A project that will create an eco-friendly all-year all-weather, sport, leisure and tourist attraction in the wider Peak District has been shortlisted for two awards.

The £10 million Central Area Leisure Centre scheme, which is being built by Morgan Sindall, has been recognised under the best conceptual design and most sustainable remediation project categories for the Brownfield Briefing Remediation Innovation Awards 2010, due to be held next month.

The nominations credit the achievements of the project team working to deliver the two-storey leisure centre complete with an eight-lane swimming pool for Derbyshire Dales District Council. The team comprises the District Council, Morgan Sindall, engineering consultancy Cundall Geotechnical and project managers Drivers Jonas Deloitte.

"We are delighted this project has been shortlisted for an award which recognises the team’s innovative approach," said Lee Dobb, Morgan Sindall Project Manager. "The new centre is being constructed on a sloped former landfill site so the remediation design and careful construction work is crucial. We are committed to reducing the carbon footprint of all our projects and continue to work with the rest of the project team to deliver a sustainable state-of-the-art facility which will revitalise the local community."

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Dr Yalcin Irfan, Cundall Geotechnical’s Project Director, added: "The engineering of old sloping landfills present significant geotechnical challenges, not only arising from inherent contamination present in the refuse but in characterising the very variable landfill materials in the laboratory or en masse, as well as in the application of traditional soils, mechanics and foundation design methods of analyses."

The completed 2,500m² centre will accommodate a swimming pool with moveable floor and spectator seating to meet county and regional level competition requirements, a fitness suite and a multi-functional sports hall. The main hall will be suitable for county standard badminton courts, plus facilities for indoor hockey, basketball, volleyball, five-a-side football, netball, gymnastics and cricket.

A second hall will include space for aerobics, dance, fitness classes, martial arts, functions and events, table tennis and yoga.

Externally three existing sports pitches are being remediated and substantial ecological corridors are being carefully protected and maintained to each side of the new centre.

The sixth Remediation Innovation Awards 2010 will take place on Tuesday, 5 October in London and will honour the best practice in the remediation sector in the UK.

(CD)