DOUGLAS CONTROLS GO ACTIVE ON THE TYNE

Located on the fringes of Newcastle alongside the River Tyne, within the Tyne Countryside Park, Newburn Activity Centre boasts a wide choice of indoor and outdoor sporting facilities catering for all ages and the disabled.

Run as a partnership between the City of Newcastle and charity Newburn Riverside Recreation Association (NRRA), the centre has undergone a comprehensive £2.5 million upgrade.

As well as providing new sports facilities including changing rooms, keep fit areas and indoor climbing wall, significant extensions were made and existing buildings refurbished.

Project consulting engineering firm was Stenhouse & Partners and plumbing contractor was Vaughan Mechanical. Both are Newcastle based.

Need

High on the project's agenda was the need to deliver effective water control, and achieve higher levels of water savings for the new changing rooms and shower facilities. Fifty-four new showers were installed.

With the activity centre's increased local usage, water control, energy savings and security were key factors. As were accessibility and safe, simple operation - the facilities are used by all sectors of the community including the many disabled groups, which enjoy sports at the leisure centre.

Robust design with low maintenance were crucial aspects too. Jim Lambert, NRRA trustee: "Serving the immediate community, we have a huge number of people using our sporting facilities. There's a lot of educational use too - so the shower facilities have to be robust, high quality and low maintenance."

As part of the refit and extension work, old water tanks were replaced allowing new showering facilities on the upper floors.

Solution

Douglas Controls' TM28 Group thermostatic mixing valves, with anti-scald feature, were specified for each of three banks of showers in public change areas.

Each bank features six of the company's Sporting Shower Panels with scale-resistant nozzle jet shower head and regulated flow rate at 8 Litre per min. Timing is pre-set at 30 seconds nominal.

In the official changing area, a Hydromix Combi anti-scald TMV provides precise temperature control of blended water supply to a single Sporting Shower Panel.

A prefabricated second fix item, it fits on a finished tile surface with just three concealed fixings, reducing wall sealing requirements. Integral vandal-resistant head provides robust solution. Top entry connections simplify installation, reduce pipe run lengths.

Water savings of up to 60%, and associated energy savings, are achieved by the combination of time flow operation and preset flow rate at 8 lpm.

Push time flow operation offers simple control to all users, including children and people with disability enjoying sports at the activity centre.

The Sporting Shower Panel's brushed aluminium finish offers an easy clean solution. The integral nozzle jet reduces any scale build up.

In addition, Avance Elite thermostatic shower valves and fixed shower heads were installed in the upper ladies changing area.

Alan Howey, mechanical partner at consulting engineering firm Stenhouse & Partners, who specified the Douglas Controls products:

"With many special needs people using our facilities, safety is paramount and this has been achieved by the anti-scald devices installed.

"Aesthetics is a crucial factor, particularly for the new gym for women. The Sporting Shower Panels feature stylish, modern design and look good in situ. Thermomix Shower Valves were also selected for their aesthetic attributes. They gave a prestigious feel to the fittings, complementing the overall décor."

Michael Irvine, the activity centre's site manager, re-iterates the need for quality shower fittings, saying the new changing rooms have been a big hit:

"Female users have been especially pleased with the style and efficiency of the new showering facilities. Higher levels of water efficiency have been achieved too."

Douglas Controls' Sporting Shower Panel

• Neat and stylish (in chrome and brushed aluminium finishes), combining performance and durability.
• Enables health, fitness and educational establishments to achieve valuable water savings - up to 60%.

Also appropriate for domestic shower rooms, but requiring 1 bar min pressure, the product is:

• Easy to install and clean
• Vandal-resistant.
• Prefabricated. It's a true second fix item requiring just three wall fixings.
• Simple to install - wall sealing requirements are reduced.
• Low maintenance - nozzle jet showerhead reduces scale build-up, serviceable cartridge.

The unit is always used with a TMV to provide a safe water temperature and prevent scalding.