Date:

20/04/04

Sir Terry Farrell presents his vision for the Swiss Cottage Civic Centre

Sir Terry Farrell and Camden Council Director of Lesiure and Community Services Ian McNicol pictured in the basin of the main swimming pool.

Sir Terry Farrell, architect of the £18m state of the art Swiss Cottage Leisure Development, yesterday (Monday 19 April) set out his vision for the civic site when he joined representatives of the construction team including Camden Council's Director of Leisure & Community Services, Ian McNicol on site.

Sir Terry said that the new leisure centre complex would be 'part of a mini town centre revolutionary' when the redevelopment has been completed. It will have 'the atmosphere of a village green, set within a busy central London area which would make the whole site quite astounding and an area the community will be proud to use'.

He went on to say that 'the openness of the leisure centre, with glass facades on all sides, will make the building a very public space and will entice and encourage people into the complex'.

The redesign of the civic space will join up the existing amenities, including the new leisure complex and the newly restored and refurbished Swiss Cottage Central Library, to create a space that will flow and that will encourage people into the 'heart' of Swiss Cottage.

Work to the leisure centre complex, part of the £58m urban regeneration of the two-hectare site in Swiss Cottage is progressing well. The leisure centre is due for completion late 2005 and the facilities are clearly taking shape.

The leisure centre's foundations are firmly laid and the basins of the two swimming pools are now clearly visible. Once completed the leisure centre will provide state of the art swimming facilities that have never before been available in the London Borough of Camden.

Swimmers will be able to take advantage of a 25 metre, eight lane competition sized swimming pool with 200 spectator seats, plus a 20 by 10 metre teaching pool with a movable floor to allow variable depths to be set for differing abilities and for people with disabilities and mobility problems.

There will be a four-court sports hall with 100 spectator seats, which can be used for a variety of sports including basketball and badminton and users will benefit from the two dedicated squash courts.

The leisure centre will facilitate two multi-purpose studios for activities including aerobics, yoga, table tennis, karate, keep fit and an extensive health and fitness area with over 150 exercise machines.

For those people wanting to relax and take it easy after a rigorous workout, there will be a health and beauty suite available, while the children are entertained in the under 5s crèche or in the soft play area.

A brand new state of the art climbing wall will be located at the southern end of the leisure complex, facing out on to Adelaide Road. Passers by will be able to see people taking full advantage of the 12½ metres high by 30 metres long facility, never before seen in the borough.

Barrett Homes Ltd is constructing the leisure centre. The leisure centre was originally scheduled to open in the spring of 2005, but following technical difficulties to the build, delays have occured and it will now be completed late 2005.

Once the leisure centre has been handed over to Camden Council, the interior furnishings will be installed and training of the leisure centre staff will take place. Camden Council has made a commitment not to be rushed or pressured in to opening the leisure centre to the public before everything has been thoroughly tested and is 100 per cent ready for public use.

Ian McNicol reiterated this pledge saying, 'Camden Council is committed to providing a high quality leisure centre that has the quality of a private health club but is open to everyone to use and enjoy. We will not be rushed into setting an opening date for the leisure centre two years in advance.

'We are going to get the facilities running smoothly and the staff fully trained before people start to use the leisure centre. We are going to make sure that their first experience of using the facilities will be one that they will remember for the best possible reasons'.

The first floor of the two-storey £1m Community Centre is taking shape. Details of the interior fittings are now being finalised and the centre is on target to be completed by November 2004 for the community to take full advantage of the facilities.

The centre is being built on the site of the old community centre on Winchester Road. As well as having a community hall, café and under 5s facility, locals will be able to take advantage of using the interview rooms and will benefit from having more meeting rooms that the previous building.

A high quality open space designed by internationally acclaimed landscape architects   Gustafson Porter, will complete the redevelopment to the civic site. Work is due start in January 2005, and will take approximately ten months to complete.

The redesigned open space will be a soft landscape space centred around a spectacular water feature projecting water to a distance of 25 metres. When empty the fountain will also form a stage for outdoor events. A new floodlit, multi-purpose pitch is to be constructed at the south end of the scheme replacing the existing ballpark and providing facilities linked to the leisure centre.

The planting layout has been designed to create a diverse eco-culture with a wide range of trees, shrubs and plants that will introduce new wildlife to the area all year round.

Last updated: 21 July 2004