Aquatics Centre, Luton

A new Aquatics Centre in Luton is set to be built as part of a joint venture between Wates, Luton Borough Council and Luton Learning and Community Partnership. It will be open to the public and is part of a drive by the local authority’s to improve the health and wellbeing of residents.

The £26m Aquatics Centre in Stopsley Common will include a 50 metre, eight lane swimming pool with a diving facility and spectator seating for 400 people, as well as a 20 metre, five-lane community pool with moveable floor. Other facilities will also include a 100 station fitness suite, a large sports hall, a dance studio, spinning room, multi-use activity, a café and function facilities. The modern sports and swimming facilities is an investment by the council to help the people of Luton to live healthier and more active lives.

Designed by S and P Architects and with Furness Partnership as the engineer, the complex design of the building is a two storey facility with a high level plant area. There are also lattice trusses in the roof over the main pool and long span cell-forms in the mezzanine over the smaller pool. Wates construction asked Billington Structures to supply the structural steelwork for the centre.

Two highly experienced directs have been hired to develop diving courses where children as young as six can learn to dive. The diving time, which is the centre piece of the main swimming pool, was fabricated offsite in pre-cast concrete to give it a high finish. The two concrete pools passed water tightness tests on their first attempt.

The Aquatics Centre in Luton will also be the new home for Team Luton, the town’s largest swimming club, which currently has to travel almost 30 miles away to use facilities there. The public shows great enthusiasm to take up new sports after the Olympics. The Aquatics Centre will deliver a world class sporting facility to the people of Luton enabling them to create future members of Team GB swimming.