NEWS PLANS SUBMITTED FOR £10M STOCKTONON-TEES LEISURE CENTRE In December, plans were submitted for a £10m community hub and leisure centre in Ingleby Barwick, Stockton-on-Tees. The leisure centre includes a 25m swimming pool, learner pool plus a health club featuring a large gym and other fitness facilities. Should the plans be approved, work is expected to commence without delay with the building opening to the public in 2018. Once finished, the facility will be operated by Tees Active Leisure, which already operates a number of venues on behalf of Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council.

£11M WEST SUSSEX SPA TO FEATURE INDOOR AND OUTDOOR POOLS Country house hotel South Lodge, based in Horsham, West Sussex, will be the proud venue for a brand new £11m spa facility featuring both inddor and outdoor swimming pools, a range of spa treatment rooms and gym. Designed by Felce & Guy Architects, the spa has been designed to follow the natural contours of the hotel grounds so as to minimise its visual impact on the landscape. Construction is scheduled to complete in autumn 2018 and will be undertaken by contractor Beard.

COUNCIL CONFIRMS TEAM OF CONSULTANTS FOR £26M LEISURE CENTRE Dover District Council has finalised its team to deliver a £26m leisure centre. The Kent based authority has appointed a team of consultants to deliver the project which includes designers and surveyors Faithful+Gould, project managers Hadron Consulting, architects GT-3, engineers M-E Engineers and Engenuiti, management consultants The Sports Consultancy plus planners DHA Planning.

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British-made Remains Focus For Plastica’s 45th Anniversary 2017 is Plastica’s 45th year of trading as a UK manufacturer and distributor in the swimming pool industry. British-made pool liners, a range of covers and stainless steel reel systems remain their core business. This year, the company will also be adding UK-made swimming pool pumps to its manufacturing operations. The company, one of Britain’s leading independent providers of swimming pools and accessories, manufacturers from a 13,000 square metre factory. Located on a six acre site in St Leonards-on-Sea in East Sussex, it is home to more than 70 staff that focus on producing products of the highest quality and providing exceptional customer service. Products are created using an impressive combination of state-of-theart factory equipment and skilled staff crafting handmade parts. Their manufacturing facility produces wooden pools, a range of solar, heat retention and debris covers, reels, pool liners, Relax branded water treatments plus stainless steel and plastic items, such as ladders and pipework. The company has continuously evolved since its inception in 1972 by boyhood friends and co-founders, Edward Campbell-Salmon and Peter Adlington. The initial business manufactured winter debris covers from a rundown workroom in London. After three years they moved to larger premises in Hastings, East Sussex. Their entrepreneurial skills soon grew the business into producing heat retaining covers in 1974 after the oil crisis and pool liners during the hot summer of 1976. This was soon followed by solar covers and reel systems. Edward commented: “We have manufactured and installed well over 1,350 commercial cover and reel systems from Olympic sized competition pools to

freeform fun pools. Our customers benefit from our products having unique specification advantages as standard. This is real added value for our clients. For example, on our commercial pool covers we provide hemmed edges, double welded seams down the length of pool covers (not the width), reinforced leading edges and stainless steel reels. All resulting in less stress on the covers to prevent fraying, delamination and tearing, as well as a reduction in general wear and tear and ease of maintenance.” In 1988 they launched the Extreme™ Pool Lining System – where a reinforced 1.5mm thick material is fitted on site, making it ideal for new pools or the refurbishment of leaking concrete and tiled pools. A few years later, in 1996, they introduced Relax, a brand of water treatment goods which remain one of the market leaders (and which are also available as ‘own brand’). The business moved again in 2001, to its current premises in St Leonards-onSea, due to the need for more production space. In January 2017, Plastica acquired from the Balboa Water Group the tried and tested Argonaut and A.G. Pump range – products which were being produced in the USA and Europe. Following the acquisition, all moulding and assembly will be repatriated to the UK manufacturing plant in East Sussex as soon as possible – great news for British manufacturing. The products are purchased in over 20 countries with swimming pool and other industries, increasing worldwide sales for Plastica. The business believes in continuous investment, and over the years, has invested heavily in its manufacturing technology and IT infrastructure. After 45 years, Plastica remains very motivated and is looking forward to working with customers in 2017 and beyond. Plastica 01424 857802 www.plasticapools.net

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