Camber Sands Welcome Centre

The completed building brings together public toilets, a café kiosk, coastal office space, and RNLI facilities within a low-carbon timber structure. The project responds to intense seasonal pressure. On peak summer days, visitor numbers can reach 25,000, placing sustained demand on infrastructure originally designed for far lower footfall. The previous facilities struggled to cope with sand ingress, flooding, and sustained peak use. The brief centred on improving capacity, resilience, and long-term maintainability within the constraints of the coastal setting.

To provide a cost-effective, low-maintenance solution for the Council, the building services design is deliberately simple and robust. A fabric-first approach, combined with roof-mounted photovoltaics, formed part of an all-electric strategy aligned with the Council’s wider carbon commitments. The systems were coordinated within a compact timber roof structure and detailed to withstand the corrosive coastal environment.

Heating to occupied spaces is provided by electric radiators, with instantaneous electric water heaters serving basins and showers. A continuous mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery serves the first floor, while dedicated extract fans provide ventilation to WC areas. The electrical design upgrades the incoming supply and integrates life safety, security, and renewable systems within a coordinated building-wide approach. Controls integrate time scheduling and occupancy sensing to suit highly variable seasonal occupation, while electrical sub-metering allows the Council to monitor and manage energy use across public and operational areas.

Water supply and resilience were key concerns. The mains cold water supply was upgraded, supported by new storage and boosting to ensure reliable performance during prolonged peak use. Above and below ground drainage was rationalised, with provision for improved sand management and maintainability, including accessible silt interception and revised discharge strategies suited to the beach environment.

The building services design evolved from an initial feasibility study undertaken by our team, which also considered structural and civil constraints across this and two other beach sites. Early technical advice examined the limitations of the incoming water supply, existing drainage condition, and the challenges of working in a saline, flood-prone coastal environment.

The Welcome Centre now provides vital long-term infrastructure designed for the realities of year-round use and establishes a renewed civic presence at the beach.