Romford gets a new ice rink and swimming pool

Steel construction is nearing completion on the £28M Romford Ice Rink and Swimming Pool complex being erected by Billington Structures on behalf of main contractor Willmott Dixon.

The project will deliver an eight-lane competition swimming pool, fitness suite and 56m × 26m ice rink in the heart of the town centre.

The new rink will also provide a home for the local ice hockey team, London Raiders, who relocated to Lea Valley when Romford’s former ice rink closed in 2013. The team plan to take up residence in time for the 2018/19 season.

The ice rink is positioned above the swimming pool and creating these two long span spaces stacked on top of each other has meant a host of unique issues concerning temperature and isolation have had to be overcome.

“The temperature differential between a hot pool and a freezing ice rink has made this building particularly challenging to design and build,” said Willmott Dixon Project Manager Simon Cook.

Romford Ice Rink and Swimming Pool is due to complete in January 2018.