FWP sports village plan gets the green light

Plans for a new community stadium in Cumbria drawn up by FWP, the creative force behind some of the UK’s most innovative sports projects, have been given the go ahead.

The £17.8 million Cumberland Sports Village (CSV) project has received planning permission and is now set to deliver a modern home for Workington’s football and rugby league clubs.

It will also be a focal point for the community and businesses in the area, with the ability to host meetings, conferences, functions, events and other activities.

The planning approval is another important milestone for the ambitious project. It follows the announcement that an additional £4.5 million of funding has been secured from the recently formed Cumbria Combined Authority to enhance the development in Workington.

The additional funding will result in the scheme being extended to include the replacement of all the terraces and increase the total capacity at the new stadium to 5,000.

The development is also supported by the UK Government Town Deal, Cumberland Council and the Football Foundation.

Workington AFC’s current Borough Park ground will be now be redeveloped to become the new home for both clubs.

FWP has wide-ranging experience delivering successful ground developments for clubs at all levels of the football pyramid, including Preston North End, Fleetwood Town and Peterborough United in the EFL.

The leading architecture, design and masterplanning practice has built a national reputation for its sports work, through its design expertise and an approach that looks to create sustainable community stadiums.

FWP has worked with Cumberland Sports Village Management (CSVM), Workington AFC and Workington RLC, Cumberland Council and other interested groups to develop a comprehensive upgrading strategy for the existing CSV site, which sits near the River Derwent.

A design team is now in the process of enhancing the existing scheme and a new programme of works and updated timeframes is being produced. Plans for a new community pitch are also being drawn together.

Neil Ainsworth, partner at FWP, which has offices in Preston, Manchester, Birmingham and London, said: “We have worked to create a high quality, inclusive and accessible venue for the football and rugby clubs and to benefit the wider community with the addition of new sporting facilities for all to enjoy.

“An improved hospitality offer means the stadium can also be used for meetings, conferences, functions, events and community activities.

“From the outset of this project we have followed a number of key design principles, based on our experience designing and delivering complex sports stadia projects at multiple grading levels and at varying scales, right across the country.”

He added: “We are committed to eco-friendly design the result will be a stadium which incorporates regenerative solutions from the outset. The plans we have drawn up will be sustainable both environmentally, socially and economically.

“As in all our work we are looking create a true community stadium, with high-quality spaces that local people and groups can use.

“It will also deliver a stadium that is energy efficient, utilising long-lasting and renewable materials wherever practical and incorporating green technologies which reduce the consumption of energy, water and non-renewable resources.”

FWP has also worked with a host of ambitious non-league football sides including Leamington, AFC Fylde, Hastings United and FC United of Manchester on ground schemes.

It successfully delivered Mill Farm Sports Village, a multi-million pound development on the Fylde coast that includes sports, commercial and leisure facilities, including a 6,000-capacity stadium for National League club AFC Fylde.

FWP’s strategic advice and design expertise, as well as the ability to work to budgets, proves crucial when sports clubs are seeking to improve their stadium facilities.

It also has a strong reputation in the racecourse sector – helping deliver projects at courses including York, Haydock, Doncaster, Aintree Chester, Southwell and Lingfield.

For more details of FWP, its services and its projects, please visit www.fwpgroup.co.uk