New Building

The Building Project

Prize Draw

General

Throughout the feasibility and design process various aspects of the site and its relationship to the village of Halkirk have been considered in depth. The interplay between Phase 1 as a stand alone facility and future Phases has been of primary concern.

The building should be a confident architectural statement of the Client's aspirations, being an attractive venue that encourages sport and health.

The building will be welcoming and to a degree transparent - inviting ease of access and encouraging use.

Whilst modelled on a football academy, it is clear that the facility has a much wider remit and offers broad appeal to the community at large.

The impact on the village has been carefully considered as the building is of a significant scale. To this end its orientation has been set to minimise its impact on the site. The reduced levels of the roofs over the accommodation building at the front and the stores at the back contribute to achieving this objective.

The natural orientation of the pitch running North to South will ameliorate the prevailing wind's potential effect.

Great care was given to the placement of transparent and solid aspects of the building envelope to make best use of its characteristics both day and night.

Design Team

  • Architects - Pentarq, Thurso
  • Structural Engineers - A F Cruden Associates, Inverness
  • Services Engineers - Hully & Kirkwood, Inverness
  • Quantity Surveyors - Pentarq, Kirkwall

Statutory Consents

Planning Consent was granted by The Highland Council in October 2007 (06/00278/FULCA).

Solicitors have been instructed to negotiate Wayleaves with adjacent Landowners relative to the route of the surface water out-fall drain.

Implementation

There are a number of strands in the task of implementing this Project.

Execution of the Project is being monitored by the HCSF Project Steering Committee that comprises two Board members, with particular members of the Management Committee co-opted to provide input on specific aspects of the planned facility.

The HCSF is indeed very fortunate that through the great generosity of Mr Andrew Sinclair the project has started its funding campaign with about 45% of the overall costs already in place.

Now that a significant proportion of the cost is secure, preliminary enquiries with various funding bodies have been encouraging. Formal Applications for Grant Aid will be prepared and submitted to the prospective funding bodies once the detailed design work and associated costings have been updated.

The site upon which the Complex will be built has been secured in principle and the necessary ground surveys have been undertaken. Once the funding requirements have been secured the Steering Committee and the appointed Project Manager will initiate the formal process of tendering for a contractor, or contractors, having the appropriate skills and experience to undertake the construction and fitting out work.

Monitoring Progress

During the course of the Project a key requirement will be the monitoring of the execution of the Project Programme. Once the Steering Committee and the appointed Project Manager have scrutinised and accepted the proposed Construction Programme, the Project Manager will:

  1. Monitor weekly the progress being made by the Contractor(s), approving action as necessary to assure timely completion of works;
  2. Provide a monthly statement of progress to the Project Steering Group, highlighting variances and action initiated, including a statement of Project expenditure;
  3. Confirm the completion of works prior to the payment of Contractors' invoices.

Once the Sports & Leisure Centre is operational, a Manager will be appointed to take responsibility for the day-to-day operation of the Centre. The Manager will provide a monthly analysis of the usage of the facility, highlighting any aspects where there is a need for decisions to be made. This will be submitted to the Management Committee and User Groups that will be set up to receive feedback. The Committee and User Groups may in turn consult the Board in the event of the need for an action plan to address a specific aspect of concern. As it is the Board's objective that the Centre is run on a cost-neutral basis, the Manager will be required to compile monthly statements of cash flow as an essential part of the monthly analysis