Harpur Hill Sports Hall Re-opens
1 March 2011
Refurbishment works at the University's Harpur Hill sports facility.
Ian Willgoose, University Director of Estates.
Students have begun enjoying the benefits of a £1.4m refurbishment of the University's Harpur Hill sports facility in Buxton.
The facility - which closed in June 2010 to allow work to go ahead - has now re-opened after a major refurbishment by contractors Vinci Construction Plc. Its re-opening was delayed when the original contractor, Banner Construction, was forced to pull out after beginning work on site for business reasons.
The new sports hall has been equipped to support a variety of indoor sports including netball, basketball, cricket, boxing and five-a-side football, by both further and higher education students. In addition the facility will offer a new fitness suite (opening mid-March) and a state of the art external climbing wall, designed to challenge the most expert climber.
The building offers new classrooms, designed with removable partitions to increase flexibility. The rooms are fitted with high specification audio-visual teaching aids, including interactive 'smartboards'.
Ian Willgoose, University Director of Estates, said: "We are delighted with this refurbished sports facility, which is comparable with the best on offer in the sector.
"It helps increase the sports on offer to our students, which they fully deserve after waiting so patiently. We are now in negotiation with an external company to operate the facility, to provide a balance between educational and commercial use."
