DRAX x White Rose Park - Delivering an inclusive, all-in-one fitness solution for a modern business community
DRAX x White Rose Park - Delivering an inclusive, all-in-one fitness solution for a modern corporate business community
White Rose Park is firmly established as one of the North’s leading office destinations, home to global organisations including NHS Leeds Community Health, NHS Shared Business Services, Hisense, Samsung, NG Bailey, Dahua, WYCA, Capita, VMO2 and DAZN. Spanning 26 acres and 600,000 sq ft, the site supports a diverse daily population of approximately 3,000 people, including office staff, students from Elliott Hudson College, and Broomfield’s SEND 6th form college.
As competition for talent intensifies and hybrid working reshapes the office landscape, White Rose Park recognised the growing importance of on-site wellbeing in creating a place people actively want to come to work.
The Challenge: Creating a truly inclusive, corporate-grade fitness offering
Following the install of a new outdoor gym, White Rose Park quickly identified that while the outdoor facility was popular, seasonal weather limited its use. To support year-round engagement and maximise the value of the investment, the decision was made to create a new indoor gym space, integrated into a communal area of the building.
The brief was deliberately high-level: deliver a quality, inclusive fitness solution that could serve a wide demographic - from office professionals to students, including users with additional needs - while remaining cost-effective, intuitive, and easy to manage.
As Jonathan Shires, General Manager at White Rose Park, explained: “The outdoor gym has been brilliant, but with the cold and rain we knew we needed an indoor space as well. The aim was simple: create something that works for everyone and genuinely adds value to people’s lives and helps attract occupiers to the site.”
The Solution: An all-included DRAX fitness environment
Working closely with DRAX, the indoor gym was designed and delivered as a fully inclusive solution, offering maximum usability for members.
The facility features a carefully selected range of DRAX equipment, including:
- Two Treadmills with LCD Touch Screens
- My Mountain Incline Trainer
- Upright and Recumbent Bikes with LCD Touch Screens
- Smith Machine
- Flat/Incline/Decline Adjustable Benches
This mix ensures the space caters to cardio, strength, rehabilitation and general wellbeing, without intimidating less experienced users.
Jonathan highlights the importance of this balance: “The DRAX equipment is phenomenal - it’s stunning, intuitive, and clearly designed for a full demographic. We needed something that worked for everyone.”
A Commercially smart investment
Beyond functionality, cost and value were critical. The DRAX solution delivered brand-new, premium equipment at a price point lower than well-used second-hand alternatives, offering long-term reliability without compromise.
Jonathan credits the delivery and partnership approach as much as the product itself: “Steve [Perrins - CEO, DRAX Fitness UK] was an absolute legend - one of the nicest people I’ve worked with in 30 years. He literally does exactly what he says he’s going to do, and he delivered the best deal for us.”
Gym access is included in tenants’ service charge and free to use for staff, reinforcing White Rose Park’s commitment to wellbeing as part of the working environment.
The indoor gym is now open and is already supported by regular fitness classes, which are consistently fully booked - often running twice daily. The combination of intuitive equipment and professional programming has helped ensure immediate engagement.
Importantly, the facility plays a wider strategic role: “We’re still in the business of selling offices,” said Jonathan. “Facilities like this help create an environment where people want to come back to work.”
For White Rose Park, the DRAX installation supports not just fitness, but community, inclusivity and long-term site attractiveness - key factors in the future of commercial real estate.
