Spelthorne Leisure Centre

• Client: Willmott Dixon
• Sector: Public / Leisure
• Services: Firestopping & Commercial Decorating
• Region: Surrey
• Size: 100,000 ft²
• Project Value: £43.5 million

Project Overview

Sustainability and energy efficiency are at the heart of so many modern building construction and transformation projects.  

One piece of work that epitomises this to the full is the design and development of the new Spelthorne Leisure Centre to the west of London.  

This £43.5 million facility, which is due to be opened to the public in late 2024, has been designed along the principles of Passivhaus. As a result, the centre should consume up to 60 per cent less energy than a standard new building of this type. 

Sentinel, the UK’s preferred specialist decorating contractor, was engaged to provide commercial decorating and passive fire protection services throughout the 100,000-square foot centre.  

All the work we carried out was designed to support the overall aim of creating the UK’s largest wet and dry leisure centre to achieve the PassivHaus standard, and the first in London.  

PassivHaus is a voluntary standard for energy efficiency in a building. Structures built in this way are created to a rigorous level of energy efficiency. They should be so effectively constructed, insulated and ventilated that they retain the sun’s warmth, and the heat generated by users’ activity, which means they require very little additional heating or cooling.  

There will most certainly be plenty of user activity at this location, close to the town centre of Staines and just to the south of Heathrow Airport.  

Project Brief

Sentinel was commissioned by our client Willmott Dixon to provide decoration and firestopping solutions throughout the new leisure centre.  

As a specialist decorating contractor with extensive expertise, Sentinel’s operatives are versatile enough to deliver work that accords with the overall ethos of any project – which in this case involved an extremely high level of energy efficiency.  

Spelthorne’s new leisure centre was designed by GT3 Architects, with additional collaborative input from Gale & Snowden, an architectural practice that specialises in Passivhaus projects. This collective approach allowed all parties involved to apply an industry-leading, low operation energy standard to a sector with inherently high levels of energy usage. 

Plenty of energy will be expended by visitors to the new centre. It will feature an eight-lane 25-metre pool, with a learner pool, splash pad and spa. There will also be a six-court sports hall, three squash courts, an open fitness space of 950 m2 and studios. Users will also be able to enjoy an open-plan café and reception space, along with a roof terrace overlooking for small-sided 3G football pitches.  

The multi-zoned, complex nature of a facility like the Spelthorne Leisure Centre means this project is an ideal showcase for the construction industry’s ability to embrace cutting-edge techniques that lead to a reduction in carbon and energy demand.  

Challenges / Solution

There were multiple surfaces throughout the new Spelthorne Leisure Centre that required the attention of our teams and the skills that have made us London’s favourite specialist decorating and fire protection sub-contractor. 

As you would expect, there are large expanses of exposed CLT (cross-laminated timber) throughout the leisure centre. These were treated with specialised paint to raise their firestopping capabilities. 

We use built-in fire protection solutions from the industry’s leading practitioners. In this case, we sprayed Envirograf HWAP, HW02N and HW Enviro Clear coatings on to the exposed timber to provide passive fire protection.  

Our remit also included the decoration of several commercial spaces throughout the building. We selected SIKA paint – bonding primer, 403W and 405W – in wet areas, including around the swimming pools.  

Plasterboard was coated with Dulux Diamond Eggshell using a brush and roller on expanses of floors and woodwork throughout the new building.  

The Result

By using the professional approach that has made Sentinel the UK’s favourite specialist decorating contractor, our team was able to deliver an outstanding quality of finish to all the areas we worked on.  

The work of our specialist decorators, along with the passive fire protection built into the building by the materials we used on the exposed CLT, met the aspirations of our client and aligned with the energy efficiency ethos of the entire project. 

We look forward to the finished Spelthorne Leisure Centre delivering fantastic facilities to the local community in this corner of Surrey, and to the new location meeting its stringent environmental targets.  

This is already an award-winning facility. The centre, managed by Everyone Active in partnership with the local borough council, was recognised as “Outstanding” for its services following an assessment by Quest, the national quality scheme operated by Sport England. 

It was one of only two leisure centres to earn this rating and was the first to achieve the accolade in the wake of the lockdown imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic.  

There is already widespread optimism that the new leisure centre will be a hit with its users. Mark Gowdridge of GT3 Architects said: “It’s great to see the progression of this fantastic project. We are very much looking forward to bringing a fundamental space for health and wellbeing to the surrounding community.” 

Daniel Mouawad, CEO of Spelthorne Borough Council, said: “We are delighted to be a pioneering authority, demonstrating our commitment to net zero by building an ultra-low Passivhaus leisure centre. This centre is a great example of partnership working and will enable residents to stay active in a healthy environment.”