When the Westway A40M flyover was built in west London in 1971, a mile-long strip of land was left waste beneath. Four years of determined local campaigning led to the Westway Development Trust (then called North Kensington Amenity Trust) being set up. As a result the Westway Sports Centre was built and has since been an important leisure facility featuring a climbing centre, handball Fives courts, football pitches, a disabled-access gym, basketball court and hoops, netball court, cafe and bar. A new project by architects Sproson Barrable Ltd, saw the extension of the original indoor tennis courts and climbing centre to include four new clay courts, three new football pitches, a new basketball court, the refurbishment of two existing pitches and Britain's largest indoor climbing centre.

Being situated underneath the Westway and close to a residential area, low light spill was essential when specifying the sports lighting. Mark Smith, electrical director for Atelier Ten, M & E consultant for the project, explains, "Due to the proximity of the motorway, the lighting scheme had to meet with approval of the 'Transport for London' authority. Sill Lighting, as a high quality lighting manufacturer specialising in floodlighting, provided luminaries and optics that met the difficult criteria through detailed analysis and graphical presentation."

Over 180 of Sill's column mounted flat glass Plane Projectors are used including the 467 series, 453 series, 455 series and 466 series narrow and wide beam models. All the fittings use metal halide lamps for good colour rendering which is important for playing sport.

With much of the project being situated under the motorway interchange, restricting column height and positioning, Sill's Relux computer model was also used to ensure the schemes success.

information: www.sill-uk.com