Transforming a community facility for future generations

Overview of the challenge

Essex Outdoors Mersea is a 60-acre activity centre in Essex. The County Council had an ambition to transform the centre into a modern, sustainable facility that could better support outdoor learning, recreation and community engagement for years to come. As part of the council’s wider regeneration ambitions and Everyone’s Essex strategy, which is aimed at enhancing the quality of life of its residents, the project presented an opportunity to reimagine a well-established site, while ensuring it remained a valuable resource for local people.

Working in partnership from September 2025 to April 2026, Essex County Council and Mitie set out to replace a number of ageing and unsuitable buildings with facilities that were safer, more accessible and more energy efficient. The project needed to balance modernisation with long-term sustainability, creating spaces that would improve the experience for staff and visitors, support future growth and deliver lasting value for the local community.

Our approach

Mitie managed the full project lifecycle, taking responsibility for feasibility, design, procurement, construction and commissioning. Working closely with Essex County Council, we redeveloped key areas of the site to create practical, future-ready facilities that support day-to-day operations and boost its capacity for outdoor learning activities.

The project included the demolition of obsolete buildings and the construction of a new highly insulated staff and wellbeing facility, a dedicated go-kart storage building and a steel-framed warehouse for equipment and tent storage. Sustainable design was embedded throughout, with solar PV panels, smart LED lighting, a Building Management System (BMS) and heat recovery ventilation helping to reduce energy consumption and improve building performance.

The project also created a more inclusive and resilient environment. This included:

• Installing dedicated accessible access to the new facilities
• Adding enhanced perimeter fencing and secure storage buildings to protect valuable equipment
• Biodiversity improvements, such as bird and bat boxes, that support local wildlife and strengthen the site’s natural habitat

“Mitie delivered an outstanding transformation at Mersea Outdoors, providing a high-quality staff block and storage facility that will make a lasting difference to site operations. The professionalism, workmanship and end result have been exceptional, and the benefits to the team are already clear.”

Lisa Freshwater, Facilities Manager, Essex County Council

The results

The redevelopment has transformed Essex Outdoors Mersea into a safe, modern and energy-efficient destination for outdoor education and recreation. The new EPC A+ rated staff welfare building provides an improved working environment and the secure equipment storage enhances the operational capability, helping the centre serve staff, visitors and the wider community for years to come.

Beyond the physical transformation, the project delivered wider value for Essex County Council through the use of local suppliers and Essex-based SMEs, supporting regional employment and helping to keep investment within the local economy. Combined with biodiversity improvements and low-carbon building technologies, the redevelopment has created a lasting community asset that balances environmental, social and operational outcomes.

Why choose Mitie?

Plan, deliver and optimise complex capital projects across the built environment. Whether it’s a major engineering programme or a targeted upgrade, our role as a principal contractor covers everything from strategy and design through to execution and optimisation.  

Our services

• Energy and power  
• Built environment  
• Workplace experience