clip ‘n climb, Hotel & Leisure Architecture Portfolio

Ipswich

Indoor Climbing Centre

Clip N Climb is an international franchise which operates ‘fun climbing centres’ aimed at young people aged from 5 years to late teens thereby providing family leisure activity as well as an introduction to climbing as a sport.

The brand usually operates from existing warehouses but as none was available in the Ipswich area the franchisee commissioned a new building which not only provides an ideal facility for climbing activities but also satisfies all the institutional funding requirements for warehousing.

The building is fitted out as a Climbing Hall with colourful specialist climbing apparatus fitted with safety harnesses clipped onto inertia reels providing a soft landing if a climber slips (hence ‘Clip N Climb’). As well as the Climbing Hall there are training facilities, a gaming arcade and a Paddy & Scott’s coffee/bistro.

The Clip N Climb centre opened in July 2019 and has proved to be a great success with the public. Local schools and other organisations also enjoy the facilities and are given concessionary rates.

Clip N Climb operates over 60 centres in the United Kingdom and the Ipswich centre is the largest in Europe.

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Employer:
Maro Developments Limited, Clip N Climb Ipswich Limited and Brooks & Wood
Project:
Erection of a Warehouse Building fitted out as an Indoor Climbing Centre
Capital Value:
Warehouse £1.5m, Fitting-out £1.3m
Contract:
JCT Design and Build Contract 2016
Contractor:
Brooks & Wood Limited
Completed:
June 2019
Consultants:
Project Management – Castons Surveyors, Structural Engineers – Hayden Evans, M&E Engineers – JSH Consulting Engineers, CDM – CCAS

We were initially appointed by the developers of Ransomes Europark, Maro Developments Limited, to obtain planning permission for the warehouse as a climbing centre following which we developed the design for the fitting-out as a direct appointment with Clip N Climb Ipswich Limited. The scheme was tendered and once a contractor had been appointed, we acted for Brooks & Wood for the technical design and on-site works.

In practice this complicated route for delivery worked well with overall project management provided by Castons Surveyors