Leisure centres

In October 2020, Hillingdon Outdoor Activities Centre (HOAC) was forced to move from its home in Harvil Road to allow work on the HS2 project. 

The council is now proposing to build a new high quality, water sports and outdoor activity centre at Broadwater Lake in Harefield that would house both the HOAC and the Broadwater Sailing Club, already located at the site. Gerrard's Cross and Uxbridge Angling Society would remain incumbent on the site. 

The proposed facility will provide water sports, such as kayaking, rowing and sailing as well as a range of outdoor activities, including camping, zip wire, high ropes, angling and wildlife conservation.  

The development would be carbon neutral and include a solar energy system that is hoped could help power nearby homes and businesses.  

The site is a registered Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) due to the wildlife found there, including waterfowl, otters, reptiles and amphibians and a wide variety of insect species. 

Numerous ecological surveys have been undertaken to determine the nature and extent of the wildlife on the site and how it can be improved, and nature encouraged. 

In February 2023 work began to clear buddleia, a non-native invasive species which can out compete native fauna which was undertaken with the licensed permission of Natural England. 
 
The council is committed to protecting wildlife and biodiversity and respecting the site's status as a SSSI.

No planning decision has been made and no development works are being progressed. 

Your questions answered

1. Now that the HS2 viaduct is completed at the HOAC's old location, why can't it just move back?
   The HS2 viaduct has cut the lake at Dew's Lane in half. The lake has lost 50 per cent of its water surface area as a 'safety corridor' implemented each side of the railway line to protect from train turbulence and noise leaves no room for dinghy sailing.
2. Which other locations were considered and why were they deemed unsuitable?
   Many other locations were considered in the alternative site assessment (found under 'supporting information') which explains why those locations were unsuitable.
3. The planning application claims to be ecologically led, is this true?
   Yes, the entire scheme has been designed around the absolute requirement to reduce any impacts to a minimum, to provide a better habitat for wildlife and improve the biodiversity of a site that is in steep ecological decline.
4. How will the council improve biodiversity on the site with this scheme?
   The quality of the lake water will be improved by creating large areas of aquatic plants, such as reeds that clean the water. The plants will also provide better habitats for fish and invertebrates, which in turn provide food for otters, herons, cormorants, omnivorous ducks and other fish. As a result, the lake will be better able to support larger numbers of wildfowl all year round, helping both wintering and breeding birds. The creation of new islands will also increase the amount of shallow water and shoreline, where most wildlife lives, feeds and breeds.
5. How can people enjoy the wildlife on the site if it's developed?
   The land is currently privately owned and is too dangerous for people to access. The enhanced site would be open to all to enjoy in a controlled way that protects nature and the special characteristics of the site (see below).

6. Will visitors who just want to look for wildlife still be able to use the site?
   The site will be open for arranged wildlife and school visits; this is to protect the wildlife from unnecessary disturbance and comply with safeguarding regulations for children and vulnerable people. The proposals include providing access for all people including those with special needs and disabilities to be able to see the wildlife up close from specially designed observation points. 

   The development will increase access to nature, nurturing generations of local children to love and appreciate the outdoors and wildlife.

7. What kind of checks have been done to establish which species are present on the site?
   The council has employed expert professional ecologists to survey the site - including a full tree survey and they have produced a comprehensive Mitigation and Ecological Management Plan, which explains how the council would significantly improve the wildlife and ecology of the site.

8. Isn't this an attack on a nationally important site for wildlife?
   No. The site is of national importance for wintering birds and forms one part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). As the site has been abandoned and unmanaged for decades, its ecology is in significant decline and wildlife is moving to more suitable habitats elsewhere, with better food resources and fewer predators. The proposals would reverse the decline and significantly improve the biodiversity of the site and also reduce invasive species, such as signal crayfish.

9. Won't developing a SSSI set a dangerous precedent?
   This development meets the threshold for very special circumstances, which do not apply to all SSSIs. Evidence and surveys demonstrate that the SSSI was of better ecological value as a working quarry with effective site management than lying ignored, abandoned and slowly deteriorating as it is now.

10. The site is a previously undisturbed woodland peninsula
    Up until 1992, the site was a working quarry and there were no trees at all. The majority of the peninsula is now a silt lagoon with mature trees that would not be disturbed. The remainder of the peninsula is hardstanding and concrete with severe ground contamination that must be treated.

11. The noise from the site will disturb the wildlife
    Timing of the works would be carefully managed to reduce the impact on wildlife, and special care would be taken to manage and minimise any noise from construction.

12. The activities will disturb the wildfowl in the nature reserve
    Leisure boats aren't permitted to enter the nature reserve sections of the lake (although occasionally other boats would enter for nature management and enhancement works). The development would install measures to protect wildlife from disturbance first, before other works proceed. The protective measures include floating reedbeds and new islands; these would significantly improve the nature reserve for wildlife.

13. Broadwater Lake was ruled out as a potential site for the relocation of HOAC in 2015 by a Parliamentary Select Committee
    Circumstances and the proposals are different from what was considered in 2015, such as the availability of sites and other development which has progressed, and a new assessment was required. This was also not a like-for-like proposal, as Broadwater Sailing Club remained in its current location in those 2015 plans. We now have a better understanding of the lake and the wider SSSI - this has highlighted how impacts from the scheme may be avoided, reduced or fully mitigated. It has also highlighted significant opportunities to reverse the long-term ecological decline of the SSSI, which would not be possible without the council taking ownership of the site and developing it for the activities centre.

Please note: People must not visit the current site as it is private land and some areas are not safe. Hazardous materials still need to be removed and fencing needs to be installed around dangers, such as quicksand.