Lomond School Sports Hall

The Hall as a building is original and innovative in style, and has been constructed to accommodate an extensive range of uses and to cater to different kinds of users. To the west the building has large overhang to check direct light and to provide a weatherproof viewing platform from the upper floor. The north side has ample natural light without glare and a view of the hills above. Natural materials (Siberian larch and local stone) have been used on all the elevations to complement the green environment of the area around. A curved roof design is used to minimise the impact of the mass of a large building against a wooded background.

Sports like badminton, cricket, netball, and tennis, but also more static use such as rowing and running machines, are provided for and are already used. More unusually, there are also rooms for teaching and dance practice, and ample changing rooms. The layout is flexible within the main hall to be able to change format from badminton to tennis to cricket and other sports.

There is a good link of the building to its site, with the school’s Astroturf pitches for hockey and football alongside. Adjacent are the Helensburgh rugby and cricket grounds and pavilions, making a rounded major sport complex for the town.

Summary
The Lomond School Sports Complex is seen as a very important venture, particularly for a school with a great emphasis on healthy activities. The Hall was opened at the beginning of the school year 2009-10. This nomination is based on the development’s design, and its functions within the town’s social and economic setting.

Architect: Colin McNeish, Archial

Location in Argyll’s only Green Belt means that careful planning of the surrounding area has been done by cooperation with the local Green Belt group, leaving the building well back from the road, and shortly to be enclosed to the sides by hedge and tree planting, to complement the backdrop of trees behind the Hall. There is no attempt to link the building to others around it in the town. It is to be seen as an element on its own, set against a green background.

Within Helensburgh, a residential town with an important education sector, this is a major contribution. Within school hours, Lomond School invites other neighbour schools to events; Outside these hours, in the evenings and weekends, the school receives various private sports clubs to make use of it with a policy of openness which increases its value. These contacts, which are increasing with the passage of time since the opening, are detailed in the supporting letter which is written by the Head of the School. Other details on design and access to the building are freely available through the school directly.

The new Lomond School Sports Hall has been operational since August 2009 and has made a significant impact in the local community since that time. It is likely that this will continue to grow still further in the future as arrangements are refined and needs identified.

The prime purpose of the Sports Hall is to provide undercover facilities for the pupils of Lomond School who undertake a vigorous and widely based PE and Games programme. In addition the school maintains a very outward facing involvement with the local community, encouraging widespread use of the Sports Hall in the evening, at weekends and via our joint initiatives with local schools.

Currently the local sports clubs who are making weekly use of the new Sports Hall include the Helensburgh Rugby Club, Helensburgh Cricket Club, G84 Netball Club (Helensburgh and Dumbarton Netball Club), Helensburgh Netball Club, Loch Lomond Hockey Club and Helensburgh Hockey Club. There are football sessions with the Ardencaple Football Club at varying times also. These sessions involve both young people of both sexes and adult users. We maintain close links with the Development Officers of Rugby and Netball in particular and offer our facility to assist with local coaching days. The groups use the main sports hall, fitness room, changing rooms and classroom areas for these regular sessions. We have had recent approaches from the Helensburgh Scouts and Helensburgh Badminton Club to use the Sports Hall who we are sympathetic to and will be working with to see if we can find a space in the diary for.

Within normal school time Lomond School is involved with 6 out of 8 of the local primary schools offering shared PE sessions on a Friday afternoon on a rotation basis. This involves use of the climbing wall, trampolining, basketball, netball and a variety of other pursuits. The pupils mix together and we will be offering a number of tournaments for the area. The inter-school Netball Tournament will be held in the Sports Hall next year for example and we hope to offer short tennis and athletics events on a friendly basis with our local junior schools. As a school we are working with the local Active Schools Co-ordinator for Argyll and Bute to help maximise these opportunities for young people in the Helensburgh and Lomond area.

We are currently in discussions with Helensburgh and Lomond Highland Games Association to offer parking and other involvement for the Highland Games in the summer. There are additional events that we will assist with as the opportunity arises.

In summary there is a broad based community use already and we are committed to remaining so with an openness to any activities that are not conflicting with school use. Those using teh Sports Hall to date have been very pleased with its facilities and operation and we are all enjoying this shared contact which is mutually enhancing.