Willmott Dixon lands £40m Sheffield leisure centre contract

Willmott Dixon has won a £40m contract to build Sheffield's new Uriah Rennie Leisure Centre, with work starting next month. The contractor beat the path to the job through the SCAPE Construction Framework, and the build is due to run until September 2028.

The council commission forms the construction slice of a £51m investment to replace Springs Leisure Centre. That means construction accounts for roughly four-fifths of the total spend, with the balance covering the wider project costs.

The scheme will rise on a two-acre site beside the existing centre, delivered in two phases. Willmott Dixon builds the new facility first, along with landscaping and access works. Once that's done, the contractor demolishes the old centre and finishes the remaining external works.

What will the new centre contain?

Watson Batty designed the replacement. The sports offering is specific:

• a six-lane, 25-metre swimming pool
• a teaching pool
• a five-court sports hall
• a four-rink indoor bowls hall

Gyms, fitness studios and a spa suite sit alongside soft play facilities, a café, health rooms and community space. The programme reads as a full-service community hub rather than a simple pool swap.

Who is the centre named after?

The centre honours Sheffield's Uriah Rennie, the first Black referee in Premier League history. Rennie died in June 2025, and the naming ties the new building to a local sporting landmark rather than a place-name or sponsor.

What does the deal mean for local jobs?

Chris Yates, Yorkshire director for Willmott Dixon, said the firm would create local employment, apprenticeships and work placements, with a focus on young people and those facing barriers to employment. That commitment lands in a city where the two-acre site sits alongside an ageing centre awaiting demolition.

The Sheffield award adds to Willmott Dixon's leisure pipeline. The firm recently handed over the £15m Eston Pool and the £34m Leighton Linslade Leisure Centre in Bedfordshire. It's also building Bransbury Park Leisure Centre in Portsmouth and Cascades Leisure Centre in Gravesham. Four live or recent leisure jobs suggest the public-sector framework route is paying off for the contractor, and Sheffield's £40m award keeps that run going into 2028.