A new leisure centre in West Ealing alongside 300 homes has been given the green light by the Ealing Council Planning Committee. The Gurnell Leisure Centre has been closed since August 2020 when the 50-year-old building was deemed in need of redevelopment.

The new leisure centre, aimed to open by Autumn 2027, will be only the third venue to have an Olympic grade 50m swimming pool in London, and will have a fitness suite and gym, a crèche, waterpark, soft play area, and café. Around the grounds a new skate park, playground, BMX track, and bridge over the River Brent will be built.

The development is one of many in the borough expected to begin work this year. The site will also see 'around 300' new homes built across four blocks reaching up to ten storeys. It is expected that there will be 98 one-bedroom flats, 171 two-bedroom flats, and 26 three-bedroom flats. 35 per cent of these will be marked as affordable.

The housing element will also be a 'car-free' development, meaning residents will not be provided with a parking space. Councillor Anthony Young raised concerns during the planning meeting that residents would park in nearby roads, putting pressure on existing residents.

A council officer responded: "The scheme and what's been agreed is a controlled parking zone review, and we will be looking at parking stress measures… making sure residents are not able to gain car parking permits is considered important to reduce the impact."

Drawings of plans for the Gurnell Leisure Centre site (Image: Ealing Council)

Deputy Mayor Cllr Anthony Kelly later added: "We can't continue to build residences with parking… it is a derelict site at the moment and it would be a dereliction of my duty not to grant this tonight."

It is hoped the development will increase footfall at one of the borough's quietest stations, South Greenford. Original plans included 17-storey tower block housing some of the 600 homes planned for the site. Following strong local opposition, the plans were rejected and reworked.

The previous plans received over 1,000 objections from residents concerned about the height of tower blocks being 'out of character' with the local area. Council Leader Peter Mason said: "We have listened to feedback from residents, sports groups, and centre users about their objections to the first, failed planning application. The new plan reflects and responds to previous concerns about the height and number of residential units."

Eric Leach, Vice Chair of West Ealing Neighbours, told the committee: "All the buildings in this scheme exceed the tall build threshold for the area by 21 meters. The old centre could have been repaired in 2021 after the pandemic… we need a new pool but not an entire leisure centre."

The council officer told the committee the current leisure centre building could not be maintained due to its energy footprint and no other site could provide the same size leisure park. The plans will now go before the GLA, expected to receive approval, with work starting in August 2025.