GUEST ARTICLE: What if school sports facilities could double as thriving community hubs?

What if school sports facilities could double as thriving community hubs? John Burns, Associate at Holmes Miller, explores that very question in this guest article…

“These days, school sports facilities are unlikely to be for the sole use of pupils. They’re normally frequented by local sports clubs and community groups too.

Most of the time, though, visitors feel a bit like trespassers into what is very much a school environment. Think of a big hall, accessed via a tricky-to-find side door then a sterile corridor, and you’ll have an idea of what I’m talking about.

That’s not the case at Trinity Academy’s new sports campus in Edinburgh. When their facilities needed replacing, City of Edinburgh Council saw an opportunity to bring physical, mental, and social benefits to the entire community.

Integrating community benefit and wellbeing into sports and leisure buildings is something we’re increasingly being asked to do as architects. More urban local authorities are looking to create ’20-minute neighbourhoods’, where it’s easier to leave the car at home, because facilities that enhance lives have been brought closer to where people actually live.

The idea for the new building, which sits separately from the school on an adjacent site, was that it would support both pupils and the surrounding community. It offers professional standard playing fields to local sports teams, as well as a four-court sports hall, gym hall, dance studio and fitness suite.

Community’s wishes

Right from the start, we listened to the community’s wishes. Direct feedback from local people helped us prioritise open, well-designed spaces, adjusting our plans to make sure their expectations were delivered. We added facilities they asked for, like a café, community learning centre, fitness suite and a workshop for the repair and storage of bikes and kayaks.

All this sounded great on paper, but the true proof of success could only come once the building opened and the impact on the school and surrounding community could actually be seen.

I recently returned to the campus to give a talk and building tour to members of the Edinburgh Architectural Association, who named the project ‘Building of the Year’ in 2023. On what was a sunny Wednesday evening, the centre was full of different groups and there was a real buzz about the place. A yoga class was busy meditating, while a group of students were playing badminton, having started up their own club. The school rugby team was training on the pitches outside and local people were working out in the fitness suite. With our little group filling the café area, it really did feel like a proper wee community.

Ongoing relationship

We have an ongoing relationship with Trinity Academy as we are now designing a new main secondary school building for them, so we’ve been able to get regular feedback. The school has always been strongly linked with rugby, but they tell us that interest in other sports has flourished since the campus opened. For example, because they now have excellent basketball facilities – something the kids told us they wanted – they have now established a school team that’s doing really well.

Their outdoor education team now has its own office facilities. A group of volunteer parents have established the ‘Bangholm Saturday Coffee Shop’ using the centre’s café facility. They serve hot breakfast and cakes to the groups and teams that use the centre on a Saturday morning, with profits going to the school. It has also become something of a social fixture, strengthening relationships between the school and community.

The existing link between the school and the local rugby club, Trinity Academicals, is now cemented in. The fitness suite at the new centre is double the size of the previous one, and focused on strength and conditioning, which is more suitable for their players. Their President tells us visiting teams are always impressed by the facilities, including the community spaces, which even have their own trophy room. The club has also hung memorabilia, such as old captain’s boards and strips, on the walls of the café. This adds a touch of character and history to the space and makes it feel like their own.

Nice place to be

Although the campus was primarily funded as a capital schools project, it is functioning as a true community leisure centre, which didn’t previously exist in the Trinity area. It’s a public building that’s fulfilling a previously unmet need, meaning local people don’t need to travel for miles to do the things they love. And while the previous downtrodden facilities were somewhere you would only visit if you really had to, the new building gives local people somewhere to call their own that is actually a nice place to be.

This project couldn’t have come about without the vision of the council, who got us involved at an early stage to speak to – and crucially listen to – the community. They took a gamble, but I am pleased to say that it has paid off. Trinity Academy Sports Campus is a facility that’s working exactly as it should. Because people enjoy being here, it is busy, thriving and therefore financially sustainable – something that’s crucial in these challenging economic times.”