Architects appointed for the new  Cranleigh Leisure Centre say it will cost £30m, not the £20m first mooted!

‘Your Waverley’  has moved closer to providing Cranleigh and the eastern villages with a state-of-the-art new centre by appointing GT3 Architects. 

It will be the lead contractor for a new low-carbon Passivhaus multi-million pound leisure centre on the Village Way Car Park in Cranleigh.

The architect’s brief: 

To deliver a ‘high-quality signature building’ intended to positively impact the local public realm and entice new visitors to the facility to support Waverley’s commitment to be net zero carbon by 2030.

According to the brief:

‘This is one of Cranleigh’s most significant new buildings.  As such, as well as meeting requirements as a leisure facility, it is also important to consider how to maximise the impact of this building on Cranleigh’s overall aesthetic and how it fits within its context to maximise the public realm.

‘This includes the look and feel of the high street and surrounds, enlivening the town, maximising opportunities for interaction between residents, maximising use of open space, allowing for pop-up events, etc. There is a clear aspiration that Cranleigh is looking to do more than reprovision a leisure centre.

‘The new facility should also be an integrated health and well-being centre, part of an emerging campus seeking to better connect community, health, and other provision in Cranleigh. The new building will thus form a vital hub for this wider aspiration.’

The following steps will include a survey to gather feedback from key leisure centre users and initial informal discussions with key external stakeholders, including the Parish Council, Co-op, Health Centre and the Cranleigh Thursday Market operators and users. It is expected that the car park will be severely affected by the development.

Following that will be wider consultation and the formal planning pre-application process, which the Planning Consultants will lead.

 The council says key stakeholders will continue to be involved at all relevant project stages.

  A comprehensive Risk Log has been compiled. To be monitored by the CLC’s new build Project Working Group and Project Board.

Councillors heard that the architects and cost consultants indicate increased project capital costs. Further financial feasibility work will be undertaken once more detail is known on this. When the ongoing revenue impact is known, this detail will be returned to members for review alongside the project approval in the coming months.

Castons Chartered Quantity Surveyors provided the original project budget of £19.95 million in September 2021. This figure reflected the outcomes of the Feasibility Study, the live 2021 market position and an energy-efficient design.

However, GT3 and the project QS, Faithful & Gould (F&G), have been working with the design team to review build costs based on current fees, inflation, building material costs and Passivhaus certification.

The indicative high-level cost for the current design brief is now…

c. £30 million.

 During the next detailed design phase, the Design team will consult with stakeholders and explore other options to reduce the build cost.

However, this would require changes to the original facility mix scope and would impact the services/facilities currently provided.

 Due to the significant difference between the original approved budget and the revised current budget, F&G has reviewed the budget to highlight the key differences between the two cost plans in scope and scale. These include but are not limited to…

a) Rates – significantly increased and reflect live market-tested data, updated for inflation and location factors.

b) Area – The original concept did not allow operational allowances and gross internal wall area.

c) External works regarding incoming services, drainage, and surfacing.

d) Professional fees – fees in the original bid that are now unrealistic and do not reflect the current position.

e) Contingencies – the percentage is the same at 10%. However, the difference in the figures results in an additional cost.

f) Passivhaus – the build costs now reflect the inclusion of Passivhaus standard construction and certification to provide a guarantee for achieving low carbon principles. F&G will develop the costs.