

There are numerous stakeholders including the Gloucestershire FA, England Rugby, The Football Federation and Sport England, along with district council departments, the local schools, sports clubs and local residents.

The district council has a climate emergency rapid action plan, requiring significant effort to make the leisure facility sustainable in support of its target for net zero carbon emissions by 2030.

Alex Dovey, Director at Pick Everard, said:

"The work set to be undertaken at Five Acres is indicative of our commitment to transforming people’s wellbeing through access to high quality leisure and educational environments. It will be a modern facility, delivering significant social value to the local community through accessible, multi-use spaces for all the family, that will have a lasting impact for generations to come."

To enable effective engagement of the range of stakeholders, we took a collaborative approach which included employing a specialist community engagement consultancy to lead this process.

The appointment of a main contractor has been fast tracked following our initial advice and liaison with the council’s procurement department. Getting the contractor on board during the design stages has provided us with early buildability and material selection input, as well as ensuring the project is delivered collaboratively, reducing project risk and accelerating the delivery process.

We are completing a net zero renewable energy study for the site, to investigate opportunities for renewable installations in support of the council’s goal for a sustainable leisure facility.