The award-winning new build Workington leisure centre forms part of the wider town masterplan that has been developed by GT3 Architects. The facility mix includes an 8-lane swimming pool, 17m teaching pool, 100 station gym, 3 studios (including one spinning), 5 court sports hall, squash courts, café, spectator seating to the pool, climbing wall and a health suite. In addition the project includes 4 external 3G five-a-side pitches and ATP pitch. The site sits on the edge of a important greenspace and has been the subject of previous village green protests. Successful Delivery: The GT3 Affordable solution (ARC) formed the foundation of the scheme and reduced cost and programme time, whilst allowing the client to input more than usual into the design development. Worked with the contractors supply chain early on, allowing us to control the design against the cost plan, which has resulted in a £2100/sqm development which is one of the few centres in the UK which links to Sport England’s affordable pool costs. We engaged early on with the operator (GLL) which allowed us to design a scheme which worked under life cycle costs and general operation. Very few changes were then made due to this early engagement, which helped us submit for planning a month early against the programme. Constant dialogue with stakeholders, including NGB’s, Sport England and the local community has ensured that the design provides for everyone and this has resulted in 100% positive feedback throughout the process. Scope of Works: The design forms the initial catalyst for the regeneration of the town in a heritage / conservation area setting. Myrtha tank technology was used given the high water table. GT3 Architects have a pool comparison table as part of our lessons learnt over the last decade. This highlights pros and cons of each tank solution for our clients to have a balanced view on the final choice. Our stakeholder engagement experience allowed us to develop the design brief and site choice alongside GLL, the NGB’s and community, helping to make them feel part of the process and take ‘ownership’ of the final building. Part of the success of this scheme came from GT3’s stakeholder engagement skills and bringing the community together on a very complicated site. These stakeholders included Sport England and the ASA. GT3 Architects helped to secure £1.2M of Sport England funding. GT3 Architects worked with both the local schools and university to develop many of the internal features of the centre, setting community events and competitions throughout the pre-construction period. The landscape integrates with the building and creates a wow factor on approach, including the external pitch strategy. Set in a park setting, the scheme has met the high standards of hard and soft landscaping forming part of the overall design in a highly sensitive area (ecology, flood risk issues, village green issues, conservation area with heritage links). The cost per sqm against a similar facility mix, including the outdoor pitches, illustrates that GT3 Architects can deliver an iconic design with high quality materials which is value for money. Social value has been at the heart of the scheme with regards to local labour and materials specification. The local village green community group were behind the pitch inclusion and helped inform key landscape decisions.