Fairwater Community Campus' Health & Wellbeing Block Successful Handover

Nine months after Borley Engineering Services Limited (BESL) stepped in as Interim Principal Contractor, we have now successfully handed over the first Phase of Fairwater Community Campus, with the Health & Wellbeing Block, named Copa (Welsh translation for ‘summit’) now operational.

Despite initial concerns that there would be significant delays to the project following the collapse of ISG last year (the original Principal Contractor), BESL and the supply chain handed over the building to our client, Cardiff Council, on August 26^th, 2025 – in time for the new academic year.

The 2,110 sqft Health & Wellbeing Hub is now open to pupils and in the future will be available to the public for hire. It boasts a range of state-of-the-art sporting facilities, including:

• Full-sized multi-use sports hall

• Full-sized artificial 3G pitch

• 2 x half-sized artificial pitches

• 4 x MUGA courts

• Professional dance & activity studio

• Professional sports grade gymnasium

• 6 x sports changing rooms

• 6 x student W/C

• 6 x staff / accessible W/C & a changing places facility

• 2 x food-tech rooms

• 28ft climbing wall

• 2 x P.E classrooms

• Health & Social Care classroom

• Staff breakout room & a staff office

• Reception Office

The handover marks a huge milestone in this unique project for the city of Cardiff, setting the standard in what will become the largest educational facility in Wales.

BESL (CMB Engineering’s parent company) and its supply chain, have delivered on its promises to the Council on this £110 Million project. The actions of the Council, the Principal Contractor and the wider delivery team has helped save jobs, avoid local supply trade insolvencies and saved significant sums of taxpayers and rate payers monies, whilst rescuing this unique project by delivering it on time and within budget.

Steve Borley, BESL Group Managing Director, commented:

“Following our appointment as Interim Principal Contractor in November of last year, our support was strengthened by the backing of the existing construction team and the supply chain, and we had the financial and technical ability to step in.

We have since seen it’s not that simple for Tier 1 contractors to step in, with many stalled projects only just getting back on site a year after ISG’s demise. For this project, that sort of delay would have had far reaching consequences for the Council’s schools’ investment programme and pupil numbers across the city.

The team have done an amazing job, and I’m honored BESL have led a talented group of companies and individuals through a collaborative culture of engagement and delivery with council officers and advisors, thus making this first milestone possible.”

We look forward to bringing more updates on this campus throughout the course of its development, and we also look forward to our next anticipated handover of Cantonian High School for the start of next year, followed by Riverbank and Woodlands for the 2026/27 academic year.