Nearly five years after Gurnell Leisure Centre shut its doors, Ealing Council has approved a redevelopment plan already branded as “not viable.” Supported by Labour councillors and the sole Liberal Democrat on the committee, the scheme proposes 300 flats on Metropolitan Open Land in the River Brent floodplain, alongside a new leisure centre. But the numbers simply don't add up, even with a £12 million subsidy and no purchase cost for the land.
A bombshell independent Viability Review Report from August 2024, but released just two days before the vote, delivered a stark warning: “The proposed scheme, with its current tenure mix, form, and density, is not viable and cannot support the provision of additional affordable housing. The scheme currently produces a deficit equivalent to the costs of redeveloping the leisure centre.”
Labour have admitted in public that they would need the Council to take on massive debt in order to plug the gap between revenue and cost.
Despite this, the Labour supermajority, alongside the Liberal Democrat representative pushed ahead, approving a plan that offers just 35% affordable housing—well below the Council’s own 50% target—and relies on 10-storey tower blocks in an area not designated for tall buildings.
Ealing Conservatives support redeveloping Gurnell, but it must be realistic, viable, and capable of delivering the leisure centre residents deserve. However, this unworkable scheme is a reckless gamble that risks leaving the leisure centre unbuilt and sacrificing precious open space for little in return.
Now, the plan still requires approval from the GLA. But even if it clears that hurdle, the reality is this: the numbers may never add up, and we could end up with a costly, half-baked development just like the failed Perceval House project. If that happens, the promised leisure centre might remain nothing more than an empty dream, and residents will be left with the bitter taste of unfulfilled promises and the loss of precious open space.
