Case Studies: Sport and Leisure

Lee Valley White Water Centre, London – 2012 Olympics Venue

The Lee Valley White Water Centre was a brand new development, built for the London 2012 Olympic Games, with a need to also have a legacy development after the games. Our involvement was during the planning application, where we assisted with calculations of the noise impact of construction activity (this was a significant landscaping project), as well as looking at the noise impact during use in the Olympics (PA systems, pumps, spectators and competitors), and the day-to-day use in legacy mode.

Mount Pleasant Golf Course, Bedfordshire

Mount Pleasant Golf Club is a 9-hole course in a small village in Bedfordshire. They have developed proposals to extend the course by adding in an additional 9 holes, to bring it up to an 18-hole facility. Spectrum were commissioned to assess the potential noise impact of construction noise on the local residents.

Sports Building, Rickmansworth School, Hertfordshire

Rickmansworth School constructed a new sports building that included a main sports hall, aerobics studio, gymnasium and classrooms. Spectrum assisted the designers in the development of a scheme that satisfied BB93 standards of internal ambient noise, sound insulation, and reverberation control. We conducted commissioning measurements on completion of the works.

Atherton Leisure Centre, Newham, London

A new mixed use development is being built on the site of the old Atherton swimming baths which comprises swimming pool and changing hall, crèche, gym, studio and ancillary facilities, in addition the site will include 8 new terraced dwellings. Spectrum have assisted the main contractor, Mulalley & Co with a broad range of acoustic issues, including the sound insulation between spaces, reverberation control within the pool hall and exercise spaces, prediction and control of mechanical plant noise, sound insulation design for residences to achieve 5dB better than Building Regulations requirements and BREEAM completion stage measurements.

Multiple Use Games Area (MUGA), Maltby Academy, South Yorkshire

Maltby Academy wanted to have a new all-weather sports pitch, and make it available for community use in the evenings and weekends. Spectrum were instructed to assess the potential noise impact resulting from this use, to assist in the decisions about where to position the pitch, what mitigation to incorporate and ultimately, the potential noise impact on local residents. This enables the Local Planning Authority to reach a decision on its acceptability.

Gatorade Performance Laboratory, Loughborough University

Loughborough University is a centre of excellence for Sports Science. A mezzanine specialist high performance laboratory was to be created above the main gymnasium in the run up to the London 2012 Olympics, and Spectrum were commissioned to ensure this achieved a very high acoustic standard, so as not to be affected by, or to affect, surrounding uses which included a 3d imaging suite, with fixed cameras. We provided advice on sound and vibration isolation and room finishes.

Land Rover Experience, Bedfordshire

Spectrum assisted the luxury Elite Hotel Group obtain planning permission for an off-road driving experience facility in the grounds of their 5* Luton Hoo hotel in Bedfordshire. Although the grounds are large Spectrum undertook measurements of off road vehicles and constructed a noise propagation model to demonstrate low levels of noise impact to the community.