IN Brief:
- AECOM and FaulknerBrowns will develop the design, technical and planning work for the replacement leisure centre.
- Emerging proposals include new pools, a larger gym, sports facilities and community spaces.
- Residential development on the wider site is intended to contribute towards the cost of the replacement facility.
AECOM, working with FaulknerBrowns Architects, has been appointed by Hounslow Council to progress the design, technical and planning work for a replacement Brentford Fountain Leisure Centre while the existing facility remains in operation.
The current centre has served Brentford since 1987 and the council is developing plans for a new building rather than relying indefinitely on maintenance of the ageing facility. The latest professional team appointment moves the programme into a more detailed stage ahead of a planning application and later construction decision.
Emerging proposals include modern swimming pools with moveable floors, interactive water play facilities, a larger gym, sports hall, fitness studios, improved changing provision and new family and community spaces. The brief remains under development, with further consultation intended to test the proposals before the design is fixed.
More than 900 people took part in earlier engagement during 2024 and 2025. Swimming, accessible fitness provision and family-friendly facilities were among the recurring priorities identified by the council, with further engagement planned as AECOM and FaulknerBrowns develop the scheme.
The leisure centre is being considered as part of a wider redevelopment rather than as an isolated civic building. Hounslow’s current approach includes housing and improved public realm on the wider site, with receipts from residential development intended to contribute towards the cost of the leisure facility and reduce the amount of borrowing required.
A final construction cost has not yet been published. Earlier council approvals instead provided funding to progress feasibility, design and procurement work while the capital structure remained under development. The programme is seeking to combine land receipts, developer contributions and other funding sources before the main build is committed.
A separate allocation of £701,000 from Community Infrastructure Levy funding has supported initial design and engagement. The use of developer-funded infrastructure contributions reflects the wider growth pressures around Brentford, where new housing and population change are increasing demand for public facilities at the same time as existing buildings require renewal.
The next design stages will have to turn the leisure brief into a scheme capable of surviving planning, cost planning and technical review. Swimming pools place unusually demanding requirements on structures and building services because large volumes of warm, humid air sit alongside water treatment systems, wet circulation areas and high operational energy demand.
Moveable pool floors add further mechanical and control requirements but can increase utilisation by allowing one tank to operate at different depths for lessons, competition, rehabilitation and general swimming. Those systems have to be coordinated with pool structure, water treatment, access, maintenance and safety controls from an early stage.
Energy strategy will be equally important. Pool water heating, air handling, humidity control, filtration, showers and domestic hot water create a substantial continuous load. Decisions on fabric performance, heat recovery, plant sizing and controls during design will influence operating costs for decades after construction is complete.
The wider site introduces a separate set of delivery constraints. Housing, public realm and leisure construction are intended to form part of one planning and funding strategy, requiring the council to coordinate land release, access, servicing, utilities and construction phasing across different uses.
The existing leisure centre is expected to remain open while the replacement project advances and Hounslow has not set a closure date. That creates an additional sequencing requirement because construction and enabling work must be planned around continued public access until the council is ready to transfer services into the new facility.
Earlier programme documents anticipated completion of design work during 2027, alongside market engagement, a hybrid planning application and a further business case. Those milestones can be refined as the current design phase develops, but they underline that the project has not yet reached main contractor procurement.
The relationship between the civic facility and residential development will also influence the planning process. Housing density, public realm, access and servicing affect both the quality of the overall scheme and the value of the land used to support the leisure investment.
A stronger residential receipt could reduce the council’s borrowing requirement, while changes imposed through planning or weaker development values could alter the funding position. Design development therefore has to proceed alongside commercial appraisal rather than as a purely architectural exercise.
AECOM and FaulknerBrowns now have to reconcile those strands into a deliverable project: a replacement leisure centre capable of operating efficiently, a construction sequence that protects existing services and a wider development that can contribute towards the capital cost. The next planning and business case stages will determine whether that combined model can move into procurement.
