The former military site at Princess Royal Barracks, located in Deepcut, Surrey, has been transformed into a community village, creating homes for over 2,800 residents, through a partnership between the Defence Infrastructure Organisation and Skanska.

To support the growing community at Mindenhurst, Modulek has successfully designed and delivered a new permanent modular sports pavilion as part of this significant regeneration project. The Pavilion is part of the Sports Hub, which features a range of high-quality public amenities, including:

• A Multi-Use Game Area (MUGA), also marked as a basketball court, with floodlights.
• A Neighbourhood equipped area for Play (NEAP) / Local Equipped Area of Play (LEAP) – play areas for children of all ages.
• Four Tennis Courts, two of which have been marked for use a netball courts.
• Car Park with 68 parking facilities, including 12 spaces equipped with EV charging points.
• Cycle Parking for 20 bicycles.
• Dual use Pitch for Cricket & Football, with two practise cricket nets with artificial wickets.
• Two Junior sized football pitches.
• An Adult Gym.

The new single-storey building provides approximately 800m2 of total area below the canopy and 421m2 useable internal area of high-quality sports and community accommodation. This includes modern changing rooms, washroom facilities and a spacious social and function area, creating a focal point for the new residential community.

Modulek was appointed by Skanska, through a competitive design-and-build procurement process. Working to an existing architectural design and a highly constrained programme, Modulek worked in close collaboration with Skanska teams in moving this project towards the final phases of this significant regeneration project.

The project demonstrates how permanent modular construction can provide a high-quality, cost-effective alternative to traditional building methods, delivering programme certainty without compromising architectural quality.

One of the defining features of the pavilion is its striking external appearance. Maintenance-free Rockpanel wood-effect cladding and innovative roof overhangs create a contemporary building that challenges traditional perceptions of modular construction, achieving an aesthetic fully aligned with the aspirations of the client and the wider development.

Construction was undertaken within a challenging site environment on the edge of a sports pitch, with no permanent site services available. A temporary access road was created to facilitate deliveries, while a 150-tonne crane was used to install the building’s eleven factory-manufactured modules.

To speed up installation, the main canopy sections were formed as part of the modular structure, achieving cantilevered overhangs of up to 5 metres.

Sustainability was a key focus throughout the project from, concept to completion. The building, which is on course for a BREEAM Very Good rating, incorporates extensive rooftop solar photovoltaic panels. Environmental performance was carefully monitored throughout construction, including recording on-site water usage and contractor travel distances to minimise the project’s overall carbon footprint.

Stephen Pester, Commercial Director at Modulek, commented: “This project perfectly demonstrates the benefits of modern modular construction when programme certainty, quality and architectural design are equally important.

Being appointed at a critical stage of the project presented our team with an exciting challenge. Working closely with Skanska, we were able to deliver a permanent building that not only met an extremely demanding programme but also achieved the high-quality finish and sustainability standards expected of such an important community facility that will be transferred to Surrey Heath Borough Council as part of the Section 106 Planning Obligations

We are incredibly proud of what the entire team achieved and of the collaborative relationship developed with Skanska throughout the project.”

Toby Hunt, Commercial Manager, Skanska UK commented: “Despite the early set back of losing their original modular sub-contractor, Modulek acted quickly to ensure a replacement was appointed.  Skanska were pleased with the proactive can-do attitude displayed by the Modulek team, as well as the efforts taken to keep the costs within the original agreed budget.

The Modulek design team embraced new challenges to deliver a BREEAM Very Good rated building, and their site team and supply chain’s hard work created a smart and well finished modular sports pavilion’’

The completed pavilion represents the final stage of the Deepcut Barracks regeneration programme, providing a modern community sports facility that will serve residents for many years while showcasing the capabilities of high-quality offsite construction.

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