Willmott Dixon Swansea and Gravesend sports hubs: delivery and design notes for project teams
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan
First reported on The Construction Index
30 Second Briefing
Willmott Dixon has begun early works on Swansea University’s four-storey, 2,000 m² National Institute for Sport & Health at Swansea Bay Sports Park, funded through the Swansea Bay City Deal and due to open in 2027 as an R&D hub linking public, private and academic partners. In Gravesend, the contractor and Gravesham Borough Council are starting ground preparation and demolition for the £43m Cascades Leisure Centre, which will feature a 25-metre pool, 17-metre learner pool, aqua play and flumes, six-court sports hall and multi-level soft play, targeting opening in 2028.
Technical Brief
- NISH replaces an existing pavilion at Sketty Lane, requiring demolition and brownfield interface management.
- Four-storey NISH block is sited at the entrance to Swansea Bay Sports Park, constraining access logistics.
- Pick Everard is project manager with Powell Dobson as architect, implying early coordinated design–buildability reviews.
- Swansea scheme is backed by Swansea Council and local health boards, adding stakeholder-driven functional and compliance requirements.
- NISH is intended as an anchor for a wider Science and Innovation Park, influencing future site servicing and phasing.
- Early works at Cascades include demolition of the ageing facility, with temporary loss of existing leisure provision to manage.
- Wet-side provision at Cascades combines 25 m main pool, 17 m learner pool, aqua play and flumes plus spectator seating.
- Dry-side layout includes six-court sports hall, multi-level soft play, party/community rooms and café, driving varied structural spans and acoustic zoning.
Our Take
Willmott Dixon’s track record of 160 leisure facilities and 108 swimming pools over the past decade suggests it is now one of the go‑to Tier 1 contractors for UK councils such as Swansea Council and Gravesham Borough Council looking to de‑risk complex wet‑side community schemes.
The £43m Cascades Leisure Centre in Gravesend fits into a cluster of UK Infrastructure pieces in our database where local authorities are replacing ageing 1980s–1990s leisure stock with lower‑carbon, multi‑use hubs, which typically aim to cut long‑term energy and maintenance liabilities rather than just add capacity.
Locating the four‑storey National Institute for Sport & Health within Swansea University’s Science and Innovation Park indicates a push to co‑locate elite sport, health research and teaching, a pattern seen in several recent campus‑anchored UK projects that seek to leverage sport facilities for research income and regional regeneration rather than purely recreational use.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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