What differentiatesLK2 from its competitors? LK2 comprises twocompanies,chartered architectsand sport andleisure consultancy,which gives us awide range of skills.We’ve also workedas a developer for12 years, so have avery broadunderstanding ofhow developmentworks. Having all of

these skills under one roof means we canhave really good, constructive discussionsabout our schemes and every project wework on is deliverable. We’re verypragmatic about that; we’re in the game ofdelivering successful projects.

How did LK2 get into sport and leisure?We launched the architectural practice 20years ago. Our directors originally workedfor Benoy, so we have a strong backgroundin retail, although each of us alsospecialises in different areas such asmixed use development, higher educationand residential. We set up the sports andleisure business five years ago afterdelivering the new headquarters forLincolnshire FA in Nettleham. The turnkeysolution included a new purpose-builtfacility with a spacious boardroom that

doubles as a conferencing and trainingsuite allowing for extra revenue generation.We managed the entire process from endto end; including land sourcing andproviding temporary accommodation toensure seamless integration and businesscontinuity during the span of the contract.We’re not being precious, but you do needa unique blend of skills to be able todeliver projects like these.

Which sports and leisure projects are you working on?We’re currently working with approximately15 county football associations across thecountry in a variety of ways from assettransfers, scheme appraisals and businessplanning through to delivering purpose builtheadquarters. We’re also delivering projectsin line with the Football Association,Football Foundation and Sport England. Weare now working with a number of LondonBoroughs to put their sites into communityownership to ensure a sustainable future.We have delivered a number of high profileschemes including significant parkregeneration schemes, asset transferproposals through to the full refurbishmentof Market Road, Islington for the LondonBorough of Islington Council, which hasseen a £2.5m transformation of the firstartificial grass pitches in London. We arevery excited about some of the work we’redoing with developers and asset managersto integrate sport and leisure into retail andcommercial residential schemes, particularlydeveloping large urban extensions.

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Specialising in architectureand sports and educationproject development, LK2

offers a wide range of skills under one roof. Wetalk to directors Dale Lui

and Gary Johnson.

Dale Lui

Gary Johnson

We recently worked with commercialdevelopers VBR Investments on a mixedused scheme helping to optimise thedevelopment proposal by increasing theresidential allocation, while demonstratingefficiencies in the Section 106 contributionfrom £2m to £1.2m and significantlyenhancing the sports and leisure facilitiesin the scheme, including significant grantaid to the new sports facility. The originalmaster plan consisted of significantcommercial, residential, retail andinfrastructure improvements with minimalimprovements to local sports facilities. Wehave been able to demonstrate and justifythe need for improved sports and leisurefacilities, this has resulted in a £2.2mrefurbishment of the existing site to includethree glass back squash courts, 9x9 floodlitfootball turf pitch, sports pavilionconsisting of six changing rooms andancillary facilities to meet the localcommunity needs, in line withimprovements to the existing grass pitches.

What key trends are you seeing in sports development?Gone are the days when the grant aidorganisations invested significantly in oneor two pitch sites. These days, a facilityneeds to demonstrate long termcommercial viability and this almostcertainly means taking a multi-sportsapproach. Facilities need to be able to offera wide range of sport, leisure andrecreational activity including spaces foractivities like soft play and social clubs tomake sure they are used from nine o’clockin the morning to 10 o’clock at night. Sitescan no longer stand empty during theweek; they’ve got to work 24/7.

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we’re currently working withapproximately 15 county footballassociations across the countryin a variety of ways

Are shared facilities the way forward for community sport facilities?Absolutely. Having a mix of facilities sharedby different parties helps to underpin theviability of a project, ensures sustainablebusiness planning, attracts wider usersand ensures better use of the facilities inthe long term.This is exactly how the new sports

facilities for clients Burghley HousePreservation Trust (BHPT), New CollegeStamford and Stamford AFC work.Stamford AFC were negotiating to relocateto a new, purpose built stadium, to allowBHPT to regain use of the land the existingstadium stood on, with SAFC seeing thebenefits of a new stadium. This was initiallyset to be a developer-led scheme thatwould see part of the new stadium funded by the sale of land to be used for

the new housing.We were requested by the FA and

Stamford AFC to support and advise on therelocation of the club and the concept andscope of a new stadium. We looked at theoverall football plan and it immediatelystruck us that it didn’t have a sustainablefuture. However, our scoping and feasibility studies showed that facilitieswere lacking in Stamford. New CollegeStamford in particular was delivering itsservices on a number of campus sites,which was costing them a lot of money,and its sports facilities were no longer fitfor purpose. The new facility now caters for all of the college’s sports facilities onone sport specific site, while also meeting the needs of Stamford AFC andthe wider community, ensuring asustainable future.

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Project profile: Gloucestershire FA

LK2 was instructed by GloucestershireFA to provide a full service to developand enhance the facilities at itsheadquarters in line with FA andFootball Foundation criteria. The workundertaken by LK2 alongsideGloucestershire FA enabled significantgrant aid to be sourced for a new 3Gfootball turf pitch to replace theexisting stadium grass pitch. Theproject included refurbishment of thechanging rooms, an extension toprovide external toilet provision and anew kitchen/servery to support theexisting and new facilities onsite.

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How are the needs of sports clients changing?The UK has done a good job of raising the profile of sport over the last 10 years,with the Tour de France, CommonwealthGames and the Olympics and as a result,expectations are higher than they’ve ever been. Both the public and ourcommercial clients want more from theirsports and leisure buildings, which isfantastic, but there needs to be arealisation of what is achievable.

What are the key challenges facing sports development today?Sport England is currently too far down theline in the decision-making process to haveany real and meaningful impact onprojects. If they were involved earlier, thewhole process could be quicker and muchmore efficient and would ensure sites getthe sports and leisure facilities they reallyneed. It’s something we come across timeand time again. What we really need is forall parties from developers and localauthorities to landowners and SportEngland to sit around a table at the outsetand discuss the right sports and leisurefacilities for that particular site. So manytimes developers just follow a genericformula and place token grass pitches ontheir developments, which are notnecessarily suitable for the site and canlead to issues later for whoever has tomanage these facilities. A great deal ofwork that we undertake at the moment islooking at asset transfer. Local authorities

are increasingly looking to reduce theircosts in a bid to balance the books. Onesolution is to optimise the use of openspace, playing pitches and leisure facilitieswhich may include a number of optionsincluding developing other sports sites andfacilities and providing enhanced facilitieson more appropriate sites.

Are you optimistic about the future ofcommunity sport?We are increasingly enthusiastic about theway sport and leisure is going. There’sbeen a huge change in the mindset of localauthorities when looking at their assetsand providers are considering sport on amuch wider perspective than before –they’re not just thinking about football on aSaturday afternoon. People are thinking inmore detail about what they can deliverand where. The future is positive. We’re confident

that the sports and leisure sector willcontinue to thrive in the future. With thecurrent health and wellbeing agenda, andcampaigns like Sport England’s This GirlCan and the Parklife Initiative, it’s becomingaccepted that sport and activity is key tolooking and feeling good. We’ll need morehigh quality, modern sports facilities in theright places to service this need in thefuture. At LK2 we’ve been pivotal in thedelivery of mixed use retail, commercialand leisure facilities as destinations toprovide more whole life engagement.

www.lk2.co.uk

Project profile: Stamford Sports Centre

LK2 delivered the £6m sports centreand stadium in Stamford for StamfordAFC and its partners New CollegeStamford and Burghley HousePreservation Trust (BHPT). The firmdesigned the centre and also enhancedthe project significantly throughextensive research, collaborativeworking and a smart approach tofunding. Through creating acomprehensive shared facility, LK2achieved a better provision of sportsfacilities in Stamford and ultimatelyattracted multi-million pound grant aid,with reduced long-term financial risk.

This sustainable multi-sport projectwas initially part of a developer-ledscheme, which was intended to be self-funded through the sale of land for newhousing to deliver a stand-alonefootball stadium for the relocation ofStamford AFC.

LK2 conducted detailed study to assesspotential grant aid the project couldreceive, in line with the strategic aimsand objectives of the FootballAssociation and Sport England. LK2’sanalysis highlighted local organisationswhich would benefit from improvedsports and education facilities,resulting in New College Stamfordjoining the project as a key partneralongside Stamford AFC and BHPT.

LK2 acted as an interface between thepartner organisations and the grantfunding bodies over the course of theproject, ensuring that the maximumamount of grant aid was achieved andsecuring around £3m of partnershipfunding towards the delivery of thescheme.

The new centre comprises a four-badminton court sports hall,, sportsscience facilities, three multi-functionalteaching rooms, a function room,management suites, a third generationfootball turf pitch, bistro and cookingfacilities, football kitchen prep areas,physio and meeting rooms, a full-sizegrass first team pitch and stadium, afitness suit, community grass pitches,parking and ancillary space.

The Stamford sports centre is thelargest FA single funded project outsideof National Centre at St. Georges Park.