Morgan Sindall Construction achieve preferred bidder status for Hackney Council

Morgan Sindall Construction has been selected as preferred bidder for the first phase of Hackney Council’s ambitious mixed-use community development, under a pre-construction services agreement.

The proposals for the site next to Shoreditch Park, bordered by Pitfield Street and Hyde Road, will comprise a new leisure centre, a secondary school, and associated external works and infrastructure, including a new public square where community events can be hosted, close to the borough boundary with Islington, with Regent’s Canal to the North.

The new leisure centre will be located on existing outdoor asphalt courts, while the academy will be built on the site of the current Britannia Leisure Centre site and car park. The current leisure centre won’t close until the new one is open.

The new school will have six forms of entry and a sixth form, delivering a total of 1,100 school places to meet the need for secondary school places in the borough.

The new leisure centre will create modern facilities to better meet the expectations and ambitions of existing residents, respond to new demand from the growing population in the borough, improve access for people with disabilities, and comply with design guidance from Sport England and other governing bodies.

The area will also get a bio-diversity boost as part of the wider project: more trees will be planted and fences will be replaced with hedges; while wildlife-friendly planting will provide a greater variety of habitats and food sources, particularly supporting bees; and new bat and bird boxes.

Walking and cycle routes will also be improved and linked into the wider network – creating a potential to link to Hackney's green infrastructure network. There will be more than 1,000 new cycle parking spaces.

Morgan Sindall Construction has been selected on the project via the Southern Construction Framework, which is available as a vehicle for public bodies in the South of England to procure major building works.

The company has wide-ranging experience in the leisure sector having successfully delivered over £335 million of leisure schemes nationally over the last five years.

These include high-profile developments including an official training centre for the 2012 Olympic Games - the £38 million Basildon Sporting Village and the award-winning, copper-clad £18 million Splashpoint Leisure Centre, for Worthing Borough Council.

Morgan Sindall Construction was also responsible for the successful delivery of three multi-use leisure centre facilities in Slough this year, including the Slough Ice Arena, which were delivered for Slough Urban Renewal (SUR), a joint venture between Morgan Sindall Investments Limited and Slough Borough Council. The company is currently on site delivering the Solent University Sports Hall - a £21 million facility which will include two sports halls, three fitness studios, gyms and teaching facilities.

Richard Dobson, Morgan Sindall Construction's area director in London, said: “This is a key development for Hackney, which will play an important role in the regeneration of the area and deliver outstanding leisure and education facilities for people living in the borough.
“Our team has a deep and varied experience gained working on complex community, leisure and school developments in logistically-challenging urban environments and we’re delighted to have been selected as preferred contractor for this landmark scheme.
“We look forward to working with the wider project team and the local community to provide an outstanding facility for the people of Hackney.”

Philip Glanville, Mayor of Hackney, said: “Hackney needs improved leisure provision and more school places. I’m proud that, despite deep cuts in government funding, our Council is finding innovative ways to keep investing in our communities, ensuring current and future generations have access to high-quality facilities.
“It’s taken us many months of planning, consultations and public meetings to get to this stage, and we’ve listened to residents and taken onboard their feedback throughout. We’ve tried to include as many elements of what people have told us they want as possible. While the project is still subject to receiving planning permission, it is right that we start to bring contractors on board to help us with the next stage of the design.

“The new leisure centre will be better in almost every way, preserving the family friendly elements that we all love, while providing facilities for the 21st Century and to a standard Hackney’s diverse communities expect, need and deserve now and in the future.”

Other key projects Morgan Sindall Construction has recently delivered in the capital include a £70 million scheme to transform Lambeth Town Hall and its civic buildings. The multifaceted Your New Town Hall scheme was delivered for urban regeneration specialist and national developer, Muse Developments, and project partner Lambeth Council. The project involved the comprehensive refurbishment of the Grade II listed Brixton Town Hall and the construction of a new six-storey energy efficient civic building with a customer centre and council offices.

The company has also recently completed the largest school refurbishment programme in Southwark since the Victorian era, creating a total of 1,155 new school places across the Borough.

• For more information about this news release please contact Ruth Cobban at Influential on 0151 239 5000 or email cobban@thisisinfluential.com