Balfour Beatty has been joined by councillors from Southwark Council for a topping out ceremony to mark a significant milestone in the construction of the council’s £18.5 million Leisure Centre scheme at the Elephant and Castle.
The Castle Centre will include a 25 metre community swimming pool, a 12 metre learner pool, a four-court sports hall, a 140 station gym, two studios, a spinning room, wet and dry changing facilities, sauna and steam room facilities, a crèche and a café, as well as the associated office space necessary to manage the centre.
A sustainable approach has been key to the delivery of the project which has included the installation of a boiler plant that generates power and heat, photovoltaic panels and a grey water recycling system.
Designed in collaboration with Southwark Council, the new leisure centre is a cornerstone of the £1.5 billion Elephant and Castle regeneration plan and is scheduled to complete in 2015.
Councillor Peter John, Leader of Southwark Council, said: “Seeing the progress today has been brilliant. We can’t wait to see The Castle Centre completed next spring, ready for our residents to use. Today's ceremony has been a great milestone in the journey to throwing open the Castle doors for the first time. The Castle is just one part of the exciting £3 billion transformation we are undertaking here in Elephant and Castle and it will be a great addition to the area and to our leisure facilities in the borough.”
Neil Patterson, Balfour Beatty Regional Managing Director, London and South East, said: “We are delighted to have reached this significant milestone in the construction of the Castle Leisure Centre. Through close collaboration with Southwark Council we have designed a facility to fully meet the demand for improved leisure centre facilities in the area.”
Balfour Beatty is a leading provider in the commercial leisure sector, recently constructing the Plymouth Life Centre (named Best Community Building in the Local Authority Building Control Awards) and the recently completed East Marketgait Leisure Centre, a state of the art swimming pool and leisure centre facility in the heart of Dundee.