Willmott Dixon will create a new ground for Evo-Stik First Division North team Scarborough Athletic Football Club as part of a £15 million leisure development.

The company has been appointed by Scarborough Borough Council under Scape Group’s Major Works framework to create Scarborough Leisure Village, which will house an eight lane 25-metre Olympic legacy swimming pool and fitness centre as well as all-weather football pitch and spectator stand that will become home to the town’s football team. The facility will also play an important part in the development of community football in the Scarborough area.

The scheme also involves a developer, Wrenbridge Sport Limited, which is part funding the project following a land swap agreement with Scarborough Borough Council. With enabling works complete, Willmott Dixon will have the leisure complex finished by summer 2017.

The project on the town’s former Weaponness coach park is close to where Willmott Dixon is also building a new £14 million campus for the recently opened Coventry University Scarborough Campus. This purpose built campus will include a library, IT suites, café, mock law court, engineering and science labs, plus a careers team.

Cllr Tom Fox, Mayor of the Borough of Scarborough and Cllr Derek Bastiman, Leader of Scarborough Borough Council:

“There have been those who said this project would never happen, but we and our partners have never lost sight of our ultimate goal, which is to create a first class leisure facility for local people and a new football ground for Scarborough Athletic Football Club and other sports and community clubs and groups. We are looking forward to seeing the construction progress and eagerly await next year’s opening, which, without a doubt, will be a much celebrated milestone in the history of sport and leisure in our borough.”

Scarborough Leisure Village follows Willmott Dixon’s role in other large schemes in this sector such as Wycombe Sports Centre, one of the largest sports facilities in the South East, and Dartford’s Fairfield Pools and Leisure Centre project where the company refurbished a tired 1970s building to provide a modern and much needed facility for the local community.

Anthony Dillon, managing director in the North West:

“We are very proud of our track-record in the leisure sector, providing first-class facilities for local people. Scarborough is a fantastic town and we are looking forward to using our expertise in leisure projects to deliver a facility that will revitalise this part of Scarborough.”