FAQs

Brentford Fountain Leisure Centre has served the local community for almost four decades, but the building is ageing, increasingly expensive to maintain and less suited to modern leisure needs. 

Significant investment would be required simply to keep the existing centre operational. The Council considers that replacing the building will provide better value in the long term and allow us to provide modern, accessible and more flexible leisure facilities for future generations. 

The Council is therefore committed to building a new leisure centre on the Brentford Fountain site. 

We know that the beach pool, wave machine and flume/waterslide have been much-loved features of the existing Brentford Fountain Leisure Centre, particularly for families, and we know that some users will be disappointed that they are not proposed for the new centre. 

In developing the brief, the Council has had to balance the priorities identified through public engagement with the need to provide an accessible, flexible and affordable leisure centre that can serve the community for many years. 

The new centre will therefore not include a traditional beach pool, wave machine or flume/waterslide. These types of facilities require significant space and energy and have higher construction and ongoing maintenance costs. Providing them would reduce the space and funding available for other leisure facilities. 

Instead, the proposals include interactive water-play and splash facilities for children and families, alongside modern swimming pools with moveable floors. You can see indicative images of these facilities in the exhibition boards (these will be available during the October – November engagement period). The pools with moveable floors will support swimming lessons, fitness, accessible swimming, family sessions and general recreational use. 

More than 900 people took part in the first phase of public engagement in 2024/25. Residents particularly valued the current centre’s accessibility, affordability, swimming facilities and family offer, while concerns included the condition, cleanliness and outdated nature of some existing facilities. 

That feedback helped inform the brief approved by Cabinet in January 2026 and is now being used by the design team. 

A second phase of engagement is taking place during October and November 2026. It will help inform aspects of the emerging design and user experience, including accessibility and wayfinding, teaching-pool play and sensory facilities, play equipment, family and changing facilities, café and community spaces, public realm, and access and travel principles. It will also hear views on aspects of the emerging residential masterplan. 

The engagement is not intended to reopen the Council’s decision to replace the leisure centre, the approved leisure brief or the principle of including housing on the site. The overall development will continue to take shape through the design and planning process.

The current proposals do not include a general public car park for the new leisure centre. We recognise that this will be a significant change for some existing users, particularly those who currently travel to the centre by car. 

This approach reflects a wider change in how new developments are planned across Hounslow and London. Planning and transport policies increasingly seek to reduce reliance on private cars in well-connected locations and encourage more journeys to be made by public transport, walking and cycling. Hounslow's Transport Strategy supports car-free development in well-connected areas, while the London Plan similarly promotes car-free development and limits parking at new leisure developments in locations with good public transport accessibility. 

The Brentford Fountain site is well connected by public transport, and the redevelopment is therefore being designed around sustainable and accessible ways of travelling to and from the centre. The design team is considering pedestrian and cycle routes, cycle parking, public transport connections and safe pick-up and drop-off arrangements. 

This does not mean that all vehicle access will be removed. Appropriate provision will be made for Blue Badge holders, together with access for servicing, deliveries and operational requirements. 

Providing a general public car park would also take up significant space on the site or require costly basement parking. This would add substantially to the cost of the redevelopment and reduce the space and funding available for the new leisure centre, homes and improved public realm. 

Detailed access and travel arrangements will continue to be developed with the Council's transport and highways teams and through discussions with the Local Planning Authority and Transport for London. They will form part of the Transport Assessment submitted with the planning application.

The redevelopment will also include new homes and improved public realm alongside the replacement leisure centre. 

The residential development is an important part of the funding strategy for the project. Income generated from the residential land will contribute towards the cost of the new leisure centre and reduce the amount the Council needs to borrow. 

The site has also been identified in Hounslow’s emerging Local Plan for a mix of leisure and residential development, helping the borough respond to the need for new homes while making effective use of the site.

The residential proposals are still being developed and will progress through the design and planning process. 

Phase 2 engagement will provide an opportunity for local people to comment on aspects of the emerging residential proposals, including the emerging masterplan, broad scale and location, how the development relates to the leisure centre and surrounding area, public realm, and access and travel principles. 

The overall development must also respond to the Council’s requirements for the site, planning policy, viability, technical requirements and discussions with the Local Planning Authority. The planning application will subsequently be subject to the normal statutory planning consultation process.

Hounslow Council has appointed AECOM as its multidisciplinary consultant, supported by FaulknerBrowns Architects, to progress the design, technical work and planning preparation for the redevelopment. 

The team will develop the proposals and supporting technical information needed for a planning application, which is expected to be submitted in 2027.

The Council and its design team are working towards submitting a planning application in 2027. 

Before this happens, the designs will continue to be developed through technical work, discussions with planning and other statutory bodies and further community engagement. 

The planning application will then be subject to the normal statutory planning consultation and decision-making process. 

Brentford Fountain Leisure Centre remains open and no closure date has yet been set. 

The existing centre will need to close before demolition and construction of the new development can begin. On the current indicative programme, this is expected to be in 2028, subject to planning, procurement and the wider project programme. 

The Council and Lampton Leisure will give users as much notice as possible before the centre closes.

The new leisure centre will be built on the existing Brentford Fountain site. The scale and layout of the redevelopment, together with demolition, construction, servicing and safety requirements, mean it is not practicable to keep the existing centre operating while the new development is constructed. 

There will therefore be a period when there is no leisure centre operating on the site. We recognise the impact this will have on existing users and the Council and Lampton Leisure will work together well in advance of closure to consider how the impact can be mitigated. 

Where possible, Lampton Leisure will work to expand provision at its other facilities in the borough. Nearby Council leisure facilities include Isleworth Leisure Centre and New Chiswick Pool and Fitness. 

If your membership gives you access to one centre only, Lampton Leisure will change your membership to your new centre of choice. If you hold a membership with multi-site access, you can use any Lampton Leisure centre in the borough. 

Further information about alternative facilities and membership arrangements will be provided well in advance of closure. 

Brentford Fountain Leisure Centre currently provides swimming lessons and other activities for schools, sports and swimming clubs, community groups and regular hirers, and we recognise the importance of these services. 

The Council and Lampton Leisure will work with schools, clubs and other regular users well in advance of closure to understand their requirements and consider how provision can be accommodated at other facilities where possible. 

Detailed arrangements will be developed closer to the closure date and affected organisations will be contacted directly. 

Yes. Brentford Fountain Leisure Centre remains open and no closure date has yet been set. Members can continue to use the centre as normal. 

On the current indicative programme, closure is expected in 2028, subject to planning, procurement and the wider project programme. 

Lampton Leisure will contact members well in advance of closure with information about membership arrangements and alternative facilities. 

The current indicative programme is for the new leisure centre to open in 2031/32. 

This remains subject to planning, procurement, construction and other project dependencies, so the programme may change as the proposals develop. 

Updates will be published on the project’s Let’s Talk page throughout the project.

The Phase 2 public engagement period runs from early October to late November 2026. 

There will be opportunities to view the emerging proposals and provide feedback online and in person, including exhibition material at Brentford Fountain Leisure Centre, drop-in events and targeted focus groups to help us reach a wide range of audiences.  

This phase will focus on areas where feedback can help inform the developing proposals, including accessibility and wayfinding, teaching-pool play and sensory facilities, play equipment, family and changing facilities, café and community spaces, public realm, and access and travel arrangements. It will also hear views on aspects of the emerging residential masterplan, broad scale and location, and its relationship with the leisure centre and surrounding area. 

Details will be published on the project’s Let’s Talk page. A statutory planning consultation will also take place after the planning application is submitted. 

Hounslow Council is leading the project, supported by its appointed professional team including AECOM and FaulknerBrowns. 

The redevelopment is managed day-to-day by the Council’s project team, with senior officer oversight. Key milestone decisions will be taken through the Council’s established governance arrangements, including Cabinet where required. 

The development will also require planning permission. The planning application will be considered through the normal planning process, including statutory public consultation.