Rushden Lakes is one of the UK’s largest out-of-town schemes of its kind, situated alongside spectacular lakes at the heart of Nene Valley and sitting within 200 acres of SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest).

Following on from the successful first delivery phase, we worked closely with main contractor Winvic and developers LXB Retail Properties to provide civil and structural engineering services for the second phase of the development at Rushden Lakes.

This second phase of development completed in 2019, featuring a 14-screen multiplex Cineworld cinema, additional high-quality restaurants and exciting leisure activities and additional parking spaces.

The 28m-high cinema block contains an IMAX providing 4DX experience along with 13 other standard cinema screens all housed at first floor level. The ground floor houses the main entrance lobby and leisure outlets including an indoor climbing zone, and is attached to the 120m long, two-storey restaurant and leisure terrace with overlooking views of the adjacent lakes.

Steel frames were mainly used for all phases at Rushden Lakes, with 2,200 tonnes being supported on piled foundations. The cinema block is a large braced box stabilised with cross-bracing and the restaurants consist of portal frames. Having 14 cinema screens sitting above other facilities also led to the inclusion of steelwork including isolation pads to stop noise permeating down into the leisure zones.

The team worked in close consultation with Natural England and The Wildlife Trust to enhance the natural landscape. The scheme is led by sustainability principles which is also reflected on the complex drainage design which has been produced to incorporate SuDS features.