November 8, 2018,
08
November
2018
|
15:53
Europe/London

Plans for new leisure centre, school and homes in Shoreditch move closer

Britannia - New leisure centre entrance

Proposals to build a new leisure centre, school and homes by Shoreditch Park have taken a step closer after they were approved by Hackney’s Planning Sub-Committee last night.

The Council’s planning application to develop the site on and around the current Britannia Leisure Centre now needs to go before the Greater London Authority, which is expected to make its decision within 14 days.

The Council’s proposals, which have been two-and-a-half years in the planning and subject to widespread consultations and more than 50 hours of engagement events, with regular update leaflets posted to thousands of homes, include:

  • A new, state-of-the-art leisure centre featuring:

  • A six-lane, 25m main pool with moveable floor
  • A 20m x 10m training pool with moveable floor
  • Leisure water – for children and families – with water features and a flume
  • A café and toilets (also serving Shoreditch Park users)
  • A six-court sports hall
  • Crèche and soft play area
  • Sauna and steam room
  • Fitness suite and flexible studio spaces
  • Four squash courts
  • Two five-a-side pitches
  • Two tennis courts
  • A new secondary school and sixth form with 1,140 places to meet demand for school places in Hackney.

  • Up to 481 new homes, 81 of which will be for social rent or shared ownership.

  • A public square with seating and which can be used for community events, and a new entrance to the park.

  • Improved walking and cycle routes linked into the wider network, and more than 1,000 new cycle parking spaces.

  • Tree planting, leading to 33 more trees than there are now, wildlife-friendly planting to provide a greater variety of habitats and food sources, particularly supporting bees, bats and birds.

The new buildings will be placed on the site of the existing Britannia Leisure Centre – which will not close until the new one is open – the existing asphalt sports courts, and the site of the Hoxton Press sales and marketing suite.

If approved by the GLA, it's hoped that construction will start on the leisure centre and school in early 2019 and complete in 2021. The first housing block, including all of the genuinely affordable homes, will follow shortly after. The homes for outright sale, necessary to subsidise the cost of the development in the absence of adequate Government funding, will be built in a second phase, once the new leisure centre is up and running.

Philip Glanville, Mayor of Hackney
It’s fantastic that this ambitious scheme has been approved by Hackney’s Planning Sub-Committee, and we now hope the GLA will do the same.

“Hackney needs improved leisure provision, hundreds of more school places and thousands of new homes. Our proposals help deliver on all of these. I’m very proud that, despite ongoing government cuts to our funding, our Council is finding innovative ways to keep investing in our communities.

“It’s taken us years of planning, consultations and public meetings to get to this stage, and we’ve listened to residents and taken onboard their feedback throughout. We’ve tried to include as many elements of what people have told us they want as possible.

“The current leisure centre simply doesn’t deliver the standard of provision or access that Hackney’s diverse communities expect, need and deserve now and in the future. The new centre will be better in almost every way and preserves many of the family friendly elements we know that people value.

“What we’re proposing is necessary if you believe Hackney’s current and future generations deserve access to good schools and leisure provision.
Philip Glanville, Mayor of Hackney

More information on the proposals, including artists impressions, is available here.

The project is part of the Council’s work to build nearly 2,000 homes, three schools and a leisure centre on more than 20 sites across the borough by 2022. Find out more about how Hackney is Building.