New climbing and activity centre destined for Gloucestershire

Published by

Nicky Godding

Bentham Country Club between Cheltenham and Gloucester is set to be transformed into a new climbing and activity centre.

The Directors of 270 Climbing Park have revealed plans for the redevelopment of Bentham Country Club, situated between Cheltenham and Gloucester, into one of the best climbing centres in the country.

They want it to become a major attraction for the region and offer a facility for elite climbers as well as families, groups, clubs and educational establishments.

Plans include a range of indoor climbing walls, reaching to over 15 metres in places, with a large dedicated bouldering area (low-level climbing without ropes), and a dedicated Olympic standard speed climbing wall which will be one of the first in UK. The climbing centre will cater for a range of abilities from novice climbers to professional rock gym athletes, will feature a fun climbing area for children, an artificial 100 metre caving system, and also provide spaces for yoga and fitness classes and will have a licensed café area.

There will also be outdoor activities including a competition standard climbing wall (a first for the UK), an outdoor bouldering area, a via ferrata (a vertical series of ladders and obstacles to climb), plus a high ropes course and activity tower.

As part of the transformation, 270 Climbing Park will see the site reconfigured with the two existing domes replaced with one brand-new sports dome. This will house multi-activity courts and pitches, providing areas for a variety of sports and will also include an international-standard bouldering competition wall. Discussions with various local sports clubs about how best to utilise the space are ongoing. It is also hoped the site will incorporate small camping facilities and accommodation pods, offering youth and educational groups from all over the UK the opportunity for short-term stays to make the most of the amenities.

Company Director, David Stevens, saidL “As the site is within an AONB and Green Belt, we have been working carefully with the Architects to make the design as sympathetic as possible to the environment – using complimentary colours and materials in the process, planting new trees and vegetation etc. The plans also include sinking the main climbing arena two meters into the ground to reduce the visual impact of the building. We are delighted with the designs and believe they will deliver significant improvements to the site and surrounding area. The overall project will create new jobs and deliver a best-in-class facility to Gloucestershire”.

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.