Kent College Pembury Swimming Pool

Secured via competitive two-stage tendering, Baxall won the contract to demolish the existing, decommissioned indoor swimming pool for long-term client, Kent College Pembury, and create a new 6-lane, 25m replacement indoor swimming pool on campus with 2 changing rooms and pool transition area with WC and showers.

Adopting a Pre-Construction Services Agreement (PCSA) enabled Baxall to develop and maintain collaborative working relationships from the outset with the client team, design team and wider supply chain.
Early engagement also gave Baxall’s in-house Design Managers the opportunity to refine the initial designs. By re-designing the scheme and incorporating best value solutions across all stages, the team successfully reworked the entire pool design to ensure it fully met the client’s budgetary constraints. Baxall’s Pre-Construction team re-submitted the revised design (which was accepted by planning) and further developed this during the PCSA.

With construction activities taking place within the grounds of the live/occupied day and boarding school, safeguarding pupils, staff and visitors remained of primary importance from the project’s start to finish. Timber site hoarding on the school’s side alongside Heras fencing safely segregated the school from construction activities while all site deliveries were strictly controlled to avoid busy drop off and collection times. The team also implemented a robust traffic management plan with identified control measures with clear signage on gates and precise delivery instructions for the supply chain.

Working within a live/occupied educational environment meant coordination and communication with the school was key to the project’s smooth and on time handover. To achieve this, Baxall’s delivery team maintained close and collaborative stakeholder engagement throughout via regular Client Engagement Meetings (CEMs) meetings which included the school’s bursar, school’s site manager, a school governor and the project’s swimming pool consultant. Baxall also liaised closely with neighbouring Kent College Prep school and hosted assemblies in addition to creating a temporary walkway to maintain a safe link for the Prep School through to the main school to utilise the dining hall and additional facilities.

Work commenced on site with demolition of the existing timber swimming pool enclosure. It was estimated that this would have uniform walls and base but once excavations started the team discovered the walls and base were of irregular width (including one wall 3.5m thick), so the formation level was considerably lower than expected.

The original build methodology from the first design was for two separate structures: one for the pool building and surround slab; the other was the pool tank itself with movement joints between. To simplify construction, speed up the build and maximise cost savings for the client, Baxall designed and built a monolithic structure whereby the tank base and walls supported the surround slab, and the perimeter walls were supported on their own foundations.

Meanwhile the original design for the perimeter walls was for isolated concrete columns to support the steel portal frame, with brick and blockwork infill. By modifying the design to be in situ reinforced concrete throughout (which meant less trades on site and more predictable build sequencing), the Baxall team mitigated the risks involved in constructing the brick and block during the cold wet months, thus maximising the programme and further reducing cost.

A steel framing system with a single ply roof was used to construct the new pool building while the internal partitions were a combination of blockwork and metal stud. The external façade was a thermally treated, zero maintenance wood product; while the timber cladding was a brighter colour when installed it will eventually turn to a grey/silver over time to harmonise with the Equitone profile concrete-based cladding board.

To enhance the project’s sustainability credentials the team installed LED lights and an Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) to run the hot water to the changing room showers and mitigate the overall operational carbon footprint.

Baxall proudly handed over the new swimming pool to the delighted client on time and with zero defects, having achieved excellent Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS) scores (45 out of 50). Meanwhile Baxall’s innovative value engineering throughout the PCSA stage also ensured the team maximised cost savings for the client and delivered the project within the school’s tight timescale.