The construction of Ashfield District Council’s leisure building and boathouse is picking up pace as the project reaches the seven-month mark.
The new facility, being built as part of Ashfield District Council’s £62.6million Towns Deal, will house modern accessible changing facilities for water sports and a meeting/training room on the ground floor. A restaurant and function space will occupy the first floor, offering views across the water.
The construction has now reached an exciting milestone with the installation of the first-floor planks and the staircase. The internal walls are springing up, and the external decorative stonework now reaches the first floor. Visitors to the reservoir can get a real sense of what the building will look like when it’s completed in 2024.
As part of the project, a new 136-space car park was built and opened on the former wasteland behind the site of the leisure building. Native hedging and trees have been planted on the islands in the new car park to increase biodiversity on site.
Cllr Matthew Relf, Executive Lead Member for Regeneration, Growth, and Local Planning, said: “It’s fantastic to see the progress of the build here at Kings Mill Reservoir, it’s all starting to feel very real.
“We want everyone to be able to access water sports and the new building and car park will open this opportunity up for more people, not just in the local area but for those further afield, marking Ashfield as a destination for visitors from around Nottinghamshire and beyond.”
Cllr Jason Zadrozny, Leader of the Council, said: “We are so excited to see how far along the building is, you can start to imagine what the space will look like once it’s completed. This development at Kings Mill Reservoir marks the first of many physical changes you will start to see in Ashfield as part of our plan to regenerate the District.”
This project is just one of 16 being funded by the Council’s £62.6million Towns Deal, which includes the new Planetarium and Science Discovery Centre at Sherwood Observatory, redesign of Portland Square, the Automated Distribution Manufacturing Centre, and the development of a gateway building in Kirkby.
Ashfield District Council’s plans for Kings Mill Reservoir complement the expansion of the Mill Adventure Base, to offer a larger variety of activities for visitors across Nottinghamshire and beyond.
The Council are now seeking interested operators for the restaurant and function space.
