Five Acres leisure hub tops out with £3.8m of work complete, Pick Everard says

Forest of Dean District Council, lead contractor Willmott Dixon and consultant Pick Everard have held a topping-out ceremony at the Five Acres leisure and community hub, Pick Everard announced on 23 October 2026, with more than £3.8m of construction work completed on site.

Pick Everard, which said it is supporting the council and Willmott Dixon with consultancy services on the project, reported that the main building superstructure, upper floor decks and roof parapets are finished. Construction started earlier in 2026 and phase one is progressing, the firm said.

The scheme is being delivered through the Levelling Up the Forest programme.

Peter Woods, Director of Cost Management at Pick Everard, said: "It’s great to see Five Acres reach this next milestone."

The funding

The project sits within a £20m Levelling Up Fund capital grant that the council said it secured after submitting a bid of three interrelated projects in June 2021. According to the council, the Five Acres proposal was costed at £9.12m within that bid, £10m went to the Hartpury University learning centre and £880,000 was largely invested in Cinderford town centre.

Levelling Up Fund allocation	Value
Hartpury University learning centre	£10m
Five Acres leisure and community hub	£9.12m
Cinderford town centre	£880,000

The council also said a £200,000 application to the Government's Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) was successful. Pick Everard said the decarbonisation measures include air source heat pumps and solar panels.

Cost review and re-procurement

The council bought the Five Acres site from Homes England for £1 on 17 December 2021, according to its project page, and the initial planning application was approved on 13 February 2024. The planning references are P1435/23/FUL and P0087/25/FUL.

In July 2025 the council announced that Willmott Dixon had been chosen as the new design and build contractor to continue work on the site. The council said rising costs had prompted a project review to ensure the redevelopment could proceed.

The timetable moved as a result. In March 2025 the council expected construction of the leisure facility to follow in February 2026. On 2 April 2026 it said contracts had been finalised with Willmott Dixon and that site set-up and construction were intended to begin on 27 April 2026.

Cllr Adrian Birch, Leader of Forest of Dean District Council, said: "Reaching this milestone is an important moment and demonstrates the progress being made on site."

What is being built

Phase one includes soft play, party rooms, power-assisted exercise rooms, group exercise space, a 53-station gym and a café, according to Pick Everard. The council's March 2025 revised plans had referred to a 60-station gym; its July 2025 release and later council and Pick Everard pages give 53 stations.

The finished facility will also house an outreach base for Hartpury University's Aspiration Centre, Pick Everard said.

Phase two will deliver a 3G artificial pitch suitable for rugby and football, according to the council's project page, which says the council will partner with adjacent landowner West Dean Parish Council and the Football Foundation. The council's April 2026 release described the pitch as following a successful funding bid to the Football Association in January 2025, while Pick Everard's May 2026 piece and the council's project page name the Football Foundation. Pick Everard said the wider development will include a floodlit pitch and spectator facilities.

Richard David, Director at Willmott Dixon, said the topping out of the leisure centre and community hub was an important construction milestone for the contractor.

Pick Everard said work on phase one continues towards completion, with £3.8m of the construction spend now delivered on site.