Creswell Heritage& Wellbeing Centre
The former Creswell Leisure Centre closed its doors in 2016 and was demolished in 2021. Upon closure, Bolsover District Council and Elmton-with Creswell Parish Council set up a steering group that developed a proposal for a new facility in the village.
The main brief was for a facility that would encourage engagement from across the local community, promote physical activity, social interaction, learning, health and wellbeing as well as provide employment and training opportunities whilst contributing to community cohesion.
Design in principle and conditional planning approval was gained by a third party in 2019, with Lungfish Architects being appointed in 2022 to take the project through to completion from RIBA Stage 4.
Construction commenced with Woodhead Construction, however works were suspended after the business entered administration. There was a brief pause to organise a continuation of the contract and, with the creation of Dragonfly Development Ltd Company (a Bolsover District Council Public Private Partnership), all parties were able to continue working on and successfully deliver the project.
Sector
Commercial
Services
Interior Design
Status
Completed May 2023
Client
Elmton-with-Creswell Parish Council and Bolsover District Council
Location
Creswell, Nottinghamshire
Contract Value
£3m
Contractor
Initially, Woodhead Construction (until the business ceased), completed by Dragonfly Development Ltd Company (a Bolsover District Council Public Private Partnership)
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Our solution
To provide accessible facilities for the whole community, without adversely affecting the building’s operational needs, the internal configuration required careful reconstruction to accommodate necessary accessible facilities that were not part of the inherited plan. Working closely with the main contractor to comply with the conditional planning approval, our team used the most cost-effective solutions to maintain the budget and keep to the original brief.
Inside, the centre comprises a feature entrance and café area, with a two-storey soft play climbing frame and a caving experience room, referencing the local heritage and nearby Creswell Crags, and providing an educational resource for the local community. The café is served by a small commercial kitchen as a community enterprise and provides healthy eating and training opportunities. The new facility also provides a 27-station gym, group exercise studio and a two-badminton court sports hall as well as changing and toilet facilities.
Building services are a blend of electricity and gas to best suit the various functions of the building, and electric photovoltaic panels offset the building’s energy usage and carbon footprint in operation.
