Suffolk Yacht Harbour on the River Orwell at Levington, near Ipswich, the largest independently-owned marina on the east coast, has unveiled a newly-completed amenities building.
The new facilities, designed by Hadleigh-based architects Wincer Kievenaar, include individual wet and dry areas, under floor heating, LED lighting and the latest in sanitary ware.
Features include vaulted ceilings to allow maximum light and ventilation, heated seats in the shower cubicles, heated mirrors (to prevent “steaming up”) and an ultra-efficient heat recovery extraction system which removes steam but does not reduce the room temperature.
Jonathan Dyke, managing director at Suffolk Yacht Harbour, said: “Whilst there are many fantastic marinas on the east coast, it is important that we attract visitors from the south coast and further afield.
“The new facilities are part of our ongoing investment plan to ensure we are offering a consistently high quality service to berth-holders and new marina users.”
Craig Western, director at Wincer Kievenaar, said: “The original brief simply put, was to raise the bar of UK yachting facilities to a standard that would not be out of place in a spa hotel.
“In addition, for facilities of this nature it was important to ensure the fixtures and materials were robust and fit for purpose.”
He added: “Wincer Kievenaar has had a close working relationship with the yacht harbour for many years. The practice has worked with Jonathan to continually develop and improve facilities available at the harbour and to bring a degree of architectural cohesion to the entire site.”
Suffolk Yacht Harbour, which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary, offers a wide range of services and facilities for local and visiting yachtsmen. As well as 550 berths and additional swinging moorings, the marina has two well-equipped chandleries as well as state of the art workshops to carry out repairs on modern and classic yachts.
This includes the largest boat lifting and launching facilities between Bridlington in Yorkshire and the Solent on the south coast, with the capability to handle vessels from small 6m day sailors to 20m work boats.
Other on-site businesses include sail making, a sailing school, rigging, marine engineering, electronics and brokerage services.
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