Friday 12 October 2012

Stockport's sports fans carry on having fun thanks to Spaciotempo's temporary hall


Young athletes whose sports hall has been bulldozed to make way for new homes are still able to enjoy their favourite activities after Spaciotempo UK supplied an interim sports facility until a permanent replacement is built.

Earlier this year the popular Dialstone Centre in Stockport, Cheshire, was closed to make way for a new residential development, with a new sports centre set to be built as part of a new community hub complex planned for a neighbouring site and due to be opened in 2014.

The time lapse between one centre closing and its replacement being built meant that the Dialstone Centre's owners, Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council, had to find an alternative to ensure that users did not have to travel elsewhere or had to give up their favourite activities.

The answer lay with a 700sqm semi-permanent sports hall, which Spaciotempo erected just half a kilometre away on the premises of Offerton High School, which closed down this summer. 

Sited next to an adjoining building offering changing facilities and a gym, the hall is large enough to house four badminton courts but is used for a range of activities including five-a-side football, gymnastics, Zumba and children's holiday camps.

Constructed using an anodised aluminium frame in-filled with steel-clad sandwich panels, it is 8.6m tall at the ridge, has a semi-translucent thermo-inflated roof, heating and an adjoining 100sqm storage area. 

The Dialstone Centre is run by Life Leisure, which is the trading name of Stockport Sports Trust, a not-for-profit organisation which operates sports facilities on behalf of the council.

Michelle Child, manager of the Dialstone Centre, said that the hall is now well-used by local residents from toddlers all the way up to people in their 80s.

She said: "With the closure of the previous centre, we needed a sports hall that was temporary and not too expensive and that is exactly what we've got.

"It is very similar to the dimensions of the last sports hall and we have seen a lot of customers from the previous centre come along and continue their sport instead of having to go elsewhere."

Scott Jameson, director of sales at Spaciotempo, said: "The Olympics have given sport in this country a huge shot in the arm and we are very pleased that our building means that the community in Offerton isn't missing out on taking part.

"This is a great example of how temporary buildings not only provide an affordable stop-gap, but offer a sturdy and good-sized accommodation that will more than meet their needs while their new premises are taking shape."

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