Plymouth City Council Leader Vivien Pengelly is joining Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Sport, Councillor Glenn Jordan and Jim McGee, Senior Project Manager with main contractor Balfour Beatty to fix the last roof sheet into place.
The roof measures 9,100 square metres in total with 4,000 square metres over the swimming pool areas made up of aluminium acoustic sheeting panels and 3,900 square metres of steel acoustic panels over the sports hall and multi-purpose areas. The roof is insulated with quilt and board, as well as a vapour control barrier covered with a waterproof membrane.
The Plymouth Life Centre is the city’s single biggest investment in leisure facilities and will be operated by Sport and Leisure Management (SLM) trading as Everyone Active when it officially opens to the public. The main building works are on schedule to be completed by Balfour Beatty in November and the facility will be handed over and opened early next year, following a period of further internal fit out and staff training.
Councillor Pengelly said: “Today’s event is a major milestone in the construction of this important regional facility and we are pleased to be celebrating it with the main contractor Balfour Beatty. It is really exciting to know that we are getting ever closer to opening a first-class building with some of the best sporting facilities the city has ever known.”
As one of the country's leading centres for sporting excellence, the Plymouth Life Centre will underline the city’s growing credentials as a premier venue for local, national and even international sporting events. Its flexible use will bring huge benefits for the local economy and further strengthen inward investment for the city.
The four-storey, 18,161 square metre building is part of the Council’s commitment to offering leisure facilities that are accessible to everyone, regardless of age, background, sporting ability or fitness.
Jim McGee said: “The topping out is highly symbolic and the team at Balfour Beatty is delighted to have reached this important stage of such a prestigious project. We now look forward to the completion of one of the most exciting leisure schemes being built in the country and contributing to the top-class facilities that Plymouth will be able to offer.”
More information can be found at www.plymouth.gov.uk/lifecentre.
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