Work marks start of £14.5m Downpatrick leisure centre

Work marks start of £14.5m Downpatrick leisure centre

17 February 2016

CONSTRUCTION on Downpatrick’s new £14.5m leisure centre will get underway within the next few weeks.

Contractors are currently on site carrying out a number of safety-related projects ahead of the formal start of the main construction scheme which is scheduled to be completed next autumn.

The new 6,000 square metre centre — which will feature a 25 metre, six lane swimming pool — will also include a learning pool with movable floor, four court sports hall, squash/handball court, multi-purpose rooms and a spa area. There will also be a state-of-the-art fitness suite with over 80 stations.

The three-storey centre will be constructed in front of the current leisure complex which opened in 1980 and which will be bulldozed when the new facility opens. The footprint of the new centre expands on to nearby sports pitches at Dunleath Park which have been reconfigured to allow junior and soccer matches to continue at weekends.

A temporary car park is also being constructed at the rear of the current leisure centre and when the complex is demolished it will be replaced by a car park boasting 150 spaces.

Planning permission for the eagerly-awaited scheme was secured some time ago and a formal sod cutting ceremony was held last week to signal the start of work on the biggest local government construction programme in the Down area.

Last week’s sod cutting ceremony was performed by Newry, Mourne and Down Council chairman Mickey Ruane who was joined by the organisation’s chief executive, Liam Hannaway, his deputy Eddy Curtis and representatives from main contractor Felix O’Hare Ltd and architects, Kennedy Fitzgerald Associates. 

Councillor Ruane said the construction programme and phasing of works is such that normal operation of the existing leisure centre will be maintained as far as practicable throughout the construction phase. 

He said the council is looking forward to entering the “exciting project” with main contractor Felix O’Hare & Co Ltd and the design team led by Kennedy Fitzgerald Associates. 

“We are building this new centre in Downpatrick and extending the facility we have in Newry. The investment in what are regional facilities in both towns is about delivering for people and these are both first class facilities,” said the council chairman.

“We have lots of schemes coming through now which have been developed by the old legacy councils of Down and Newry and Mourne and we are planning to invest a lot of money across our district. There have been a lot of difficulties over the past year but we have got through them and are looking forward to the future with confidence.”

Felix O’Hare & Co Ltd director, Damian Maginn, said the contractor is delighted to be appointed to deliver the new Leisure facility in Downpatrick.

“We look forward to spearheading this prestigious project, contributing to the local infrastructure and ultimately providing a key public facility to those in the locality and beyond,” he added.

Norman Hutchinson, from Kennedy Fitzgerald Associates, said his organisation is excited to be involved in the “prestigious project” that will create a new civic gateway building to Downpatrick and one that represents Newry, Mourne and Down Council’s vision of enhanced leisure facilities for the local community.