Foundations laid at Basildon Sporting Village

Work on the piled foundations for the Basildon Sporting Village is now complete.

621 piles have now been ‘bored' using a ‘continuous flight auger' (CFA).

CFA's use a system that corkscrews the land spoil out of the ground and above the surface.  These 621 holes will then be filled with concrete to the surface.  Concrete pads are then formed to give the bases that the steelwork for the building will be erected on.

Cllr Kevin Blake, cabinet member for leisure and the arts, says: "The developer Morgan Ashurst has made outstanding progress on the construction, and have completed the foundations well ahead of schedule.

The next major stage of work once the foundation bases are completed in the New Year will be the erection of the steelwork when the building will really start to take shape."

Cllr Stephen Castle, Essex County Council Cabinet Member for Education and the 2012 Games, says:  "The progress on site is excellent and exciting to see.  Despite the weather, the developer has managed to work efficiently.  I look forward to seeing the building take shape in the New Year."

The Basildon Sporting Village will open in April 2011 and will be the best public sports facility in Essex.  It will offer resident's from Basildon and across the county a 50 metre swimming pool able to split into two 25m pools, teaching pool, regional gymnastics centre, 8 court sports hall, fitness suite, crèche and cafe, climbing wall, floodlit five a side football pitches and a new athletics grandstand for 750 spectators.

Work at the site will stop for the Christmas period, from midday on the 24^th December, with work recommencing on Monday 4^th January.