New Gurnell Leisure Centre Plan To Be Submitted
Council to consult on latest design early next year
An aerial view of the Gurnell site. Picture: Ealing Council
December 7, 2023
Ealing Council has announced that it will be holding a public consultation early next year on a new proposal for rebuilt Gurnell Leisure Centre.
It has recently held a public engagement meeting at Perceval House at which more details have been released about what is to be proposed, The council says the latest plans have been drawn up with the help of the Gurnell Community Sounding Board. This includes resident groups which have been campaigning for a new centre as well as local ward councillors. Workshops have also been held with local sports groups.
The existing centre, which was built in the seventies, was closed during the first lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic and has never reopened.
An earlier application, which would have seen a new centre built along with 600 flats in buildings up to 17 storeys high, was refused planning permission in 2021.
The council ruled out refurbishing the centre and the Cabinet approved the principle of an outline scheme for a new centre incorporating a 50-metre pool and an expanded range of fitness and well-being facilities this February. Plans might include a climbing wall, immersive gaming room and a creche plus space for residents to hold children’s parties, or meetings.
The recent exhibition provided more details of what the final design might look like including the scaling down of the residential part of the development with only 200-300 flats now being proposed, 35% of which would be classed as affordable.
Proposed floor plan of the new centre. Picture: Ealing Council
The project would be funded by a mixture of borrowing, money taken from developers as a condition of being granted planning approval and profits from the housing scheme.
A public consultation will take place in the early part of next year with a planning application likely to be submitted during the Spring with a view to having a decision made by the Summer or the Autumn. This would allow work on the site to begin in Spring 2025 and the new centre to open in Spring 2027.
Refurbishment of existing facilities has been ruled out. Picture: Save Gurnell
Dave Heathcock, head coach at Ealing Swimming Club and member of the sounding board, said: “It might not have all gone as fast as we hoped but since Gurnell closed in 2019 we have been through COVID and there has been other economic pressures – but it’s moving forward. We’re looking forward to this happening and remain hopeful that it will go smoothly for a 2026 opening.”
Councillor Polly Knewstub, the council’s cabinet member for thriving communities, added, “We look forward to delivering the top quality, energy efficient leisure centre Ealing deserves. As with our plans for an outdoor lido, we’ll make sure residents are involved at every stage. It’s so exciting that we can look forward to a leisure centre we can all be proud of.”
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