WIGMORE LTC
CLUB
Wigmore LTC
PROJECT
Clubhouse Refurbishment
COMPANIES USED
Daykin Marshall Studio &
​20/20 Seven
KEY LEARNINGS
BUDGET
Get the build costs in and then budget for way more than you think. Expect the unexpected, it will happen
BUSINESS PLAN
Dedicate plenty of time to your business plan and explore loan/grant options
COMMITTEES
Designing by large committee doesn’t work, so don’t try it! Keep discussions concise.
COSTS
Be prepared for costs to increase, timeframes to expand, and unexpected obstacles to appear!
Clubhouse Renovation at Wigmore LTC
Wigmore is situated in Streatham, London and has 8 floodlit outdoor courts. We have held annual long-term planning meetings for over a decade and way back when these started we had identified that the club needed storage space, an office from which the coaches and committee members could work and a clubhouse which was fit for our increased membership size. We looked at several options and costs with architects but eventually agreed that the clubhouse’s footprint was not going to be enough space for everything we needed. We therefore set out on a journey of planned build phases to encompass our growing needs and in a timeframe that allowed us to ensure we had the money to fund the works at each stage. Our first build phase, back in 2019, was the construction of an office with storage facilities on either end for use by the club and coaches.
Phase 2 was the much-needed replacement of the clubhouse roof, with full insulation and phase 3 saw the complete renovation of the clubhouse. Last refurbished with lottery money back at the turn of the century, the clubhouse was no longer fit for purpose for the growing number of members using the club daily, as the membership had grown to over 900 people.
Photo credit: Nick Gutridge
Once the management committee had made the decision to rebuild/redesign, we wrote a solid brief and solicited bids/initial ideas from local architects. We included background information, objectives, items for consideration (safeguarding, health & safety, sustainability, energy efficiency, space, minimise disruption for membership etc), what the ‘needs’ were, timeframe and what we wanted their proposals to contain. We sent our brief out to 8 companies in May 2020, received 7 bids back and short-listed to 2 who we asked to provide more detailed drawings. One we made the decision who to work with (Daykin Marshall), the build went out to tender to ensure competitive costings. It was important to engage a builder who the architects knew and trusted and had a good working relationship with. On completion of the tender process, the contract was awarded to 2020 Seven.
"expect the unexpected, it will happen"
Once the key decisions had been made at the main management committee level, we moved onto a much smaller working group who worked with the architect and builder on the project and made the day-to-day decisions about colours/materials. This enabled decisions to be made more quickly and we were fortunate to have a couple of interior architects on our working group whose professional opinions on surfaces, finishes and colours were invaluable.
Photo credit: Nick Gutridge
We started the renovation work in January 2021 and we aimed for completion in 6 months. With London being in lockdown for the first quarter of 2021, this allowed the builders the freedom to work alone in the grounds and not have to factor in member disruption or movement around the grounds. Once we were allowed back to play tennis again, the works had to be fenced off safely. The obvious downside of not having a clubhouse was the lack of loos – we had a temporary loo brought in for members use and it was situated on the road outside the alleyway down to the club. For safeguarding, coaches now had to provide a ‘loo monitor’ for any of their classes who were desperate to go to the loo since it was away from the grounds on a public road.
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Expect the unexpected! What we hadn’t factored into our build costs was that as part of the building controls process, the London Fire Brigade insisted that we install a water sprinkler system with its own water supply.That added an unexpected £10k to our build costs. Wigmore was very grateful to Surrey Tennis for a £20,000 interest free loan over ten years that helped us keep above our minimum reserves and covered this unexpected cost.
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While not totally finished in the anticipated 6-month period, the clubhouse was usable by our members by then. Our grand re-opening party took place in September 2021 and use of the clubhouse as a place to relax and socialise after tennis has gone from strength to strength since then.
Expect the unexpected! What we hadn’t factored into our build costs was that as part of the building controls process, the London Fire Brigade insisted that we install a water sprinkler system with its own water supply. That added an unexpected £10k to our build costs. Wigmore was very grateful to Surrey Tennis for a £20,000 interest free loan over ten years that helped us keep above our minimum reserves and covered this unexpected cost.