Construction work on £42m sports village enters final stage

Work to create to create the £42 million Moorways Sports Village has entered its final stage of construction.

The impressive exterior of the building, with its design inspired by Derby’s strong links with innovation and engineering, is now complete.

Inside, work to install its state-of-the-art facilities, which include a 50-metre swimming pool, learning pool, water park area and fitness studios, are at an advanced stage.

Bowmer + Kirkland is constructing the centre on behalf of Derby City Council and work is on time and on budget, with the venue on course to open in the spring.

Councillor Ross McCristal, cabinet member for leisure, culture, tourism and wellbeing, said: “The new Moorways Sports Village looks impressive from the outside, and inside you can really see it starting to take shape.

“The quality and breadth of facilities it will have to offer is fantastic for our city.”

In terms of the build, two booms are now ready to be installed in the main 50-metre swimming pool. When these are in place, they will be used to section off the water space into up to three separate 25-metre swimming pools.

Moveable floors mean that the pool depth can also be varied, enabling a wide range of activities to be offered.

The main pool is capable of hosting both 50-metre and 25-metre regional competitions with seating for over 400 spectators.

There is also a separate learning pool next to it that can be used as a warm-up area for events or for swimming activities.

Work has got under way to fill the pools with a total of 3.5 million litres of water. This is expected to take around a week to complete.

In the water park area, the flumes and rides, including a wave-generating Wow ball, are nearing completion, as are the fitness studios.

There will also be a large gym area, which will be fitted out with 120 stations.

This is complemented by separate changing rooms, with access to a sauna and steam room.

The main reception, with an adjacent large soft play area, is also close to being finished.

The reception leads into a large open-plan café with views over both swimming pools, and a second smaller soft play area.

Councillor McCristal said: “When it opens, Moorways Sports Village will provide the most up-to-date facilities for our communities, clubs and athletes to enjoy, as well as attracting visitors from across the region.

“It has been very exciting to watch this wonderful centre develop. It will be great to see it open in spring 2022, which is a testament to our great team working with our key partners.

Jonathan Gisbourne, project manager at Bowmer + Kirkland, said: “It’s been an honour to work on this exciting project, which will bring fantastic leisure facilities to Derby and the surrounding area.

“We are proud of our team who have worked hard through the last challenging 18 months and look forward to handing the project over to our client, Derby City Council, early in the New Year.”

Moorways Sports Village will be managed by a leisure operating partner on behalf of Derby City Council.

Plans are on track to announce the successful tenderer in the New Year.