Creating a sporting habit for life
Affordable Sports Centres
An essential reference for
community sports centre
projects.
The review follows on from
previous Sport England
publications on ‘Affordable’
swimming pools and sports halls.
Indicative base construction
rates to Sport England
standards from £1,505/m2
Base construction costs
for ‘Affordable’ sports
centres (2Q2013):
Sports hall
+ 25 m swimming
pool
+/- health and
fitness gym +
studio(s)
£3.47m-£7.33m
Typical procurement periods
2.0-2.5 years from inception
to operation
Potential community use
income from £0.61m-£1.68m/
year 1.
1 Subject to pricing, programme, site and operating
assumptions.
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© Sport England 2013
Executive Summary
This guidance is a further development of Sport
England’s initiative to respond to the economic
pressures faced by sports facility providers and
operators. It builds upon the previous advice
contained in Affordable Community Swimming
Pools (January 2012) and Affordable Sports Halls
(August 2012) for separate sports buildings. It
brings them together to form an ‘Affordable Sports
Centre’ with a typical facility mix of swimming
pool, sports hall and health & fitness facilities. The
guidance highlights:
•
Indicative design options and construction costs
•
Estimates for income and operation
•
The benefits of adding a secondary pool and
enlarged health and fitness facilities.
Business Plan
projections identify
performance within the
upper quartile of NBS
benchmarks.
The key findings
The ‘Affordable’ indicative designs and cost plans
are based on the use of a rationalised traditional
building approach. Features that help drive down
costs include:
The guidance is relevant to the early briefing and
design stages of community and school and is
intended to give a better understanding of the
inter-relationships between design, capital cost,
operating budgets and procurement. It is intended
to supplement the current information on the Sport
England web site and be an essential reference for
new projects.
Whilst focusing on affordable sports facilities, the
guidance also illustrates how a full range of
community needs and good practice standards can
be met. The design options that are illustrated are
for buildings that can be used throughout the year
and provide appropriate internal environmental
conditions for community sports and teaching. The
guidance takes into account the current Building
Regulations, changes in the education sector
procurement from the James Review and illustrates
how the planning, design and construction
processes can be simplified and speeded up.
•
Establishing a robust project brief
•
Developing the business plan and operational
budget
•
Selecting a procurement route and project
programme
•
Validating key project details
•
Forming a template for future projects.
•
Efficient internal space planning
•
Simple and uncomplicated building envelopes
•
Low-weight composite cladding and structural
frame
•
Easily sourced and reliable prefabricated
components
•
A best value ‘energy strategy’.
Options to enhance the building specifications are
explained in the previous documents. The
indicative designs should be tailored to the
individual needs of a particular project.
The ‘Affordable’ approach should also be reviewed
against the wider business objectives for the new
facility. Enhancement may be justified to achieve
lower life cycle costs and greater market appeal 2.
The information will have a range of potential uses
including:
Developing feasibility studies and option appraisals
Clear understanding of ‘peak’ user numbers
The significance of site specific factors and the
potential for these to increase costs should also
be noted as explained in the Affordable Community
Swimming Pools and Affordable Sports Halls
guidance.
Potential uses
•
•
Cost effective designs
and efficiently operated
facilities can offer
resource savings.
These can help improve specific
health, wellbeing and
demographic issues and the
needs of local community
groups.
2 See Sport England’s Developing the Right Sports Hall.
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© Sport England 2013
Contents
Introduction
4
Potential Income
• Key issues
19
• Overview
O
Table 1 - Income
O
Table 2 - Expenditure
O
Table 3 - Business plan
• Potential management arrangements
• Options for ‘Affordable’ sports centres
• Core facilities
O
Entrance and reception
O
Swimming pool
O
Sports hall
O
Health and fitness
O
Dance studio(s)
O
Changing space
O
Vending area
• Income generation
• Programming
• Expenditure
• Staff cost
• Utilities
Strategic Planning
7
Building Design
8
• Health and Safety
• Reducing net operating costs
• The ultimate financial performance of
community leisure centres
• Efficient and effective design
O
Design process
O
Variations to suit catchments and
market conditions
O
Phased development
O
Alternative building configurations
• Design objectives
O
Building layouts
O
Options for combining the sports
centre elements
• General provision
O
Pool changing
O
Lockers
O
Sanitary provision
O
Showers
O
Accessible wet changing
O
Spectator viewing
O
Sports chair zone
O
Dry side changing
O
Health and fitness changing
• Location
• ‘Lifecycle’ maintenance costs
• Occupancy and maintenance costs
• Business plan
• Secondary pool and movable floors
• Other pool profiles
• Benefits of larger pools and health and
fitness
Capital Costs
27
• Overview
O
Table 4 - Elemental cost/m2 overview
O
Table 5 - Elemental cost breakdown
Procurement and Delivery
• Building fabric
• Procurement route
O
Single Stage Design and Build
• Approach
O
Joint Strategy or a Split Approach
O
Separate Approach
• Consultant team appointment
• Structure
• Contractor appointment
• Services
• Combined procurement routes
• BREEAM
• Design, Build, Operate and Maintain
(DBOM)
Example: Option 4 ‘Affordable’ sports centre 15
29
• Example programme (Option 4)
• Site plan
• Ground floor plan
• First floor plan
Appendix (separate)
• Sections and elevation
Detailed accommodation list
Schedule of areas
Further layouts of ‘Affordable’ sports centres
Building fabric
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Introduction
Key issues
Summary facility mix for the 5 options
In the current economic climate, local authorities
are under increasing pressure to cut costs. The
creation of new or improved sports centres can
make a positive contribution to the process.
Facilities that better meet the needs of the
community have the potential to save significant
revenue costs when compared to existing older
centres. Councils can benefit on a number of
fronts. They can make efficiencies in spending,
rationalise existing provision, make better use of
land assets, whilst at the same time improving
sports and leisure services for the community.
See appendix for a more detailed area schedule
Options
1
2
3
4
5
Courts
(badminton)
4
4
4
4
5
Equipment
storage





Options for ‘Affordable’ sports centres
Dry changing





This review has been produced by Sport England to
help project teams develop an ‘Affordable’ sports
centre. It looks at how sports centres can be logically
and efficiently designed and delivered to provide
functional spaces that encourage sports
participation. It builds on the advice provided in the
Sport England Affordable Community Swimming
Pools (ACSP) and Affordable Sports Halls (ASH)
documents and it should be read in conjunction with
these two documents.
Swimming
pool(s)
Main pool
(lanes)
4
4
6
6
8
Secondary
pool
-
-
-


Wet changing





Buffer/
school/group
changing





Changing
places/ full
accessible
provision





Gym stations
-
50
100
100
100
Studio(s)
-
1
2
2
2
Changing
with
accessible
provision
-




Sports hall
Five indicative design options are provided for a
range of sizes and facility mixes. These are based
on consultation within the sport and leisure industry
and analysis of a number of recently built projects.
They represent indicative ‘Affordable’ designs for a
range of typical situations:
•
Option 1 could serve a school or small community
•
Option 2 could serve a small town
•
Options 3/4 could serve a large town
•
Option 5 could serve a large town / region.
Health +
fitness
However, a detailed demand analysis should be
undertaken for a new centre. This will help decide
the scale and facility mix that best meets the
needs of the particular location.
Joining-up previous ‘Affordable’ designs:
The previous Sport England publication
Affordable Sports Halls illustrates how the
larger version could be joined up with the
‘Affordable’ community swimming pool
building. See ASH page 18.
http://www.sportengland.org/facilities-planning/
tools-guidance/design-and-cost-guidance/sports-halls/
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Core facilities
The design options include for 4, 6 and 8 lane
25 m pools and for the addition of a secondary
pool. The importance of a secondary pool for
increased programme flexibility and income is
discussed later.
The core facilities that are included in the range of
indicative design options are discussed below.
See the later Potential Income section for
operational factors and impact on the running cost
of a centre.
Sports hall
The 4 court 34.5 x 20.0 x 7.5 m sports hall is to the
recommended Sport England dimensions along
with a sports equipment store of 12.5%. The larger
design options allow a 5 court 40.6 x 21.35 x 7.5 m
sports hall to be included in the economical
rectangular plan.
Entrance and reception
The entrance and reception are designed to give
users some viewing of the internal sports areas.
The reception is also the central hub for the
operation of the centre with clear views of external
and internal circulation routes. In addition, there is
space for automatic ticket machines, a
membership ‘welcome’ area, displays, automatic
entrance barriers and vending.
Whilst sports halls should be designed
predominantly for sports activities, they can be
used for a range of other non-sporting events and
activities at periods of low demand to ensure that
the building is used as much as possible.
Swimming pool
Spectator seating zone to
main pool (as in Option 5)
Views from health and
fitness over pool hall
(Options 3-5)
Views up to gym
Views of feature
stair up to health
and fitness and to
sports hall
Entrance / foyer /
pool hall opened
up to main access
from both footpath
and car parking
Open views between wet
change and pool hall
Cut-a-way model view
(See cladding options in previous ‘Affordable’ documents)
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Health and fitness
Changing space
Subject to catchment and local competition
factors, a larger health and fitness centre with
more stations will attract more ‘members’ and
casual users, and improve the financial
performance of a centre.
The review and design options have assumed
changing room capacities on a similar basis to the
previous ‘Affordable’ community swimming and
sport hall documents. That is to say based on
Sport England guidance notes, the need to provide
comfortable conditions for all users and also cope
with periods of high demand. In the case of the
swimming pool the peak situation has been
assumed to be a steady though put of casual
swimmers (typically during summer school holiday
periods) and the need for the operator to limit
swimming sessions with ‘call out groups’. See
Swimming Pools Design Guidance Note.
Vending area
All of the proposed options have small vending
areas included in the reception area. Additional
space may be justifiable to create a larger catering
facility, but this is unlikely to be based solely on
the size of the centre. Factors such as the type of
location, whether high street or in the countryside,
the local competition and the user numbers all
need to be assessed. See page 23 for discussion
on Income Generation.
Dance studio(s)
Movement and dance studios are included in the
larger schemes in association with the health and
fitness areas. This can increase the range of offer
to the fitness ‘members’ and a wider market.
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Strategic Planning
There are many permutations of leisure centres
around the country that reflect the particular
demographics and pattern of existing facilities in a
locality. It is critical for the success of any sports
centre project that a strong project brief is created
based on clearly articulated needs and a strong
evidence base.
A clear understanding of what is required is crucial
to the long term success of any sports centre and
it is important that the project is developed in a
consistent and logical way.
Advice on how to plan the right sports centre to
suit the needs of a locality can be found on the
Sport England web site. Sport England’s Facilities
Planning Model (FPM) should be used to ascertain
the facilities required in any given location.
A simplified version of the FPM has been
developed with National Governing Bodies (NGBs)
and the Amateur Swimming Association to
determine specifically how to size the water space
and sports hall provision. These models are
discussed in the Affordable Sports Halls and
Affordable
Community
Swimming
Pool
documents. The 7 steps recommended to
developing the right sports hall or swimming pool
can also be applied on a larger scale to whole
leisure centres. The 7 steps are outlined below:
1
SUPPLY AND DEMAND ISSUES
2
STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS
3
TYPE, LEVEL AND AMOUNT OF ACTIVITY
4
DEVELOPING AND REVIEWING
PROJECT OPTIONS
5
DEVELOPING THE PROJECT BRIEF
6
THE BUSINESS CASE /
VALUE FOR MONEY APPRAISAL
7
THE DECISION
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Building Design
Efficient and effective design
For an ‘Affordable’ solution to be successful, the
economies in the design of the buildings should
be balanced with the need to maintain an
appropriate level of customer appeal and efficient
operation. This should be based on the levels of
occupation during busy periods.
The combination of a number of individual sports
facilities into a multi-sports centre will give the
potential for a range of economic, operational and
social benefits. However, there are a range of
design issues that will need careful attention. In
particular, the size, capacity and functional
relationships between the spaces, the organisation
of circulation routes and detailed internal planning
should be tailored to the programme of activities
that is envisaged.
The review has compared the space allocations
under the following six categories:
o
Core sporting areas (CSA)
o
Essential supporting areas (equipment
storage, changing and sanitary)
Cost effective designs
and efficiently operated
facilities can offer
resource savings.
o
Foyer / circulation space / public toilets
o
Plant areas
o
Core management areas
These can help improve specific
health, wellbeing and
demographic issues and the
needs of local community
groups.
o
Other areas.
These are illustrated for the five building options in
the graph below. The percentages and mean
values can be used as a general guide for
‘Affordable’ projects with a similar mix of facilities.
% of GIFA
Mean
average
values
50
49.7%
40
30
21.1%
20
12.2%
11.3%
10
1.7%
0
Option 1
Option 2
Option 3
Option 4
Option 5
Key areas as percentages of gross internal floor areas
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Design process
Alternative building configurations
The design of any sports building should come out
of an understanding of how it is intended to be
used and a response to the specific functional
demands, local demographics and site
considerations.
These
requirements
are
established in the project brief and during the
design development process various options can
be considered for how they might be met.
There are a number of ways that the building may
be configured to suit particular site constraints
or particular building techniques. However, a
number of critical inter-relationships between the
main elements of the building should be
maintained.
The design process is influenced by planning
considerations, legislation such as Building
Regulations and British Standards, client
requirements,
other
requirements,
recommendations, guidance and perceived good
practice.
•
Entrance easily identifiable
•
Viewing from reception/entrance into the main
activity areas to increase customer awareness
•
Reception and control well located to provide
direct access to the changing rooms
•
The building split into separate wet and dry
zones to facilitate easy operation
•
Buffer/group changing rooms shared with the
‘wet’ and ‘dry’
•
Entries from wet changing areas adjacent to
shallow water to reduce risks to non-swimmers.
•
The changing rooms and plant areas arranged
in a central core that avoids long corridors
•
The reception desk is in a strategic location
with good viewing of outside areas, entrance,
and circulation routes
•
Plant room being adjacent to the deep end of
the swimming pool and changing rooms.
These include:
The Sport England Design Guidance Notes (DGNs)
are key reference documents that set out specific
requirements and guidance for the design of
facilities to accommodate a range of sports. The
DGNs are updated regularly to reflect National
Governing Body of Sport (NGB)requirements and
current best practice. The design guidance that
they provide is taken by Sport England to indicate
the minimum standards required to produce
acceptable best practice solutions.
Variations to suit catchments and market
conditions
Some elements of the DGNs such as the sizes of
core sporting areas, certain functional space,
health & safety and accessibility requirements
should be taken as ‘givens’ for a particular
standard of project. For example, dimensions of
a 25 m x 4 or 6 lane pool or the width of doorways
to an accessible toilet. However, other elements
of supporting accommodation may need to be
varied to best suit the particular local catchment
and market conditions. Sport England recognises
that there are situations where a variation from
the general guidance may be justifiable. Where
this is the case, a clear explanation with reasoning
and implications should be set out in the project
brief.
Design objectives
The key design objective is to produce compact
and efficient sports centre layouts that provide
elements in compliance with Sport England
guidance. Ancillary areas have been reviewed and
redesigned as necessary. The general objectives
of the Sport England guidance have been applied,
taking into account the likely requirements and
typical brief of operators and based on previous
feedback from those groups.
Phased development
The previous Affordable Sports Halls (ASH)
review included the development of an indicative
design for a phased development with a
community swimming pool. (See page 19 of
ASH). The options illustrated could be adapted
for a phased project.
July Revision 001
Grouped areas such as wet changing and dry
changing areas have been formed with
components which are able to grow in size and
number proportionally as the facility size and
user-requirement increases. This allows for a neat
plug-in design process, with changing area,
cubicle, shower and WC elements added in a
consistent manner.
9
© Sport England 2013
Entrance, foyer and
pool hall opened up
to main access from
both footpath and car
parking
Views up to gym
Views of feature
stair up to health
and fitness and to
sports hall
View of entrance with indicative landscaping
The indicative design options are based on the use
of simple, compact and functional building geometry
in the interests of keeping capital costs down.
to encourage interest and participation. The pools
are designed for community use and the 8 lane
options include spectator viewing at first floor level.
Building layouts
The main corridor potentially provides views into
the sports hall at ground and first floor. Similarly,
the schemes without spectator seating are
designed to potentially give direct views into the
pool hall from the gym. The plant areas have been
located at the rear with the possibility of having
some plant at roof level, should this be required.
The layouts aim to provide a suite of schemes that
meet the needs of typical project briefs for a range
of sports centre sizes. They adopt a common
organisational model that can be expanded to
produce multiple iterations and accommodate
additional facilities elements, simply by adding
components as may be required.
The amount of changing and sanitary
accommodation is compliant with the British
Standards and the Building Regulations and
follows the Sport England Design Guidance. The
changing areas, showers and sanitary facilities
have been located where the users will pass these
areas as they move from changing to activity
space to encourage their use.
The layouts adopt a similar concept with the wet
and dry changing areas, sitting in between the
pool hall and sports hall. A circulation corridor runs
front to back through the building at ground and
first floor levels, adjacent to the sports hall.
Vertical circulation for accommodation and means
of escape is located at either end of this corridor.
The health and fitness areas have been designed
to operate separately from the swimming pool and
sports hall to be used when the other facilities are
occupied by schools or clubs. The health and
fitness changing areas are located away from the
other changing areas and sit in close proximity of
the gym.
The circulation routes are simple and efficient for
ease of orientation within the building. The wet and
dry-side changing is accessed by a single corridor
which also provides easy access to dry side
accessible sanitary areas as well. The dry changing
facilities were designed for separate genders or
teams, for flexible use.
In the options where there is a health and fitness
suite to the first floor, there are two staircases (for
access and fire egress) and disabled access is
provided with two lifts in line with Sport England
Design guidance. A feature staircase is to the front
of the building with secondary escape stair(s) to
the rear.
The pool hall is located to be visible to people
approaching the building and to have good
viewing from the entrance reception area. The
standard pool hall can be extruded to the rear in
the options where a teaching pool is included to
maintain a clean, straight building line at the front
of all the options. The sports hall block can also
be slid towards the rear of the building to make
room for an aerobics studio to be incorporated at
ground floor.
The feature staircase adds interest and movement
via a glazed front, which has been designed to
bring natural light and potential natural ventilation
into the front reception areas and to offer a visual
link with passers-by.
On the first floor, the gym is at the front of the
building to give views of activity from the street, and
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© Sport England 2013
Options for combining the sports centre elements
Se
Key
Option 1
Sports hall
Changing (+CH)
Health and fitness (+HF)
Swimming pool
Circulation / lifts
Reception zone / staff
Ps
Linking reception
and rationalised
changing and plant
areas for a 25m x 4
lane swimming
pool and 4 court
hall
P
E
Sc s
C Sc
Iv PH
SH
Sc
Pc
E
O
R
Plant
SH
Sports hall
E
Equipment store
Se
Secondary exit / fire escape
Sc
Sports hall changing and toilets
Ce
Community entrance
Fc
Fitness changing and toilets
Fe
Fitness equipment gym
Fs
Fitness studio
Fv
Formal viewing
C
Circulation
O
Office / staff areas
R
Reception
S
Storage
Pc
Pool changing zone
PH
Pool hall
P
Plant
Ps
Pool store zone / first aid
Iv
Informal viewing
50 station health and
fitness and studio at first
floor level
Ce
Fe
S
Se
Option 2
O
Ps
Additional health and
fitness facilities at first
floor level
P
Fs
S
Cc
Fc
Fc Fc
E
Sc s
C Sc
Iv PH
SH
Sc
Pc
E
O
R
100 station health and
fitness and two studios
at first floor level
P
Ce
S
Fs
Fs
S
Fe
S O Fc O
Option 3
Larger swimming pool
(25 m x 6 lane) and
health and fitness
facilities
Se
P
Ps
S
P
Fc
Fc
E
Sc s
C Sc
Iv
PH
Pc
SH
Sc
E
O
R
100 station health and
fitness and two studios
at first floor level
Ce
P
S
Options 4 and 5
Options for a 25 m
x 6 or 8 lane pool
with secondary
pool. Options with
or without formal
spectator viewing.
Options for 4 or 5
court sports hall
Ps
S O Fc O
E
P
Fs
S
Fe
Se
Ps
Fs
S
Fc
Fc
Sc
Iv
PH
C Sc
Pc
Sc
O
R
E
SH
100 station health and
fitness and two studios
at first floor level plus
spectator viewing
O
P
Ce
S
Fs
Fv
Iv
Fs
S
S
Fe
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11
S
Fe
S
Fc
Fc
Fc
© Sport England 2013
General provision
Sanitary provision
Pool changing
Sanitary provision in the wet areas is based on BS
6465 Part 1: 2006 Table 12, based on the
maximum safe pool occupancy and Sport England
guidance.
During the review, the current methodology for
calculating changing room numbers for swimming
pools has been carefully considered.
Showers
The current method is explained in the Swimming
Pool Design Guidance Note and shows a worked
example based on busy periods when there is a
steady flow of swimmers coming into the building
and a ‘call out’ system is used to limit numbers in
the water and the length of the swimming
sessions. It uses 3 m2 / person, the maximum
safe occupancy figure as defined by HSG 179 as
a start point but allows different values to be used
for the maximum occupancy of the pool water,
times of swimmer in the pool, average time to
change, places out of use for cleaning and the
number of ‘call out’ groups.
The shower provision is also in line with BS 6465
Part 1: 2006 Table 12 as described above.
Accessible wet changing
Accessible wet changing provision is in
accordance with the British Standards and the
worked example in the Sport England guidance
note. It includes a Changing Places room, a
disabled changing room with a WC, an accessible
shower, and an accessible disabled WC. Baby
change provision, wheelchair storage areas and
cleaners’ stores have also been included.
These values will vary depending on the particular
programmes of use and further, separate calculations
can be carried out for individual areas of the pool
water to identify the likely peak times in the changing
areas. Nevertheless, this worked example is often
treated as a general standard with the 3 m2 factor
being applied to all the water area.
Areas of water (m2) /
person to calculate ‘any
one time occupancy’ in
calculation of changing
places
Although this approach gives comfortable changing
conditions for a community swimming pool facility,
feedback from the marketplace suggests that
reductions in pool occupancy and changing
provision may be appropriate for some projects and
should be considered on a case by case basis.
Any design of changing provision should be
considered in the wider context of the project
objectives and the potential impact on income
levels, and customer perceptions of ‘comfortable
changing conditions’.
Calculated numbers of
changing spaces for a
25m x 6 lane pool
(assuming an average
changing time of
13minutes/person)
3.0
(HSG 179 minimum
area/person for safe
swimming )
32
4.0
(Marketplace
feedback for lane
swimming)
24
4.5
(Marketplace
feedback for aqua
aerobics)
21
Note:
Irrespective of which calculation methodology is
applied, it does not result in a significant reduction
in the areas required. For this reason, the five
indicative design options are based on the current
methodology.
•
Separate calculations are required for the consecutive
use of separate water areas and programme overlaps
to calculate the peak use of changing rooms.
•
ASA suggest a water area of 6m2/ swimmer as a
general guide for comfortable swimming conditions
Table 1 - Overview of water occupancy and changing
calculation criteria
Lockers
Spectator viewing
The locker provision is in line with the Sport
England Swimming Pools Design Guidance Note
worked example, at 75% of pool occupancy, plus
the number of changing places, plus an additional
10% of lockers which may be out of use at any
one time. The buffer/group change doors can be
locked or opened to allow additional changing
spaces to be allocated to either the ‘wet’ or ‘dry’
changing areas.
July Revision 001
Informal spectator views have been included in all
options at ground level near the entrance and
vending machine area. This looks into the shallow
end of the pool, or the secondary learner pool
when provided. For small scale local galas, a
controlled access is provided to the poolside from
this area to give some limited viewing from the
pool surrounds. In the larger option 5, formal
spectator viewing for approximately 80 people has
been included at first floor level. This is accessed
via the lifts and circulation routes to the health and
12
© Sport England 2013
shower cubicle is provided for every six changing
spaces and a larger accessible shower cubicle is
included. Accessible seating is also provided in
both male and female changing rooms.
fitness areas. A larger spectator seating could be
created by making reductions to the health and
fitness accommodation.
Sports chair zone
Further adjustments may be justified to suit
particular market and demographic factors.
All areas of the building are designed to be
accessible and suitable for users with normal
width wheelchairs in line with Sport England
guidance in Accessible Sports Facilities. At
ground floor, a ‘sports chair zone’ has been
created for the wider sports chairs with angled
wheels that are likely to be used in the sports hall.
The zone runs from the car park, entrance,
reception to the sports hall and includes space for
wheelchair storage and people to transfer from
their day chair to their sports chair.
Location
The indicative design options have a footprint of
between 2358m2 and 3260m2 (see area schedule
in the Appendix) and will require additional space
for pathways, car parking and landscaping to suit
a particular site. The local planning requirement for
the number of car parking spaces will be a key
variable. The typical site plan for Option 4 shown
on page 15 would need an approximate overall area
of 8,000m2 – 8,500m2. The particular shape and
dimensions of a site are likely to create a number
of constraints that will affect the building and site
layout. These constraints should be considered
early in the project development process.
Dry side changing
The changing provision for the sports hall is based
on two separate changing rooms of 30 people
maximum capacity each. This allows them to be
used for school groups and as a teaching space
before and after a lesson as illustrated in
Affordable Sports Halls. This will also cater for
other user groups such as Badminton (sixteen
people on four courts) and allow for overlap
between sessions. The changing rooms are
adjacent to buffer/group changing rooms in the
‘wet’ changing and can be linked to give additional
capacity. This gives greater flexibility to cope with
‘back to back’ bookings of the hall, mixed-gender
groups and team competitions.
The particular characteristics and constraints of
each individual site will need to be established.
For example:
The changing provision includes showers,
wheelchair space and direct access to sanitary
accommodation as Sport England guidance. In
addition, separate unisex accessible facilities are
located outside of the main changing areas for
general use. WCs are designed in accordance with
the female requirements, which are more onerous
in occupancy to provide suitable sanitary
accommodation for female only events.
Access
•
Locations of services
•
Orientation
•
Landscape and townscape issues
•
Geotechnical conditions.
All key factors should be carefully considered in
order to sensitively ‘tailor’ the design for the
particular location. This should include discussion
and consultation with local Stakeholders and
Planning Departments and all other work
associated with RIBA Stage D (Scheme Design
and Planning).
Health and fitness changing
Building fabric
Sport England guidance for changing provision is
based on an equal split between male and female
users and the number of spaces calculated as
65% of the maximum occupancy. This assumes
that many users will arrive already changed.
However, marketplace feedback suggests that a
greater reduction can be applied in some locations
and 35% of the maximum occupancy has been
used to represent a more typical scenario.
Similarly, the review has assumed a more intensive
use of the gym and studio spaces and based user
numbers on a maximum capacity of 5 m2 per
person for the studios and 4.5 m2 per person for
the gym (rather than the 7 m2 and 5 m2 respectively
as mentioned in Sport England guidance). One
July Revision 001
•
Similar to the Affordable Sports Hall and Affordable
Community Swimming Pool models, the building
fabric is designed to offer a good compromise
between cost, function and aesthetics.
The building is designed to be flexible so that the
external materials can be altered to suit local site
and planning requirements. The external walls
could be formed using a simple insulated metal
cladding panel or if a more aesthetically pleasing
finish is required brick or render could be used.
More details on the external material specifications
can be found in the Appendix.
The internal materials proposed are included in the
schedule in the Appendix. These finishes are
13
© Sport England 2013
based on those used for the Affordable Sports
Halls and Affordable Community Swimming Pools.
However, the finishes have been uplifted in the
public circulation and dry changing floor finishes
reflecting the higher throughput that a local sports
centre would expect. Veneered doors have been
introduced to dry public areas in line with the
increased ‘quality’ that would be expected of a
building of this size, taking into account that it will
primarily be a public building rather than
associated with a school.
•
Appointed contractor to achieve considerate
contractors credits
•
Optimisation of natural day lighting
•
Local sourcing of materials.
The following items to be incorporated as options:
•
Grey and rainwater harvesting systems to be
considered for W.C. flushing within the
development
•
Photovoltaic system
•
Solar thermal domestic hot water system
•
Heat recovery of pool water when discharged
to enable a pre-heat for the incoming top-up
water
Services
•
Please refer to the ASH and ACSP documents for
details on the Services proposed for the Affordable
Sports Centre. These systems will obviously
require adaptation and review when they are
designed into a larger sports centre by an
experienced consultant.
Green/sedum roof could be incorporated to
enhance bio-diversity credits with structural
amendments
•
Waste recycling.
Structure
The design is to take the buildings functional
requirements fully into account. The structural grid
is to be chosen to achieve the most efficiency in
terms of use and cost. Please refer to the ASH
and ACSP documents for details on the structure
proposed for the pool and sports hall.
BREEAM
The development is designed to be assessed under
the BREEAM criteria and achieve a minimum rating
of Very Good. The scheme to achieve a good
reduction in CO2 emissions in line with the current
building regulations and local planning requirements.
This review assumes the following items would be
incorporated to assist in attaining BREEAM credits:
•
Combined heat and power system using low
carbon technologies to assist with carbon
emission abatement
•
Photocell, PIR and zoned lighting controls to
reduce electricity consumption
•
Inverter controls incorporated into every pump
and fan system to ensure flow is matched with
the power required
•
Cross flow plate heat exchangers incorporated
into every air handling unit to reduce the heat
input required to the building
•
Energy efficient lighting to be incorporated
throughout the building
•
Solar glare control to be incorporated into
those areas which require occupancy control
and any privacy control
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© Sport England 2013
Example: Option 4 ‘Affordable’ sports centre
Site plan
July Revision 001
95
94
93
92
91
90
89
88
87
86
85
84
83
82
81
80
Access to first
aid room
79
78
Service yard
Emergency
vehicle
parking
bay
Plant delivery
77
2
1
Chemical store
delivery
3
4
5
7
6
8
9
76
Staff parking
Emergency exit
75
Extent of 5 court hall option
74
58
Emergency exit
4 court hall option
57
73
56
72
Emergency
exit
Emergency exit
71
15
55
70
54
69
53
68
52
67
51
66
50
65
49
64
48
63
47
62
46
61
45
44
Emergency
exit
Emergency exit
Cycle storage stands under extended roof eves
59
Emergency exit
bench
Parking symbol posts to prevent cars parking on the pathway
35
ENTRANCE
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
Raised pedestrian
crossing to act as
traffic claming
measure
NOTE
The 'Affordable' sports centre document is
not site specific and this drawing is
intended to illustrate the relationship of the
components required to produce a
satisfactory layout.
© Sport England 2013
The design of the external works will be
dependant on the specific site
requirements.
Drop
off
point
Motorcycle
parking
Assistance dog
rest area
60
Raised pedestrian
crossing to act as
traffic claming
measure
34
33
32
31
30
29
28
27
26
25
24
23
22
21
20
19
18
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
Raised pedestrian
crossing to act as
traffic claming
measure
Coach parking /
Drop off point
North
0
5
10m
Centre signage
Centre signage
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15
© Sport England 2013
Ground floor plan
July Revision 001
Key
Staff area
Reception / circulation
First
aid
First aid
Main entrance
Sports hall
Health and fitness
Plant
Pool store / stores
Pool hall
Pool Tank
5 court option
Cl.St
Pool Store
Plant
Equipment
store
Wet Changing
Dry Changing (sports hall)
4 court option
D.Sh
Sh
W
L
L
V
Main pool
WC
Buffer changing
16
Protection guarding
V
L
Wet changing
Sh
Dry changing St
V Sh Sh Sh Sh D.Sh
Sh
Sh
V
L
V
D.Ch
/ WC
L
V Sh Sh Sh Sh D.Sh
W
L
DWC
Cl.St
WC
Dividing net
Sh
Sh
F/D
L
© Sport England 2013
Secondary pool
CPF
FWC
D.Ch
/ WC
Unisex accessible changing
room with WC / baby change
D.Sh
Unisex accessible shower
cubicle
DWC
Unisex accessible WC
F/D
Family / disabled accessible
changing cubicle
FWC
Female toilets
MWC
Male toilets
L
Locker
Sh
Shower
V
Vanity area
W
Wheelchair / buggy storage
WC
Unisex toilet(s)
V
Cl.
Sh Sh
D.Ch/WC
Key views
L
F/D
DWC
F/D
W
MWC
Sh F/D
Cleaners store
Changing Places Facility
Sports hall
W
L
Cl. St
CPF
Office
Lift
Equipment
store
Lift
DWC
Reception
Vending
Lobby
0
July Revision 001
16
5
10m
© Sport England 2013
First floor plan
July Revision 001
Key
Staff area / IT / Store
Circulation
Health and fitness
Plant
Stores
Pool hall spectator viewing
Void
5 court sports hall option
Health and fitness Changing
Plant
Store
4 court sports hall option
L
Exercise studio
Cl. St
Cleaners store
D.Ch/WC
Unisex accessible changing
room with WC / baby change
D.Sh
DWC
Unisex accessible shower
cubicle
Unisex accessible WC
L
Locker
Sh
Shower
V
Vanity area
WC
Unisex toilet(s)
Key views
Void over sports hall
Health and
fitness gym
Exercise studio
Store
17
Void over pool hall
Store
L
Staff
DWC
V
Store
© Sport England 2013
Wc
Wc
Lift
D.Sh
Sh
Sh
Changing
Sh
Staff
D.Ch
/ WC
Lift
Cl.
St
V
Wc
Wc
D.Sh
Sh
Sh
Changing
Sh
0
July Revision 001
17
5
10m
© Sport England 2013
Sections and elevation
July Revision 001
Entrance elevation
Views up to gym
Main entrance
Pool hall
Long section
Open views between wet
change and pool hall
Views of feature stair up to health
and fitness and to sports hall
Entrance / foyer / pool hall opened up to main
access from both footpath and car parking
Health and fitness gym
Fitness studio
18
Sports hall
Pool hall
Wet changing
Cross section
Buffer
changing
Equipment
store
Views from health and
fitness over pool hall
© Sport England 2013
Health and fitness gym
Plant
Plant
Main entrance
Reception
July Revision 001
Dry
Corridor
changing
Toilets
Wet changing
18
© Sport England 2013
Potential Income
This section identifies the main operational
considerations and the implications of selecting
the various facility mix options for the Affordable
Sports Centres.
the line’ costs). In doing so, it is recognised that
historically the vast majority of community leisure
facilities owned by public sector organisations
have required an operational subsidy. In other
words, the costs of operating facilities are greater
than the income derived.
It reflects the desire to make any new facilities as
cost effective as possible and in some cases able
to breakeven in revenue terms (excluding ‘below
Table 1 below shows the income that is expected
from the different sports centre options and Table 2
illustrates the expected expenditure of the centres.
Overview
Table 1 - Income (£)
800,000
700,000
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
Option 5
100,000
Option 3
-
Option 1
Key
Option 1
Option 2
Option 3
Option 4
Table 2 - Expenditure (£)
Option 5
900,000
800,000
700,000
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
Option 5
Option 4
Option 3
200,000
100,000
-
Option 2
Option 1
July Revision 001
19
© Sport England 2013
Table 3 below is a generic illustration of potential
income and expenditure differences between the
different sized facilities. This has been done to
reflect that a modern operating philosophy can
result in better financial performance than the
historical norms. For some facilities, this can result
in a break even position or the generation of
surpluses. The figures are indicative and not
specific to any geographical location or catchment
area. The challenge for future owners and
operators is to manage facilities as cost-effectively
as possible and a number of suggestions are
made in this section.
The Affordable Sports Centre business model
projections sit within the top quartile (top 25%) of
centre performance data from the industry
recognised National Benchmarking Service (NBS).
The NBS provides rigorous and robust information
on the performance of sport and leisure centres.
It allows benchmarking against similar operators,
the sharing of best practice, and provides
comprehensive evidence of the satisfaction of
customers.
Table 3 - Business plan
Notes:
The business models assume:
•
Figures for a mature full year (based on 2012 prices)
•
A location/catchment with a reasonable level of discretionary spend
•
High levels of throughput at affordable prices
•
All figures are net of VAT where it applies
•
The membership package allows for free swimming and classes
•
An NPDO operator who will receive 80% mandatory rate relief from NNDR
•
No management fee included
•
Depreciation / capital costs / sinking funds and other below the line costs are excluded
•
Option 2 includes a 50 station health and fitness gym + studio
•
Options 3, 4 and 5 include a 100 station health and fitness gym + 2 studios
Budget
BudgetSummary
Summary
Income
Income and Expenditure
Mature
Year (3)
Option 1
Mature
Year (3)
Option 2
Mature
Year (3)
Option 3
Mature
Year (3)
Option 4
Mature
Year (3)
Option 5
Income
Swimming Pool(s)
Sports Hall
Health and Fitness
Studios
Secondary spend
Other - miscellaneous
Total Income
Option 1
463,195
91,831
37,526
14,814
607,366
Option 2
430,204
86,200
375,493
19,998
58,988
24,272
995,156
Option 3
515,522
86,200
656,253
41,513
80,389
34,497
1,414,374
Option 4
621,903
86,200
656,253
41,513
100,075
37,649
1,543,592
Option 5
712,151
109,835
656,253
41,513
122,569
41,058
1,683,379
Operational Expenditure
Staffing
Premises
Administration
Supplies and Services
Other - miscellaneous
Total Expenditure
Option 1
411,798
175,560
38,750
30,163
12,224
668,495
Option 2
639,009
230,538
53,849
51,949
16,817
992,162
Option 3
782,118
299,299
71,747
59,629
21,534
1,234,327
Option 4
837,084
327,404
78,430
71,297
23,857
1,338,072
Option 5
889,578
374,759
88,522
85,619
27,445
1,465,923
Operational Profit/(Loss)
(61,129)
2,994
180,047
205,520
217,455
208,477
327,714
459,364
500,375
544,751
Throughput
July Revision 001
20
© Sport England 2013
Budget
BudgetDetail
Summary
Mature
Year (3)
Option 1
Mature
Year (3)
Option 2
Mature
Year (3)
Option 3
Mature
Year (3)
Option 4
Mature
Year (3)
Option 5
Swimming
Casual
Lessons
Schools
Clubs
Other
Swimming sub total
274,925
109,600
30,420
45,000
3,250
463,195
241,934
109,600
30,420
45,000
3,250
430,204
274,517
128,000
31,005
45,000
37,000
515,522
349,763
140,800
41,340
45,000
45,000
621,903
408,576
163,200
43,875
54,000
42,500
712,151
Sports Hall
Courses
Clubs
Schools
Pay and Play (casual)
Sports Hall sub total
23,739
24,000
9,728
34,364
91,831
23,739
24,000
9,728
28,733
86,200
23,739
24,000
9,728
28,733
86,200
23,739
24,000
9,728
28,733
86,200
23,739
30,000
12,160
43,936
109,835
Health and Fitness
Memberships
Pay and Play
Fitness sub total
-
326,993
48,500
375,493
574,253
82,000
656,253
574,253
82,000
656,253
574,253
82,000
656,253
Studio(s)
Classes/courses
General Hires (meetings)
Studio(s) sub total
-
13,123
6,875
19,998
23,638
17,875
41,513
23,638
17,875
41,513
23,638
17,875
41,513
Secondary spend
Merchandising
Vending
Secondary spend sub total
6,254
31,272
37,526
9,831
49,157
58,988
22,968
57,421
80,389
25,019
75,056
100,075
13,619
108,950
122,569
Miscellaneous income
14,814
24,272
34,497
37,649
41,058
Total Income
607,366
995,156
1,414,374
1,543,592
1,683,379
Income
Income
July Revision 001
21
© Sport England 2013
Budget Detail cont/d...
Operational expenditure
Mature
Year (3)
Option 1
Staffing
Direct Staff Costs
On-costs
Other Staff costs
Staffing Sub Total
324,000
67,260
20,538
411,798
503,000
104,290
31,719
639,009
616,000
127,610
38,508
782,118
659,500
136,310
41,274
837,084
701,000
144,610
43,968
889,578
Premises
Utilities (Gas/Electricity)
Water / Sewerage
Insurance
NNDR
Building Maintenance & Repairs
Equipment Purchase
Equipment Rental
Equipment Maintenance & Repairs
Maintenance Contracts
Chemicals
Trade Waste Collection
Premises sub total
91,200
9,120
11,400
11,400
22,800
6,840
2,280
2,280
6,840
7,980
3,420
175,560
119,760
11,976
14,970
14,970
29,940
8,982
2,994
2,994
8,982
10,479
4,491
230,538
155,480
15,548
19,435
19,435
38,870
11,661
3,887
3,887
11,661
13,605
5,831
299,299
170,080
17,008
21,260
21,260
42,520
12,756
4,252
4,252
12,756
14,882
6,378
327,404
194,680
19,468
24,335
24,335
48,670
14,601
4,867
4,867
14,601
17,035
7,301
374,759
Administration and Marketing
Design, marketing & advertising
Postage
Printing & Stationery
Photocopier
Security Charges
Bank Charges
Professional Fees & licences
Telephone
Sundries/General Expenses
Sub Total Admin and Marketing
9,110
2,280
3,420
2,280
3,420
4,560
4,560
4,560
4,560
38,750
14,927
2,994
4,491
2,994
4,491
5,988
5,988
5,988
5,988
53,849
21,216
3,887
5,831
3,887
5,831
7,774
7,774
7,774
7,774
71,747
23,154
4,252
6,378
4,252
6,378
8,504
8,504
8,504
8,504
78,430
25,251
4,867
7,301
4,867
7,301
9,734
9,734
9,734
9,734
88,522
Supplies and Services
Cleaning Supplies
Items for re-sale
Misc Expenses
Sub Total Supplies and Services
5,700
18,763
5,700
30,163
7,485
29,494
14,970
51,949
9,718
40,194
9,718
59,629
10,630
50,037
10,630
71,297
12,168
61,284
12,168
85,619
Miscellaneous Expenditure/Contingency
12,224
16,817
21,534
23,857
27,445
Total Operating Expenditure
668,495
992,162
1,234,327
1,338,072
1,465,923
Net Operating Surplus / (Loss)
(61,129)
2,994
180,047
205,520
217,455
July Revision 001
Mature
Year (3)
Option 2
22
Mature
Year (3)
Option 3
Mature
Year (3)
Option 4
Mature
Year (3)
Option 5
© Sport England 2013
Potential management arrangements
A person would pay a monthly direct debit for
access to the facilities in the same way that they
do to gain access to commercial health and fitness
‘clubs’. Within this basic principle, public leisure
facility operators will have decisions to be made
about what to add into the membership
entitlement. For example, does it include casual
swimming sessions, studio-based classes etc.
They will also need to decide whether there is a
joining fee to be paid (unlikely in the current
economic climate), what concessions will apply,
and whether the minimum membership period is
twelve months etc. The operating philosophy will
determine how ‘commercial’ the operating
parameters are, for example, whether there will be
a ‘pay and play’ option in addition to the
membership.
Most leisure facilities will be developed by the
public sector i.e. Local Authorities possibly in
partnership with commercial contractors or
charitable trusts.
Once developed, there are three main options for
operational management, namely:
•
Direct local authority management (subject to
Best Value test)
•
Partnership with a charitable trust
•
Entering into a contract with a commercial or
charitable trust operator.
The operational philosophy, the programming, the
pricing, staffing levels, etc. may vary depending
on the chosen operational arrangements. In turn,
these will influence the levels of income generated
and the expenditure incurred and subsequently the
net profit or subsidy.
Setting prices that reflect the market position and
quality of the new leisure facilities is also of critical
importance in ensuring the future financial
performance. Historically, public leisure facilities
have been heavily subsidised often involving
‘blanket’ subsidies given to all users irrespective
of their ability to pay.
Evidence suggests that if there is sufficient
demand in a given area to provide a critical mass
of facilities, the facilities can operate at an
operational profit. The key to this is the level of
health and fitness provision because this is the
biggest income stream.
All of the proposed options have vending facilities
included in the reception area. A decision should
be made early in the design process to establish
if there is the demand for a more substantial food
offer i.e. a ‘lite bites’ café for example, in which
case the front reception area may need to be
increased in size to accommodate more seating
and kitchen / preparation space. Whether to
provide a café or not will ultimately be a decision
that is likely to be based on the size of the centre
and where the centre is located, if the user
numbers are high enough to warrant the
investment in a café, and if the centre is located
on a high street or in the countryside.
Key factors for a community leisure centre to
generate a financial surplus include:
•
Large health and fitness facilities
•
Commercial management philosophy
•
Realistic pricing structure; imaginative, varied
and full programme
•
Dynamic marketing and promotion
•
Lean staffing structure
•
Tight controls on expenditure.
It is in the operator’s interest to maximise usage
whilst minimising operating costs. Considerations
include:
•
Facility mix
•
Opening hours
•
Staffing levels
•
Maximum safe occupancy of swimming pool
•
The ‘programme of use’.
Income generation
Maximising the income generated is the key to
financial success for this type of facility because
with the exception of staffing, most costs are fixed.
When planning facilities, it is advisable to
investigate the supply and demand for health and
fitness within the catchment area. The number of
fitness ‘stations’ (pieces of equipment) should be
related to the identified latent demand. Generally,
the greater the number of stations, the more
cost-effective the facility will be and the health and
fitness facilities will be presented as the ‘core offer’
for a ‘membership’ scheme.
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© Sport England 2013
Operational costs will depend on management
arrangements, operational policies, opening hours,
programme of use etc. Some of the costs are fixed
while others are variable.
Programming
The operating philosophy will determine the
programme. Most local authorities will want to
encourage a ‘balanced programme’ for both wet
and dry areas, which should include:
Staff cost
•
Lessons and courses - individual
•
Casual use
•
Group activities
•
Club sessions
•
Private hires/parties etc.
The biggest operational cost is for staff. In the
main these are fixed costs but there will be a
variable element such as casual lifeguard/dry
attendant cover, linked to variations in the pool and
dry side programmes. It is not unusual for a smaller
facility to have proportionally higher staff costs
than a larger site due to the limited ability for
economies of scale.
•
Special events
Utilities
•
Schools.
The second largest operational cost is utilities.
These are mainly fixed because the water and air
needs to be treated and heated irrespective of
usage levels. However, operational policies will
impact on utility costs, for example, by varying
bather load, use of showers, backwashing filters
etc. Utility costs per/m2 are lower for wet and dry
facilities because of the disproportionate costs
associated with swimming pools. The water
volume is the main draw on utility costs as it
impacts on gas, electricity and water.
Clearly there is a link between the programme and
income. A 6 or 8 lane pool provides greater
opportunity for a diverse programme and more
income than a 4 lane pool. For example, structured
‘Learn to Swim’ programmes that are very lucrative
can be accommodated more easily within a bigger
pool. The addition of a secondary learner/training
pool with a movable floor would give even more
potential.
Other expenditure items include:
Similarly, the sports hall and studios should be
seen as ‘hireable’ spaces rather than specifically
for individual sports use. Whilst sports halls should
be used predominantly for sports activities, they
can be used for other non-sporting events and
activities at periods of low demand to ensure that
the building is used as much as possible.
The health and fitness facilities should be open for
extended hours to allow ‘members’ to access
facilities at times that suit their patterns of use e.g.
early mornings, evenings and weekends.
Expenditure
The other side of the financial equation is the cost
associated with operation. These can be
sub-divided into a number of categories including
staffing costs, premises related expenditure,
administrative costs, supplies and services and
miscellaneous costs. These can be generically
described as ‘above the line’ costs because they
are directly related to the operation of the facilities.
There are often some additional ‘below the line’
costs depending on the operating method and
accounting protocols. These non-operational
costs can include a management fee, depreciation,
head office overheads or corporate re-charges
sinking funds etc. When planning new facilities,
these ‘below the line’ costs must be considered
by local authorities.
July Revision 001
24
•
Insurance
•
Building cleaning and maintenance
•
National Non-Domestic Rates (NNDR can be
reduced in certain operational models)
•
Refuse collection
•
Sewerage charges equipment purchases etc.
chemicals
•
The purchase of goods for re-sale etc.
•
Administration and marketing
•
Printing, postage and stationery
•
Transport
•
Security
•
Uniforms
•
Licences
•
IT.
© Sport England 2013
Health and safety
Occupancy and maintenance costs
As stated above, in certain cases it will be
necessary to add a ‘contribution’ to corporate
overheads whether these be a local authority
re-charge or a head office re-charge in the case of
a
commercial
contractor.
These
are
non-operational ‘below the line’ costs and will vary
from operator to operator.
Annual maintenance and occupancy costs for a
particular building design will be affected by a
variety of factors, which should be taken into
account when using this estimate:
•
Size, shape and layout
•
Design and specification (sustainable
technologies included)
Based on a new more commercial and efficient
management philosophy, it is conceivable for a
combined community wet and dry leisure centre
with a large health and fitness offer to make an
operational surplus.
•
Intensity of use
•
Location.
The ultimate financial performance of
community leisure centres
When considering any of the options, all related
costs should be included to confirm affordability.
The five options do not include:
Reducing net operating costs
Business plan
The main determinants of income and expenditure
have been described and clearly the balance
between these two factors will result in the ‘bottom
line’. They will be affected by a number of issues
and these issues need to be considered in detail
when preparing a Business Case for a new facility.
The location, the competition, the facility mix (size
and scope of the pool, sports hall, health and
fitness and complementary facilities e.g. catering),
the catchment area demographics, pricing policy,
programming etc. will all impact on income.
It is harder to predict with any certainty future
income levels, but much easier to forecast
expenditure due to many of the costs being largely
fixed. Staffing levels and remuneration should be
considered carefully and kept to a minimum subject
to having the requisite levels to maintain a safe and
user-friendly experience. The design of the pool
and the efficiency of the plant can also impact on
running costs e.g. the use of CHP units. NNDR
costs can be reduced by up to 85% depending on
the legal status of the operator and governance
arrangements. Similarly further savings in VAT can
be generated subject to the operating model.
•
Central support costs for services. i.e. human
resources, accountancy etc. as these can vary
significantly from operator to operator and
with directly managed services. A reasonable
cost estimate for these services is between
3% and 5% of total income.
•
Sinking funds (for lifecycle repairs and/or
replacement) in the operational expenditure.
This will depend on the final design and
equipment chosen. However, when developing
individual projects, advice should be obtained
from specialist cost consultants and reference
made to Sport England’s Life Cycle Costings
document which identifies a typical annual
allowance of between 1.3% and 1.5%
(0.3%-0.5% sinking fund and 1% maintenance)
of the overall estimated total project cost.
Key factors to consider in the business plan
include:
•
Location
•
Competition from other facilities
Due consideration of the factors referred to above
can make the difference between operating at a
cost or generating a surplus.
•
Size and scope
•
Complementary facilities
‘Lifecycle’ maintenance costs
•
Catchment area demographics
These are crucial to the on-going operational
effectiveness of a community leisure facility.
Sufficient money must be put aside to ensure the
regular redecoration and refurbishment of the
building fabric and finishes and the replacement
of plant and equipment. The appearance,
ambience and environmental comfort of a facility
are all critical in ensuring repeat business over a
sustained period of time.
•
Programme
•
Pricing.
July Revision 001
When considering any option, a sensitivity analysis
should be undertaken which includes scenarios
for higher and lower income and likewise for
expenditure items.
25
© Sport England 2013
secondary ‘supporting’ pool could be provided
with a similar or smaller m2 of water space. The
two pool model would be much more flexible,
would generate more throughputs and would be
more cost-effective than the single pool model.
This does of course depend on the ability of the
operator to maximize the potential benefits and
assumes that a wide range of aquatic activities is
a higher priority than competition swimming.
Secondary pool and movable floors
The introduction of a ‘secondary’ supporting pool
can significantly enhance the flexibility and
cost-effectiveness of a community pool within a
leisure centre. It can provide greater programming
options leading to higher user numbers and
therefore more income. The addition of a variable
depth movable floor in either the main or
secondary pool can improve the operational
performance still further.
Other pool profiles
A secondary pool tank would traditionally have
been referred to as a ‘teaching’ or ‘learner’ pool
and is often added to 6 lane (or larger) community
pools where there has been sufficient demand
within the catchment area for the additional
volume of water. Although mainly rectangular, in
some cases these have been ‘freeform’ pools with
‘beach’ areas or steps and intended to introduce
young children to water activities and develop
confidence. However, this type of configuration
has the disadvantage of disproportionately
increasing running (and capital) costs due to the
increased water area without making a meaningful
contribution to income streams.
There are also a number of different permutations
for including movable floors within the main tank
that give additional flexibility and cost-effectiveness
for a community pool.
It would be possible to have a movable floor along
the entire length of the pool but it is more likely that
it would be limited to a portion of the pool width.
The decision about whether to have a double
shallow ended pool, a single depth or a graduated
depth pool, with or without a movable floor,
depends on the range of activities envisaged
within the pool. This usually involves some
compromises, for example, a pool ideal for
teaching is not ideal for water polo or competitive
swimming. Movable floors can be used to increase
flexibility but there is still a need to define the
objectives of the facility before embarking on the
specification and design.
It is suggested that secondary pools should be
designed for flexibility in operation and be
programmed to be ‘complementary’ to the main
pool tank. It should be actively programmed
throughout the opening hours in the same way as
the main pool.
Benefits of larger pools and health and fitness
Whilst ‘learn to swim’ courses are likely to remain
a mainstay of the programme and income, the
secondary pool should be far more than a
‘teaching’ pool. Sometimes it can provide a direct
supporting role such as a warm-up / warm down
facility for competition and in some cases it will
have an independent purpose such as for
swimming lessons whilst training or casual
swimming is taking place in the main pool. A
variable depth moving floor can accommodate a
wide range of aquatic activities including
rehabilitation, aqua-natal classes, ‘aqua-aerobics’,
lifesaving, sub-aqua, canoeing etc. The variety of
programming options is limited only by the
imagination of the operator.
A larger pool has the potential to operate more
cost-effectively than a smaller pool because it can
generate
additional
income
which
is
disproportionate to the additional running costs
incurred. This financial improvement could be
used to off-set the higher capital costs. Similarly
a larger health and fitness centre with more
stations will attract more ‘members’ and casual
users, improving the financial performance.
Through careful design, physical separation of the
secondary pools can give privacy of some user
groups, whilst at other times the two pools can be
readily accessed. During general casual swimming
sessions it is often more appealing to family
groups with more competent members of the
family using the main tank with other members
using the smaller shallower secondary pool.
Increasing a six lane pool to an eight lane pool
involves an increase in water of circa 105 m2. A
July Revision 001
26
© Sport England 2013
Capital Costs
Overview
An overview of the capital costs of the leisure
centre options is given in the following tables
derived from updated GIFA analysis of Affordable
Sports Halls and Affordable Community Swimming
Pools cost data and the area schedules in the
Appendix. It is based on the following main
assumptions:
•
Swimming pool covers included
•
Sports hall equipment and allowance for
cleaning machine included
•
All other equipment and loose furniture excluded
•
Option for movable floors excluded
•
VAT excluded
•
Future inflation excluded
•
Land acquisition costs excluded
•
External works assessed as a notional value
•
Incoming services assessed as a notional value
assuming availability from existing supplies
•
A green field site with no abnormal ground
conditions
•
The works are competitively tendered using a
single stage Design and Build procurement
route
•
Drainage beyond the building footprint is site
dependent and not within ‘Allowance for
external works’
•
Preliminaries are based on an unrestricted site
with a 12 month construction period
•
Allowances included for systems and features
within the building to assist in achieving the
equivalent of BREEAM Very Good for the
project as a whole
•
Alternative systems may also be required
should natural gas not be available and to
achieve local authority planning requirements
for renewable energy.
Table 4 - Elemental cost/m2 overview (second quarter 2013)
Cost(£)/m2
2,000
1,500
/m²
1,000
500
July Revision 001
OPTION 2
4 lane swimming pool
4 court sports hall
Medium health and fitness
Additional costs total
BASE CONSTRUCTION COST
Preliminaries
Building Sub-Total
Fittings
Services Element Total
Element
OVERALL ESTIMATED COST OF PROJECT
Option 1
Option 2
Option 3
Option 4
Option 5
Internal Finishes Element Total
Key
Superstructure Element Total
Substructure
-
OPTION 4
6 lane swimming pool plus learner pool
4 court sports hall
Larger health and fitness
27
© Sport England 2013
Table 5 - Elemental cost breakdown 3 (second quarter 2013)
Elemental cost estimate
Gross internal floor area (GIFA)
OPTION 1
OPTION 2
OPTION 3
OPTION 4
OPTION 5
4 lane swimming pool
4 court sports hall
No health and fitness
4 lane swimming pool
4 court sports hall
Medium health and fitness
6 lane swimming pool
4 court sports hall
Larger health and fitness
6 lane swimming pool plus
learner pool
4 court sports hall
Larger health and fitness
8 lane swimming pool plus
learner pool, with spectator
seating
5 court sports hall
Larger health and fitness
2,280 m²
Total Cost of
Element £
Substructure
2,994 m²
Cost per m2
£
Total Cost of
Element £
3,887 m²
Cost per m2
£
Total Cost of
Element £
4,252 m²
Cost per m2
£
Total Cost of
Element £
4,867 m²
Cost per
m2
£
Total Cost of
Element £
Cost per
m2
£
396,000
174
449,000
150
486,131
125
553,919
130
620,755
128
285,000
125
373,000
125
459,000
118
494,000
116
575,000
118
0
-
71,000
24
127,000
33
147,000
35
189,000
39
270,000
118
270,000
90
292,328
75
333,092
78
373,282
77
137,000
46
152,000
39
152,000
36
152,000
31
Superstructure
Frame
Upper floors
Roof
Stairs
n/a
External walls
235,000
103
279,000
93
313,000
81
338,000
79
388,000
80
Windows and external doors
114,000
50
183,000
61
239,000
61
237,000
56
250,000
51
Internal walls and partitions
128,000
56
249,000
83
391,000
101
424,000
100
451,000
93
40,000
18
61,000
20
79,000
20
80,000
19
85,000
17
1 072 000
1,072,000
470
1 623 000
1,623,000
542
2 052 328
2,052,328
528
2 205 092
2,205,092
519
2 463 282
2,463,282
506
Wall finishes
128,000
56
149,000
50
167,000
43
180,000
42
205,000
42
Floor finishes
150,000
66
191,000
64
234,000
60
279,000
66
320,000
66
28,000
12
44,000
15
62,000
16
74,000
17
81,000
17
Internal Finishes Element Total
306,000
134
384,000
128
463,000
119
533,000
125
606,000
125
Fittings
238,000
104
275,000
92
287,000
74
301,000
71
380,000
78
32,000
14
40,000
13
42,000
11
43,000
10
47,000
10
Internal doors & windows
Superstructure Element Total
Internal finishes
Ceiling finishes
Services
Sanitary appliances
Disposal installations
Incl. below
Incl. below
Incl. below
Incl. below
Incl. below
M&E Installations
824,000
361
1,112,000
371
1,477,000
380
1,614,000
380
1,807,000
371
Specialist Installations
167,000
73
167,000
56
235,000
60
275,000
65
352,000
72
78,000
34
99,000
33
133,000
34
146,000
34
167,000
34
Services Element Total
1,101,000
483
1,418,000
474
1,887,000
485
2,078,000
489
2,373,000
488
Building Sub-Total
3,113,000
1,365
4,149,000
1,386
5,175,459
1,331
5,671,011
1,334
6,443,037
1,324
Builder's work in connection
Preliminaries
356,000
156
576,000
192
739,000
190
804,000
189
883,000
181
3,469,000
1,521
4,725,000
1,578
5,914,459
1,522
6,475,011
1,523
7,326,037
1,505
Contingencies
174,000
76
237,000
79
296,000
76
324,000
76
367,000
75
Professional Fees
365,000
160
497,000
166
622,000
160
680,000
160
770,000
158
External works allowance
250,000
110
250,000
84
275,000
71
275,000
65
300,000
62
Incoming services/stats provisional sum
100,000
44
100,000
33
100,000
26
100,000
24
100,000
21
43,000
19
43,000
14
43,000
11
43,000
10
54,000
11
932,000
409
1,127,000
376
1,336,000
344
1,422,000
334
1,591,000
327
4,401,000
1,930
5,852,000
1,955
7,250,459
1,865
7,897,011
1,857
8,917,037
1,832
BASE CONSTRUCTION COST
Typical sports hall equipment costs
Additional costs total
OVERALL ESTIMATED COST OF
PROJECT
3 See notes on page 27.
July Revision 001
28
© Sport England 2013
Procurement and Delivery
This section considers the various procurement
options for this scale of sports centre building and
the implications of framework contracts and
rationalised design for the delivery of more
affordable solutions.
provides the completed facility at an earlier
date than some other procurement routes.
It is intended to be generic and to be read in
connection with the Sport England Procurement
Toolkit which gives more detail about procurement
options.
•
Experienced contractors can be used to refine
the construction details, structural engineering
and building services to improve buildability.
•
The designer’s fees for the production design
work are deferred until the contractor is
appointed and the fees are included within the
building contract.
•
Potential saving in consultants fees.
Procurement route
The choice of procurement route is critical to the
success of any construction project. Every project
has unique requirements and therefore all viable
procurement options need to be appraised at the
beginning of the project.
Approach
Joint Strategy or a Split Approach
There are often two key project elements that need
to be procured to deliver a new leisure centre. The
first is the delivery of a new capital build project
and the second is procuring an operator to manage
and operate the new centre.
Single Stage Design and Build
This approach over the past decade has formed a
significant part of the market for delivery of sports
centres. Typically, the design is developed by a
successfully procured Design Team to RIBA Stage
D (scheme proposals) at which point the works are
tendered to the construction market. This is
sometimes referred to as a ‘Develop and
Construct’ procurement route due to the more
advanced stage of the design prior to tendering.
The benefits include:
•
•
•
Procurement of these two elements can be
considered separately or as a combined approach.
Separate Approach
Using this approach, the capital build contract and
the operation contracts are procured separately.
The design process is separate from the operator
tender. However, the management contractor can
be procured in parallel with the capital works to
facilitate management contractor input into design.
A fixed price is obtained for the construction
contract following tender which will allow
earlier confirmation of costs than some other
procurement routes.
There are a number of ways a main contractor can
be procured to construct the capital build, for
example Traditional, Design and Build,
Management
Contracting,
Construction
Management and Develop and Construct.
Due to the fixed price construction contract,
greater cost certainty is obtained when
compared to other procurement routes. The
contractor takes the risk on many factors,
which could otherwise lead to increased costs
such as design development, compliance with
statutory requirements and management of
sub-contractors.
Operation contracts are generally procured on a
similar basis for each Project, and the variations
that exist in the drafting of agreements do not
affect the procurement process. A typical
management contract will last for 7-10 years but
could be tendered for up to 25 years.
The contractor will provide a single point of
responsibility for design, progress and
construction.
•
Build quality can be ensured due to the more
detailed pre-tender stage design.
•
An element of competition is introduced into
the final design as well as in the construction,
therefore obtaining the best price for a known
product.
•
Construction can commence before all of the
design work has been completed. This reduces
the overall development timescales and
July Revision 001
Consultant team appointment
Where projects are developed under the separate
approach, Sport England encourages public
sector clients to review available Framework
Agreements that have the ability to contain sports
and leisure experience, which can reduce delivery
timescales and potentially reduce costs. The
importance here is to ensure that the consultants
on these frameworks have specific sports and
leisure experience.
29
© Sport England 2013
Contractor appointment
Again, where projects are developed under the
separate approach, there are a number of
Contractor Framework Agreements available to
public sector clients that should be considered in
a procurement evaluation process. As with the
Consultant appointments above, the importance
is to ensure the potential contractors have sports
and leisure expertise.
Some contractor frameworks also provide an
opportunity to involve a contractor earlier in the
design process and this should also be considered
during the procurement review process.
Combined procurement routes
The above option assumes that the building and
its subsequent management and operation are
procured separately. There is increasing evidence
that a combined contractor and leisure operator
procurement can deliver successful sports
centres.
Design, Build, Operate and Maintain (DBOM)
This route is used to procure both the building and
its subsequent management and operation. This
is based on a Design and Build procurement route,
where a contract is entered into with a consortium,
which typically includes a contractor and operator.
Sport England has been leading on the
development of a standard suite of documents for
leisure operator procurement as a ‘toolkit’ of
documents and these should be referred to.
July Revision 001
30
© Sport England 2013
Example programme (Option 4)
July Revision 001
31
© Sport England 2013
ID
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
Task Name
Start Up
Design Team Appointed
Start up meeting
Agree Procurement Strategy
Development of Brief
Sign off brief and procurement strategy
Duration
115 days?
0 days
0 days?
10 wks
10 wks
15 days
M1
M2
2
3
135 days
4 wks
4 wks
8 wks
4 wks
11 wks
2 wks
18
19
Planning
Consultations
Preparation of application
Submit application
Register application
Determination period (13 weeks)
Consent
Judicial review (12w/3m/90days)
185 days
6 days
10 days
0 days
5 days
13 wks
0 days
65 days
Procurement of Contractor (via Restricted Procedure)
Develop Memorandum of Information (MoI)
Publish OJEU
Press Release
Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (37 days)
Evaluation of responses
Prepare Employer's Requirements / tender documents
Issue Tender documents
ITT - Restricted Procedure
Tenders due back
Tender clarifications
Submit Tender Report & Approval
OJEU 'Alcatel' stand down
Agree Contract Documents
Appoint Contractor
173 days
10 days
0 days
0 days
8 wks
2 wks
3 wks
0 days
8 wks
0 days
4 wks
10 days
8 days
4 wks
0 days
Construction
Design development / Contractor lead in
Construction (56 weeks)
Works completion
Fit out
350 days
10 wks
56 wks
0 days
4 wks
July Revision 001
M6
M7
M8
M9
M10
M11
M12
M13
6
Design
Feasibility study (RIBA stages A-B)
Client sign off of Stage B
Develop design to Stage C (8 weeks)
Client sign off of Stage C
Develop design to Stage D+/ E (10 weeks)
Client sign off Tender design
Operation
M5
5
9
10
11
12
13
14
Project Float
M4
24/07
27/07
80 days
30 days
30 days
30 days
30 days
30 days
30 days
80 days
Surveys & Investigations
Topographical survey
Tree survey
Ecological survey
Drainage survey
Utilities assessments
Transport assessment
Environmental & geotechnical desk study / SI
M3
16
21
26
27
28
29
27/11
30
31
32
05/03
33
35
36
37
13/11
38
13/11
39
40
42
12/02
43
44
09/04
45
46
47
48
51
52
4 wks
0 days
31
© Sport England 2013
July Revision 001
32
© Sport England 2013
ID
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
Task Name
M14
M15
M16
M17
M18
M19
M20
M21
M22
M23
M24
M25
M26
M27
M28
M29
M30
Start Up
Design Team Appointed
Start up meeting
Agree Procurement Strategy
Development of Brief
Sign off brief and procurement strategy
Surveys & Investigations
Topographical survey
Tree survey
Ecological survey
Drainage survey
Utilities assessments
Transport assessment
Environmental & geotechnical desk study / SI
Design
Feasibility study (RIBA stages A-B)
Client sign off of Stage B
Develop design to Stage C (8 weeks)
Client sign off of Stage C
Develop design to Stage D+/ E (10 weeks)
Client sign off Tender design
Planning
Consultations
Preparation of application
Submit application
Register application
Determination period (13 weeks)
Consent
Judicial review (12w/3m/90days)
Procurement of Contractor (via Restricted Procedure)
Develop Memorandum of Information (MoI)
Publish OJEU
Press Release
Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (37 days)
Evaluation of responses
Prepare Employer's Requirements / tender documents
Issue Tender documents
ITT - Restricted Procedure
Tenders due back
Tender clarifications
Submit Tender Report & Approval
OJEU 'Alcatel' stand down
Agree Contract Documents
Appoint Contractor
Construction
Design development / Contractor lead in
Construction (56 weeks)
Works completion
Fit out
53
54
05/10
Project Float
59
Operation
July Revision 001
32
30/11
© Sport England 2013
Creating a sporting habit for life
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formats such as large print, Braille, tape and on disk upon request.
Call the Sport England switchboard on 08458 508 508 for more details
User Guide:
Before using this guidance for any specific projects all users should refer to the User Guide to understand
when and how to use the guidance as well as understanding the limitations of use.
Click here for ‘User
Guide’
htp:/www.sportenga
l nd.org/factiles-pa
l nnn
i g/toosl-gud
i ance/desg
i n-and-cost-gud
i ance/user-gud
i e/
Click here for current ‘Design
and Cost Guidance’
http://www.sportengland.org/facilities-planning/tools-guidance/design-and-cost-guidance/
Issue Tracker:
001 – Initial Publication: July 2013
Sport England
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ISBN 978-1-86078-261-9
© Sport England, July 2013
Tel : +44 (0)8458 508 508
Further Information:
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July Revision 001
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© Sport England 2013