Ealing Council approved £125m Gurnell project with 300 homes

Ealing Council approved £125m Gurnell project with 300 homes
Inside the new leisure center building. credit: building.co.uk

Ealing (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Ealing Council approved the £125m Gurnell project by Mikhail Riches and GT3 Architects, featuring a leisure centre, 300 homes, and 35% affordable housing, and is now set for stage-two approval from the Greater London Authority.

The Gurnell development, which is being developed for the council, will include 8 primary housing blocks with a maximum of 10 storeys.

The Greater London Authority (GLA) will now consider the planning committee’s decision to recommend this residential development for stage two approval.

After approval is granted by GLA, the Ealing Council is going to hire a contractor with the aim of timely completion of the project. An appointment is expected by the winter of 2025–2026.

The Gurnell Leisure Centre would be demolished and rebuilt. Completed in the 1970s, it hasn’t been open since it shut during the Covid lockdown in 2020.

Demolition is expected this spring, followed by construction in autumn or winter. The leisure center is likely to open in either 2027 or 2028.

What is included in the new plan approved by the Ealing Council?

The new Gurnell plan approved by Ealing council includes:

State-of-the-art leisure complex

  • Includes a leisure complex with a 50-meter main pool with ten lanes, 270 spectator seats
  • A café, a state-of-the-art fitness centre, soft play, and parking for cars and bicycles.

Enhanced Parkland and outdoor amenities

  • A new playground, skate park, BMX track, accessible bridge
  • 450 newly planted trees, outside landscaping amenities in the parking area, and walkways 

Commitment to broader borough growth

  • Ealing council has committed to construct 28,000 new homes over the next 15 years.
  • Supports the council’s aims for broader borough’s growth.

Private sector collaboration 

  • The council seeks to partner with private entities to ensure the successful development of Gurnell and other strategic projects.
  • Investment-driven initiatives aim to meet housing targets effectively.

In the upcoming months, more collaboration options will be announced.

Ealing Council Leader, Cllr Peter Mason, said: “This is the next big step in making good on our commitment to deliver a new leisure centre to replace Gurnell, which will bring back a landmark location for sport and leisure to Ealing.

“With the new plans now approved, we’re pleased that we are one step closer towards returning a much-loved facility to the community, and delivering the homes our borough needs”, he added.

“I look forward to getting shovels in the ground and bringing forward more development opportunities that deliver on our wider ambitions for Ealing.” 

How does Ealing’s newly approved development differ from the past proposal?

The residential development proposal, which has been given outline approval in the hybrid application, was designed and planned by architect Mikhail Riches.

Periscope, a landscape architect, Gleeds, a project manager, a civil and structural engineer, Tibbalds, a planning consultant, Turley, a townscape consultant, and Hydrock, a fire consultant, are all part of the project team.

The plan was approved four years after the Ealing council rejected a 3DReid-designed plan to construct six apartment complexes and a replacement leisure centre on the property.

Despite being suggested for approval by planning officers, the old plan—created by Be Here, Ealing’s development arm—was rejected in 2020 because council members believed it to be too large and destructive to the green belt.

Sarah Dinenage