Melksham Community Campus continues to make positive progress

Melksham Area Board received an update on the construction of the community campus on Wednesday (9 March) as the project continues to make good progress and is on track to open later this year.

The campus, which is being constructed by Pellikaan Construction Ltd, is due to open by autumn this year. It has been supported with a grant from Sport England and will offer a wide range of facilities and services under one roof, including a gym, cycle and fitness studios, 25m pool and learner pool, sports hall, library, café and meeting space for the community.

The area board heard an update on the construction with lots of external works recently completed, including installation of solar panels, widening and re-surfacing of the Melk 20 footpath, external cladding, and creation of the new road layout.

The work inside of the campus has also made recent good progress, including the installation of underfloor heating, lift installation and wall tiling fitted in the changing rooms.

There's more work ahead too, with jobs on the to-do list including the installation of lockers, floor tiling, access road construction, and construction of the car parks.

The subject of car parking at the campus was also discussed in more detail. The council confirmed it had submitted an application for a pay and display car park at the site should it be required. The initial intention is that payment for parking at the site will not be implemented when the campus opens. The council is keen to ensure there is sufficient on-site parking for visitors to the campus and that free parking provision is not mis-used at the expense of campus users.  Therefore, when the campus is open the council will take a detailed look at the car park's usage to determine how it's being used and if charges are required. This would depend on a number of factors, including the possible impact to campus customers' ability to park and loss of use of other car parks due to misuse of the free car parking provision. As part of the application process there will be a public consultation and people are encouraged to provide their feedback.

The area board was also given an exciting overview of what some of the facilities will be like inside the completed campus. It includes a state-of-the-art fitness suite with 31 cardiovascular stations with in-built web technology, 10 fixed resistance strength stations, and 14 free weight strength station, as well as large fitness zone with multi station rig and tyre flip. An immersive cycle studio will provide participants with a multi-sensory experience with the feel and atmosphere of the room able to change depending on the intensity of the session.

The library was also discussed at the meeting. The new facility will offer more space than the current building in Melksham, with flexible furniture, public computers, self-service machines that will be available out of staffed hours and different zones.

The area board was also updated that the process to procure the main contractor to re-develop Melksham House has got underway. Preparatory works have already been completed on site, with the full refurbishment works due to start once the campus is complete. From that point work will take around 12 months, and the end result will be a flexible workspace and a multi-purpose facility for the community.

Cllr Ian Blair-Pilling, Wiltshire Council Cabinet Member for Leisure, Libraries and Operational Assets, said: There's so much for the Melksham community to look forward to and it's pleasing to provide such positive reports on the construction of the campus and the exciting facilities it will contain.

A construction job of this scale is never easy, and there's still plenty of hard work ahead, but each day we're getting even closer to the campus opening later this year. We'll continue to keep people updated on how we're getting on.

Cllr Phil Alford, Chairman of Melksham Area Board, said: As an area board we have been so impressed by how good the communication has been and the outstanding efforts of Pellikaan in their construction. The build is really moving quickly now and the quality of what we are getting is second to none in the county. It's going to be a game changer for Melksham and it's really exciting to be a part of it.

 Information boards detailing the progress of the campus construction are on display at Melksham Library and the Blue Pool, and people are welcome to take a look.

More information about the campus can be found at