The Kettering Conference Centre is a multi-functional sports and

conference centre A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...

located in

Kettering Kettering is a market and industrial town in North Northamptonshire, England. It is located north of London and north-east of Northampton, west of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene. The name means "the place (or territory) of ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

. It is also the location of

Volleyball England Volleyball England is the national governing body for indoor volleyball, sitting volleyball and beach volleyball in England. It selects the national teams and coordinates several national competitions, including the National Volleyball League, N ...

's National Volleyball Centre, and the 560 seat Lighthouse Theatre.

History

The Kettering Conference Centre is a part-government, part council, part privately funded multi-functional business, sports and arts venue and facility, run and managed by Balance Health Clubs on behalf of itself and Kettering Borough Council. As such, parts of the centre are privately operated, and parts are funded or subsidised by the council.

Conference facilities

The conference venue can accommodate meetings from 5 to 1,500 attendees in fully serviced rooms, supplied by associated catering facilities, plus a lakeside terrace and bar. A licensed

civil wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriag ...

facility, the wedding and reception venue can accommodate up to 200 people.

Arena Sports

The Arena Sports and Leisure Centre is a council-funded sports facility for local people, run and operated by Balance Health Clubs. It provides: *12 badminton courts *4 glass-backed squash courts *Dance/martial arts studio *3 syndicate or meeting rooms

Kids Kingdom

An integrated fully

air-conditioned Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...

children's activity centre, with activities across four levels that include: rides, slides, climbing wall, and trampolines. It is accessible via a one-price ticket for up to two hours, from 9:30 am to 6:30 pm daily.

National Volleyball Centre

Made possible with a grants from Kettering Borough Council, Northamptonshire Enterprise Ltd, the

East Midlands Development Agency East Midlands Development Agency, abbreviated EMDA, was the regional development agency for the East Midlands region of England formed in 1999. Structure and function EMDA’s office was located next to a Premier Inn, BBC East Midlands (and R ...

and the Kettering Conference Centre, the four-year agreement came into place in November 2010. The facility houses both National Volleyball Centre - as well as home of Volleyball England's national men's, women's, junior men's and women's, as well as cadet boys' and girls' volleyball squads, and several national competitions.

Lighthouse theatre

The Lighthouse Theatre was a £2 million extension to the existing facility, with a £250,000 subsidy from Kettering's

Council Tax Council Tax is a local taxation system used in England, Scotland and Wales. It is a tax on domestic property, which was introduced in 1993 by the Local Government Finance Act 1992, replacing the short-lived Community Charge, which in turn re ...

payers. The theatre provides a 562-tiered-seat auditorium and balcony (400 tiered seats at ground-floor level; 138 tiered in the balcony; six private boxes each with four seats and a fridge), complemented by modern lighting and sound equipment. With a larger than normal designed stage, the theatre is designed as a flexible space for use either as a theatre or to accommodate conferences, presentations, award ceremonies and product launches. The Lighthouse Theatre opened on 6 March 2008.

Transport

Situated alongside the

A14 road A14 may refer to: * Aero A.14, a Czech reconnaissance aircraft built after World War I * Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) Classification System 14 ( ATC code A14) ''Anabolic agents for systemic use'', a subgroup of the ATC Classification Syst ...

at Junction 8, which links the A1, M1 and M6, the centre has over 600 car parking places. Rail services operated by East Midlands Railway depart every 30 minutes from to St Pancras International railway station, with an average journey time on the

Midland Main Line The Midland Main Line is a major railway line in England from London to Nottingham and Sheffield in the Midlands. It comprises the lines from London's St Pancras station via Leicester, Derby/Nottingham and Chesterfield in the East Midlands ...

of 59 minutes. St Pancras also provides an interchange with the

Eurostar Eurostar is an international high-speed rail service connecting the United Kingdom with France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Most Eurostar trains travel through the Channel Tunnel between the United Kingdom and France, owned and operate ...

service to France and Belgium. Kettering is linked to

Corby Corby is a town in North Northamptonshire, England, located north-east of Northampton. From 1974 to 2021, the town served as the administrative headquarters of the Borough of Corby. At the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census, the built-up ...

, Leicester,

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

and

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

to the north and

Wellingborough Wellingborough ( ) is a large market and commuter town in the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, 65 miles from London and from Northampton on the north side of the River Nen ...

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable a ...

to the south.

References

External links

Centre websiteLighthouse TheatreKettering Conference Centre @ Kettering Borough Council
{{coord, 52, 23, 14.78, N, 0, 44, 8.36, W, display=title Buildings and structures in Kettering Exhibition and conference centres in England Sports venues in Northamptonshire