Baca Architects have secured full planning permission for an ambitious aqua sports leisure park, hospitality venue and visitor attraction in the Blackwater Valley near Farnborough, UK. The 16-hectare site, of which 9 hectares are water, is in flood zones 2 and 3. The site is currently closed to the public. The proposal aims to enhance and restore the natural setting of the site, increasing ecological diversity whilst offering an exemplar leisure destination within the south of England. The existing fishing facilities are to be retained and enhanced with a diverse range of additional activities on site for multiple demographics.
The proposals include:
· An aquatic sports centre offering water-based activities such as kayaking, boating and a seasonal inflatable assault course alongside gym facilities and an elevated cafe. Internally, the sports will accommodate changing facilities, café plus space for indoor soft play,
· An equestrian centre, offering stabling, grazing, and schooling facilities,
· 21 Floating holiday lodges and fishing experiences for visiting guests and introduces 'eco-tourism' to the local area, and;
· Will re-instate the Blackwater Valley public footpath through the site.
The 16-hectare site consists of six man-made lakes with a large area of concrete hardstanding at its middle. This area housed a mineral extraction facility that was wrapped with a large 5-6m high earth bund to visually and acoustically screen the former industrial site. The team identified that the bund had some physical and ecological merit, and decided to work with this asset and used it to provide the boundary to the equestrian centre as well as for supporting and enabling the cantilever of the sports centre. The hard standing at the centre of the bund is to be broken out, remediated, and used as a horse-riding paddock.
The sports centre will accommodate several water sports including a seasonal water-based assault course, kayaking, paddle boarding, open water swimming and a boating lake. Other features within the main sports centre building include a café with a viewing terrace overlooking the northernmost lakes, changing facilities and a gym, plus an indoor soft play area. The BREEAM pre-assessment achieved a ‘Very Good’ rating. 21 Floating lodges are destined for the southernmost lake. The holiday lodges have their own associated parking facilities to the south of the site and will retain the existing use of the lakes as a premier fishing facility.
Working with Aspect ecology, the proposals offer the opportunity for the existing lakes and surrounding habitats to be brought into favourable conservation management in the long term. The proposals will deliver an ecological net gain of 12.45% (Habitats) and 277% (Linear Features). New diverse wetland margins and reedbeds will be introduced at 3 locations within the lakes, and the whole of the smaller central lake will be restored to create a pond and wetland area.
Proposals were developed in close consultation with both Rushmoor and Hampshire County Council, Heads of Economy and Strategic Regeneration, and Planning Team. Despite a challenging set of constraints, the scheme went through unanimously at Committee.
