Work starts on new £18m Portway Lifestyle Centre in Sandwell
Image: Work has started at the site of the complex
Work has started on the construction of the new £18m Portway Lifestyle Centre, a complex bringing leisure, health and social care services under one roof in Oldbury, West Midlands.
Financial and legal contracts have now been signed for the project, which is led by Sandwell Council and Sandwell Primary Care Trust. The centre is due to open in summer 2013.
Thomas Vale is the contractor responsible for delivering the facility, which was designed by The Design Büro of Rugby to include a gym, a four-court sports hall and a climbing wall.
A dance studio and a full-sized, all-weather pitch are also proposed as part of the scheme, as well as a hydrotherapy pool for "therapeutic purposes", a café and a GP surgery.
Sandwell LiftCo, a partnership comprising public and private sector organisations, will work alongside the council and primary care trust on the development.
Portway Lifestyle Centre was one of two UK leisure schemes granted financial support by the government last April, while Sport England has also contributed £1.5m.
Sandwell Council deputy leader Steve Eling said: "It is a major vote of confidence Sandwell can undertake a multi-million pound scheme in this tough economic time."
Details: www.sandwell.gov.uk
Image (from left): Sandwell LiftCo's Mike Nicklin; Richard Nugent of Sandwell PCT; Sandwell Leisure Trust chair Lois Taylor; Steve Eling; and Sport England's Ian Silvera
UAE’s first Dior Spa debuts in Dubai at Dorchester Collection’s newest hotel, The Lana
Europe's premier Evian Spa unveiled at Hôtel Royal in France
Clinique La Prairie unveils health resort in China after two-year project
GoCo Health Innovation City in Sweden plans to lead the world in delivering wellness and new science
Four Seasons announces luxury wellness resort and residences at Amaala
Aman sister brand Janu debuts in Tokyo with four-floor urban wellness retreat
€38m geothermal spa and leisure centre to revitalise Croatian city of Bjelovar
Two Santani eco-friendly wellness resorts coming to Oman, partnered with Omran Group
Kerzner shows confidence in its Siro wellness hotel concept, revealing plans to open 100
Ritz-Carlton, Portland unveils skyline spa inspired by unfolding petals of a rose
Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners are just one of the names behind The Emory hotel London and Surrenne private members club
Peninsula Hot Springs unveils AUS$11.7m sister site in Australian outback
IWBI creates WELL for residential programme to inspire healthy living environments
Conrad Orlando unveils water-inspired spa oasis amid billion-dollar Evermore Resort complex
Studio A+ realises striking urban hot springs retreat in China's Shanxi Province
Populous reveals plans for major e-sports arena in Saudi Arabia
Wake The Tiger launches new 1,000sq m expansion
Othership CEO envisions its urban bathhouses in every city in North America
Merlin teams up with Hasbro and Lego to create Peppa Pig experiences
SHA Wellness unveils highly-anticipated Mexico outpost
One&Only One Za’abeel opens in Dubai featuring striking design by Nikken Sekkei
Luxury spa hotel, Calcot Manor, creates new Grain Store health club
'World's largest' indoor ski centre by 10 Design slated to open in 2025
Murrayshall Country Estate awarded planning permission for multi-million-pound spa and leisure centre
Aman's Janu hotel by Pelli Clarke & Partners will have 4,000sq m of wellness space
Therme Group confirms Incheon Golden Harbor location for South Korean wellbeing resort
Universal Studios eyes the UK for first European resort
King of Bhutan unveils masterplan for Mindfulness City, designed by BIG, Arup and Cistri
Rural locations are the next frontier for expansion for the health club sector
Tonik Associates designs new suburban model for high-end Third Space health and wellness club
Designing an eco hotel for the Galapagos Islands that allowed the stunning natural surroundings to take centre stage while minimising its impact on the land presented its own unique set of challenges, Ecuadorian architect Humberto Plaza tells Kathryn Hudson
How Portugal’s biggest brewer enlisted the help of one of the country’s best known architects to turn two historic nature parks into thermal spa and nature destinations