EWA completes Cheshire leisure centres
The £15m Ellesmere Port Sports Village and £13m Northwich Memorial Court have opened to the public for Cheshire West & Chester, designed by Ellis Williams Architects and delivered by Wates Construction via the North West Construction Hub.
Northwich Memorial Court is an arts, leisure and entertainment venue incorporating a gym, swimming pools, dance studios and a 500-seat auditorium. The building was constructed on the site of the town’s Memorial Hall and Magistrates Court, which were demolished to make way for the new development.
Ellesmere Port Sports & Leisure Village was partly funded by Sport England. The development transformed the former school site on Stanney Lane into purpose-built sports and leisure facilities including a 25m swimming pool, separate learner pool, eight-court sports hall to National Premier League Basketball standards with 1,400 retractable seats, dance and exercise studios, spin zone, gymnasium, wet and dry change, cafe and community room.
The 66,600 sq ft building supports outdoor facilities including athletics track, all-weather and grass sports pitches and was masterplanned to enable future phases of development such as trackside athletics facilities to be accommodated later.
The project was the 100th project procured by the North West Construction Hub.
Mark Evans, EWA director, said: “Both the EPSLV and Northwich Memorial leisure projects recently completed for Cheshire West & Chester have been a tremendous success for the practice reinforcing once again Ellis Williams Architects reputation in this sector.”
The project team for both was Ellis Williams Architects, contractor Wates Construction, structural engineer Clancy Consulting and mechanical and electrical engineer Clancy Consulting.
Also for CWAC, EWA is working on RE:NEW, the new theatre, library and cinema in Chester’s old Odeon cinema. Ellis Williams has been working in collaboration with Bennetts Associates and main contractor Kier via the NWCH framework.
Shame the northwich memorial court isn’t finished yet the block paving which was layed down in a hurry in front of the building is a total disgrace!
By Northwich
Amazing new facility at Northwich, the queues are stretching out the door on most days. Good to see the investment happening in the town, and with a stunning building. There will always be negative people that don’t like progress, well done for opening on time!
By northwich2
Just to let you know at what part did I say it wasn’t finished on time plus shame we have these people in my home town who cannot look at the finer detail of building works! Id get your glasses on if I were you and check out the front of the building left hand side! Block paving It doesn’t bode well! Ps queues? That’s stretching it abit!
By Northwich too
Great modern hall, cafe, swimming pool with lots of happy senior members and kids, fantastic new gym with new equipment, lovely planting and external space. I am proud to live in Northwich with barons quay due as well. The paving is fine, lots more to worry about in the market area over the road, or the old council building. It just proves some people are never happy.
By northwich again