Works start on new boathouse with restaurant and new water sports facilities at Sutton reservoir

Approved for planning by Ashfield Council in February, works have now started on the new extended car park to accommodate the new boathouse building.

The construction of the new building is due to start in late summer, with the demolition of the former sailing club taking place later this year.

As well as the restaurant and function space on the first floor, the boathouse building will provide modern, accessible changing facilities for water sports and a meeting/training room on the ground floor.

These facilities will support activities including sailing, paddle boarding, kayaking, and open water swimming and will allow more residents and visitors to Kings Mill Reservoir the opportunity to access water sports.

The East Midlands-based construction team has been announced as Lindum Group as main contractor, Influence Landscape Planning and Design as landscape architect, BSP Consulting as civil and structural engineer, Gleeds as project management and quantity surveyor, and Player Roberts Bell Architects.

The scheme is part of the council’s £62.6 million Towns Fund project.

Since submitting the initial planning application, the council has been undertaking surveys and site investigations, including bat surveys, to ensure wildlife is protected and habitats are enhanced by the new facility. The new building will include new bat roosts.

Coun Samantha Deakin, council executive lead for parks and environmental services, said: “The plans for King’s Mill Reservoir are extremely exciting.

“We can’t wait to be able to open up the offer of a variety of great new activities to visitors.

“The location of the new restaurant offering will be a fantastic addition to the reservoir and will bring in even more visitors to Ashfield.

“I want to reassure residents the demolition and construction phases of this project will be done sensitively to ensure none of the resident wildlife will be disturbed.”

Coun Matthew Relf, council executive lead for growth, regeneration and local planning, said “This is another milestone for our plans to make Mill Waters one of the top tourist destinations in the East Midlands.

“We want to hear from clubs or individuals keen to get involved in developing and running water sports activities at the reservoir. Please get in touch with the team if you are interested.”

Newark-based Influence Landscape Planning and Design is the landscape architect on the project. As part of the planning application, Influence provided visual appraisal and comprehensive landscape design to complement the new building.

Kathryn Dunk, Influence principal landscape architect, said: “King’s Mill Reservoir is a special place where nature and visitors flock. It’s a place for being close to nature, enjoying the surroundings and experiencing myriad water sports on offer.

“I’m pleased progress is being made to create the new leisure building which will sit alongside the water sports facilities and provide a place to dine and relax.

“Naturally, landscape plays a key part here and we have created designs that respond to the specific character of the reserve, with a naturalistic planting palette of grasses and wildflowers and native downy birch trees reaching across the site to the water’s edge.”

As well as the structural design of the new building, Nottingham-based BSP Consulting’s role includes drainage design, featuring permeable car parking based on sustainable drainage systems.

Tony Goddard, BSP Consulting director, said: “Given the sensitive water environment of the reservoir, we were keen to provide a sustainable drainage system which improves water quality, controls the flow of water into the reservoir and minimises pollution.

“As a company, BSP is pleased to be part of the team delivering this scheme at King’s Mill Reservoir which will provide modern, accessible changing and storage facilities for water sports, along with a multi-purpose social space on the ground floor, with a dedicated restaurant on the first floor.”

Mark Robertson, Lindum Construction manager, said: “We are looking forward to getting started on this project, which will result in a superb leisure attraction for local people. The restaurant will be in a fantastic location with views of the water.“We have a strong pipeline of local subcontractors who will be working on this scheme with us so the council’s investment will continue to circulate within the economy.

“It is good to be working with Ashfield District Council again. Lindum has a delivered several housing schemes for the authority over the past three years and we’ve developed a strong relationship, based on openness, trust and successful delivery of projects.”

The new leisure facilities will complement the expansion of the existing onsite adventure centre, The Mill Adventure Base, to include outdoor activities which will be operational later this year.

The works are due for completion in summer 2024.