Crown Sports Lockers’ quality installation has successfully upgraded the changing areas at the University of the West of England’s Centre for Sport.
The old lockers were installed 10 years ago, when the centre opened. They had begun to show their age, with missing doors and sharp edges that created potential health and safety concerns.
The UWE is south-west England’s largest education provider, with 10,000 students – more than 4,000 of whom are in student accommodation at the Frenchay Campus, north of Bristol.
Operations Manager for estates and facilities at the centre for the past 15 months, Laurence Gully, 30, realised the demands of the large site. Squash, hockey and indoor sports are hosted in the double sports hall, with many of the 50 student sports teams using the facility for competitions and training. In addition, the centre has a high-tech gym and a strength and conditioning hub.
The process of enhancing the locker area began two years ago, as part of the centre’s larger branding plan.
Laurence used feedback from customers to ensure the new provision met members’ expectations and needs. He contacted a number of suppliers for quotes but bespoke furniture manufacturer, Crown Sports Lockers, was the obvious choice.
Confirmed a year ago, the scheme benefited from the fact that Crown thought ahead – ensuring all the new lockers accepted both new and old pound coins, as UWE preferred traditional coin locking systems rather than digital alternatives. This proved to be an invaluable foresight, as there’s no need to convert the locks when the old pound coins become obsolete later this year.
Both male and female changing rooms were refurbished; with 45 two-tier lockers, solid oak timber slat seats with stainless steel legs and non-slip, hardwearing vinyl flooring. The installation of the male and female facilities took only 10 days out of the overall six-week project.
