WORK has started on-site at a Hereford college which is building a new gym to keep up with growing student numbers.
Hereford Sixth Form College, in Folly Lane, currently has more than 2,000 students on roll, but it said in a planning application for the new building that this number was expected to grow.
An artist's impression of the new gym
The new building, which will be called Thornbury, in line with the college's tradition of naming buildings after Herefordshire locations, is being built to improve the sport offering at the college.
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A design and access statement submitted with the 2018 approved bid for outline planning permission said the new three-storey sports pavilion would create an improved dance studio to enable more students to be taught together than is currently provided.
It would also create improved changing rooms and a gym for more students and staff to use.
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The plan also wouldn't decrease existing on-site car parking provision or directly lead to an increase in student numbers, but this was expected due to Herefordshire's demographic projections.
William Powell and Son contractors have started building work
The new building should also provide a high-quality environment that is flexible and able to meet the evolving learning needs of the college, which is among the top-achieving sixth forms in the country.
The document also said the building would continue the high-quality redevelopment of the Folly Lane college campus, and provide an enhancement to the character and appearance of the Aylestone Hill Conservation Area.
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Now, with building work underway, the college said contractor William Powell and Sons is making great progress, with the internal layout now taking shape.
It also said it was pleased to partner with commercial gym equipment supplier Dyaco UK which will provide a complete gym package for the spacious ground floor fitness studio to cater to all students, including those in sports academies and elite athletes.
"The new fitness studio will house a range of state-of-the-art bespoke fitness equipment, including lifting platforms, a functional indoor track, fixed weight machines and HIIT conditioning equipment," the college said.
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