Fife Council, Scotland, has announced plans to redevelop two of its leisure centres and to refurbish another sports facility as part of a £50m capital investment programme.
The Fife Institute of Physical & Recreation Education (FIPRE) in Glenrothes will be redeveloped, as will the Kirkcaldy Swimming Pool, as part of a £33m project. The development is being carried out by B3Architects – also architectural advisors for the London 2012 Olympics – and Cre8architecture in conjunction with consultants Turner Townsend Cost Management, Arup and B3Safety.
Under a separate project, The Carnegie Leisure Centre in Dunfermline is due to undergo a refurbishment this December.
When complete the 6,451sq m (69,437sq ft) FIPRE, which will be shared by the adjacent Adam Smith College, will include a 25m, eight-lane, competition-standard swimming pool, a learners pool with moveable floor. The health and fitness suite will also boast added strength and conditioning facilities to support Scotland's Area Institute of Sport athletes.
The full-sized artificial pitch will be replaced with a sand dressed surface suitable for national league hockey and the existing 1,220sq m (13,131sq ft) eight-court sports hall will be refurbished.
The 3,958sq m (42,603sq ft) Kirkcaldy Swimming Pool will also be replaced with a new build town centre development, which includes a health and fitness suite and a learners pool with moveable floor.
The projects are being funded via a combination of Fife Council and lottery support from sportscotland through the recently created Fife Sports and Leisure Trust.
Andy Maclellan, project manager at Fife Council, said: "A Fife Council working group was established in 2004 to consider the future of leisure in Fife and to bring forward options to deliver a long-term, sustainable sports facility infrastructure.
It was recognised that there was an urgent need to look at our three major sports and leisure facilities – the Fife Sports Institute, Kirkcaldy Swimming Pool and Carnegie Leisure Centre."
Following this, in April 2007, Fife Council commissioned an indoor and outdoor Sports Facility Strategy for the next ten years, which will be formally adopted today.
Both the redevelopment projects will be started together in January 2010 with the view of being completed in August 2011. It is expected that FIPRE will close for six months while construction work is being carried out but the existing building will remain open until early 2011.
