Ravenshead Leisure Centre
Sector: Leisure
Client: Arc Partnership (on behalf of Nottinghamshire County Council) and Ravenshead Parish Council
Location: Ravenshead
Value: £1.073m
Completion: June 2025
“We at the Leisure Centre and Parish Council have been very impressed with the level of professionalism, flexibility and the help and support that has been provided so far during this project…The help provided has had a big impact on the Leisure Centre and enabled us to stay open when we thought it wasn’t possible.”
Amanda Rowbottom
Ravenshead Parish Council
By modernising the outdated facility, the Ravenshead Leisure Centre refurbishment has revitalised a vital community hub.
Delivered for Arc Partnership, a joint venture between Nottinghamshire County Council and SCAPE, alongside Ravenshead Parish Council, by G F Tomlinson through the SCAPE Regional Construction Framework, this refurbishment project has left a lasting social legacy. With refreshed changing rooms, a new dance studio and other modernisation works delivered, the upgraded leisure centre now accommodates local football clubs, dance classes and baby sensory groups.
The project also transformed two rooms into specialist learning environments for alternative provision students, supporting targeted small-group sessions and youth development. Strategic phasing by the project team, including temporary security adjustments, prevented a planned two-week closure, ensuring continuous community access and safeguarding local services throughout construction.
The project modernised an outdated, underutilised leisure centre to meet the growing demands of the community. Key facility upgrades were vital to replace deteriorating infrastructure, improve accessibility, and provide high-quality spaces that local provisions desperately lacked.
The project’s primary objective was to deliver the transformation efficiently while keeping the facility active. Delivered in two phases, the works comprised:
- Phase 1: refurbished the changing rooms and converted a badminton/basketball court into a bespoke dance studio featuring mirrored walls, ballet bars, and a professional Harlequin dance floor.
- Phase 2: modernised the offices and toilets, requiring a planned six-week partial shutdown at the site.
A critical requirement was maintaining continuity; by keeping the large sports hall and external courts open throughout Phase 2, the project successfully minimised disruption to local residents and centre users. The rejuvenated hub now serves local schools, residents, football clubs, and dance groups, providing them with safe, modern, and inspiring leisure spaces.
Operating on an active, live community centre presented significant logistical challenges. Ensuring public safety and maintaining continuous access for leisure centre users required strict security measures. To overcome this, the site was secured with Heras fencing, and cable ramps were installed to guarantee safe, trip-free access around the site.
The existing leisure centre hosted weekly baby sensory classes for local residents. However, the refurbishment works had the potential to disrupt classes throughout the project period.
To resolve this, G F Tomlinson implemented a staged, quiet-working protocol. All noisy works were paused during class times, ensuring a calm, distraction-free environment. The proactive scheduling and close community liaison were well received by the class instructor and class attendees and protected vital community services.
The project was a resounding success, delivering a high-quality facility on time and within budget. By modernising the outdated leisure centre, the project successfully met a critical community need, providing local schools, residents, and sports clubs with state-of-the-art spaces to relax, exercise and have fun.
The client was exceptionally pleased with both the collaborative delivery process and the final handover, awarding the project team the following scores:
- Product Quality: 10/10
- Service Delivery: 10/10
By exceeding expectations and maintaining live operations throughout construction, the project team created a vibrant, welcoming hub. The bespoke dance studio and upgraded changing facilities have already revitalised local engagement, leaving a lasting social legacy for the community.
Social value initiatives
As part of the project’s social legacy for the community, G F Tomlinson delivered the following social value initiatives through the construction works:
- Provided carpet and decoration works free of charge, with the donated carpet valued at approximately £1,000.
- Offered gutter clearing at the existing leisure centre as a gesture of goodwill.
- Installed a key lockbox to ensure leisure centre users were able to access the large sports hall during asbestos stripping.
- Replaced an existing manhole as a gesture of goodwill.
- Enabled use of sports facilities to residents, with the site manager opening the site out of hours for local sports teams to use the facilities and providing toilet and changing facilities for them.
- Supporting vulnerable groups by working with the local Department for Work and Pensions to deliver five mentoring circles designed to boost employability skills and connect employers with local job seekers.
Why SCAPE?
The SCAPE framework enabled early contractor involvement (ECI), allowing the project to progress directly into pre-construction, removing the time associated with a traditional tender process.
Working collaboratively with the client and design team, G F Tomlinson provided buildability, programme and cost advice at an early stage, enabling informed decision-making, early risk mitigation and advance procurement. As a result, the project commenced on site sooner, reducing the overall programme and providing greater certainty over cost, quality and delivery.
Social value outcomes
This project has been submitted by G F Tomlinson as part of the collaborative Social Value in Construction Benchmarking Report. This report captures the latest insight into the regional and national trends in social value delivery; learn more here.
£704,692.71
Social Value generated
65%
return on investment (ROI)
2,017 miles
driven in LEV
86%
labour within 20 miles
91%
spend within 20 miles
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Owen Cheshire
Framework Manager | Construction
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