Watford Borough Council has an aspiration that Watford should be a town in which participation in sport increases for everyone and there is a thriving and vibrant sporting infrastructure with high quality, well maintained, financially viable and environmentally sustainable sports facilities, capable of accommodating local demand. Woodside is a popular and well used leisure centre and home to Watford Harriers Athletics Club, Watford Town Cricket Club, Watford Boxing Club, Watford Sunday League and Youth Football Clubs, and Watford Indoor Bowls Club. However, despite the strong role that the site currently plays in providing sports facilities for these popular local clubs, there are a number of weaknesses with the condition of the existing buildings, how they are used and how they relate to each other. The project will seek to unite the different facilities presently operating in isolation and create a clear identity for this part of the site as an attractive, community focussed, multi-sports village.

The project will deliver: Club house facility for Watford Cricket Club with integral community hall that will be available for use by other site users and the community. Refurbishment and modernisation of the Watford Boxing Club gym. Updated and modernised changing facilities for use by the football, cricket and boxing clubs Improved parking provision to meet current and future demand: Improved security provision in and around the car park and buildings.

A sports village is focussed around the clubs in a sports centre, local organisations and the local community. Its aims are to bring the clubs together so that they jointly provide an improved sports offering. Each community sports village will be unique but there a several common principles on which they all work, namely: driving growth in participation, engaging the local community, offering a range of sporting opportunities, helping to bring all key partners/groups/people together.

Yes. Preliminary consultation has been positive. Planning permission will be sought in late-2023 once design schemes have been developed.

Watford Borough Council has undertaken a number of consultation events. In 2012 the Council commissioned an evidence based study and analysis of sport facilities in the town. Supply of and demand was looked at for a range of common sports facilities in the Borough and the consultation identified the need for cost effectively improving provision to meet local demand. In 2015 the council commissioned a stakeholder workshop to look at options for delivering Watford’s first Strategic Sports Site at Woodside North and initiated the master planning process. Since then there has been extensive consultation with key stakeholders such as Watford Town Cricket Club and Watford Amateur Boxing Club, who are based in the current depot/historic stable block complex. A masterplan was created for the site and on-going consultation with wider stakeholder groups indicated widespread support for the planned improvements. A key element of the masterplan is the improved infrastructure for the cricket club, including their pavilion and, renovation of the stable block, modernisation of the changing rooms and improvements to the boxing gym and boxing facilities.

The project will be funded from Council’s capital budget. Costs are estimated to be in the region of £6.5 - 7 million, however firm costs will be known once the detailed design is developed. There are also opportunities to attract additional grant funding which are being fully explored. Options for income generation will also be explored through course of the project.

Detailed design and planning work will be done through the remainder of 2023 with construction largely in 2024 and completion in early 2025.

The project is being delivered by Watford Borough Council with specialist support from a multi-disciplinary design team. Construction works are planned to start in early 2024 and it is anticipated that the development will be completed and the facilities opened for use in early 2025.