We are delighted to announce that a significant sports hall modernisation project is officially underway on our main Sports Hall, thanks to Sport England funding and additional help from local businesses.
After completing our significant refurbishment works on the rest of its site during 2021-2023, we are excited to deliver this new stage in our centre’s transformation, which will benefit thousands of people who use our community facility.
Thanks to funding awarded by Sport England, we are revamping our popular sports hall over the summer. The building, which was built in the 1990s is getting £393,080 worth of major improvements, led by principal contractors, Ian Williams.
The improvements will rejuvenate the facility, turning it back into a modern, top-class sports hall with an array of upgrades, including state-of-the-art multi-sport flooring, stylishly decorated interiors and a new roof to safeguard the building’s use for many more years to come.
Enjoying the updated space will be the many grassroots community sports clubs who utilise it, such as Plymouth Mayflower Specials, who train our city’s Special Olympian stars. Other clubs, ranging from Trampolining to Kendo and wheelchair basketball, will also benefit, as well as our holiday youth clubs, birthday party provision and post-16 vocational training offering at our Discovery College.
Maximising value for the community, we owe huge gratitude to a host of local businesses that have made additional in-kind contributions to the project. The contributions include: Structural Engineering Reports provided by AECOM , Project Management Support by Bailey Partnership, Design and Planning Application Support by Stride Treglown, Bat & Bird Survey from Burton Reid, Roofing Condition Report by WRS, Sports Floor Condition Survey by Courtishp, Contract & Document Works, Appleyard & Trew and Roof Labour Support by Progressing Roofing. YMCA Plymouth also noted a special thanks to Liz Slater, Leisure Partnership Manager and Community Empowerment, at Plymouth City Council, and Claire Beaney, Active Devon, for their incredible support throughout the Sport England application stages.
Tom Lavis, CEO of YMCA Plymouth said:
YMCA Plymouth has been on an incredible modernisation journey over the last few years. This exciting refurbishment project of our Sports Hall is the last major part of our site yet to be refurbished. We support over 25,000 people each year in Plymouth, therefore we’re proud to deliver yet another big improvement to our centre – further supporting our delivery of education, wellbeing, youth, family and support services in our community”.
Councillor Sue Dann, Plymouth City Council’s Cabinet member with responsibility for sport and leisure, said:
“YMCA Plymouth is a major partner in delivering opportunities for residents to stay active and well. We are pleased to have been able to support its work with Sport England and Active Devon in prioritising this much-needed work to the sports hall roof and floor, which will ensure we have a thriving community hub in the heart of Honicknowle.”
The works are expected to be complete by the end of September 2025. Keep an eye on our social media channels to see the progress.
