State-of-the-art facilities being installed in Melksham’s new Campus

LATEST details on the progress of Melksham’s community campus, which is due to open later this year, was explained to Melksham Area Board recently. 

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. 

Wiltshire Council say, “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 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 under way. 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.” 

Wiltshire Council’s cabinet member for leisure and libraries, cllr Ian Blair-Pilling 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.” 

Chairman of Melksham Area Board, cllr Phil Alford 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: www.wiltshire.gov.uk/community-environment-melksham-community-campus