Work starts on £1.5m sports hall
Architect drawing of new sports hall at Claremont School, Bodiam.
WORK began on the new £1.5m sports hall at Claremont Senior School this week.
Planning permission for the project was granted in December, with diggers moving in to commence work on the Bodiam site on Monday.
The hall will have an indoor tennis court, four badminton courts, one full-sized basketball court and two practice courts, a 5-a-side football pitch, netball court, volleyball court and four cricket nets.
The plans also include a viewing area, a gym, two classrooms, showers and toilets.
The hall will be used by pupils from Claremont Senior School, Claremont Prep School and local state primary schools.
Sports clubs, including Crowhurst Park Cricket Club, will be able to use the facility in the evenings.
Claremont director Mark Beaumont said: “It’s been a relatively easy passage and Rother’s planning department have been very supportive and helpful.”
He added: “It enables sport to be enjoyed in these primary schools throughout the year, whatever the weather.”
Local primary schools frequently use Claremont’s six-lane pool, along with Sean’s Swim School and the 1066 Swimming Club.
A number of Year 9 pupils are taking part in the Sports Leadership Programme at Claremont, teaching 46 primary school pupils from Staplecross, Bodiam, Etchingham and Sandhurst schools.
There are also plans for Claremont to host an inter-primary school Olympic Games this summer.
Directline Structures has been tasked with completing the sports hall by the end of August, ready to be used from September.
The company has built dozens of sports halls across the region, including the facility at William Parker Sports College in Hastings.
Claremont Senior School opened at the former Bodiam Manor site in September 2011.
£2million was invested in the building and since the school opened, an additional £600,000 has been spent on fixtures and equipment.
A large school transport network has been developed with 14 buses bringing pupils in from locations all over East Sussex and Kent.
The senior school has created 28 new jobs, with a further 16 expected to follow over the next two years.
Claremont hopes to convert its existing sports hall into a state-of-the-art performing arts centre, to include a 250 seat theatre and recording studio.
* Claremont Senior School in Bodiam will hold an open day tomorrow (Saturday), 9.30am-1pm.
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Weather for St Leonards-on-Sea
Friday 24 May 2013
Today
Light showers
Temperature: 5 C to 9 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 6 C to 15 C
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