Talking Investment: ‘Forging the balance between work and leisure through sporting investment’

For almost 30 years, Matthew Montague Architects has been designing buildings for a range of clients – and for various purposes. In recent years, it has been involved in a number of projects which all share a common theme – sport. Here, in his own words, Matthew Montague, principal architect at Matthew Montague Architects, explains the importance of ongoing investment in sporting infrastructure.

 We are watching with great interest a series of exciting on-going and future construction projects in Derby creating thousands of new apartments, a first-class hotel, cultural centre and high-grade offices.

And the recent announcement that Great British Railways is to locate its new headquarters in Becketwell is a fantastic boost to our economy.

With the inevitable influx of new residents and visitors there is a strong emphasis on health and well-being to compliment living and working in and around the city.

As architects, we tend to be drawn to the buildings that make a visual statement: a striking cultural venue, an ambitious city centre development or a beautifully crafted home.

Over recent years it is a mixture of new large sporting infrastructure and some of the quieter interventions across Derby and the surrounding area which are enhancing health and wellbeing while providing valuable investment in the construction sector as the larger commercial developments gain teeth.

These investments are significant. The £42 million Moorways Sports Village opened in 2022 to great success, while the £11.9 million Racecourse Hub has strengthened provision for grassroots football and community recreation – packed pitches on the weekends illustrate how much this is utilised.

Our practice will shortly submit a planning application for a new five-lane covered outdoor cricket facility and associated Padel courts at Derbyshire County Cricket Club’s Our Coop County Ground, directly adjacent to the racecourse.

This will serve the surrounding community and will be closely associated to the football hub.

At Repton School we are in the middle of bringing forward new facilities, including two all-weather football pitches, covered Padel courts and a pavilion for the benefit of pupils and the wider sporting community.

Padel as a ‘sport for all ages’ is exploding with venues already completed at Pride Park, Derbion, Mickleover, and Duffield.

The influx of investment from the sale of The Hundred Cricket franchise has led to the ECB and Derbyshire Cricket Foundation investing heavily in grass roots cricket over the next few years.

And the growth of women’s and girls’ cricket has created a series of development opportunities for local clubs to create a more welcoming environment for increasingly diverse memberships.

New grants available have promoted recent planning applications for pavilion extension and improvements at outlying clubs, including Brailsford and Ednaston, Clifton, Duffield, Quarndon, with further opportunities currently being explored at Belper, Darley Abbey, Chellaston, Elvaston, Etwall, Hilton, Ockbrook, Rosehill and Spondon.

All of these reflect the need to continue to invest in and adapt existing established sporting facilities to promote equality, health and wellbeing.

It is refreshing to be involved in projects where the connection between a construction brief and a positive social outcome feels so direct.

Conversations about space, access and facilities become conversations about who can take part, how a club can grow and what will make people feel that they belong.

The smaller of these projects may attract little architectural attention. Budgets are often tight, sites constrained and ambitions dependent on volunteers, fundraising and carefully assembled grants.

That makes thoughtful design especially valuable: every decision must earn its place.

For me, the satisfaction lies in seeing these facilities mature and become fully utilised, contributing to the vibrancy of the city and surrounding area, and in particular creating a welcoming environment for young people to become involved and invest in their sporting communities.

This ongoing investment in sporting infrastructure all serves to pave the way to support the exciting opportunities our city will provide as it develops into the middle of the 21st century.