Steelwork contractor erects tenth leisure scheme for Dutch client

Adstone Construction has completed the erection of 230t of structural steelwork for the Melksham Community Campus in Wiltshire, the tenth leisure and sport facility the company has worked on with Dutch-based Pellikaan Construction.

The £20M Melksham project, which has received funding from Sport England Lottery Award, will include a six-lane, 25m-long swimming pool, a learner pool, fitness suite, fitness studio, library, a six-court sports hall, associated changing rooms, community meeting rooms, a café and office space.

Wiltshire Council Senior Project Manager Suzanne Gough said: “The campus will offer a host of top-class facilities under one roof.

“The use of a steel frame, particularly in the large spaces with significant clear spans such as the sports hall and swimming pool, allowed us to keep the roof build-up to a relatively slim profile, reducing the overall building height and lessening the impact on the adjacent neighbours.”

Overall, the project consists of one large steel frame, that gains its stability from strategically-positioned cross bracings. The Campus is a two-storey structure, although there are two double-height single-storey elements within the project, which accommodate the sports hall and the main swimming pool.

A series of Westok cellular beams, measuring 27.4m-long and weighing 4.1t each, which represent the longest and heaviest steel sections on the project, have been used to create the sports hall’s column-free space.

The area containing the main pool is also topped with a series of Westok cellular beams to create another large column-free space. Cellular beams were chosen for these two areas as they offer a lightweight and cost-effective method for accommodating building services.

The Melksham Community Campus is due to open by Autumn 2022.