Gurnell Leisure Centre, Ealing

The Challenge

SYSTRA was commissioned by Eco World in 2017 to provide transport and highway consultancy advice concerning the redevelopment of Gurnell Leisure Centre, Ealing. The proposed development includes the re-provision of a new Leisure Centre with a 50m state of the art swimming pool, alongside approximately 615 new residential units, basement parking, approximately 250 sqm of retail floor space with associated landscaping, play space, cycle and car parking, refuse storage, access and servicing.

SYSTRA’s Role

SYSTRA prepared a Transport Assessment which included a pedestrian and cycling audit of the immediate area, multi-modal trip generation and a sustainable transport strategy for the site. This was produced after pre-application scoping discussions with the London Borough of Ealing, with agreement as to what methodology should be used. As part of the TA, a PERS-style audit and a CLOS assessment were undertaken, to determine the quality of pedestrian and cycling infrastructure.

SYSTRA furthermore proposed an access strategy for the Site, to accommodate wider vehicles such as coaches, whilst still allowing a two-way movement of vehicles through the access junction. This required swept path analysis to be undertaken, to better understand the operation of the access junctions.

SYSTRA further produced both a Residential and an Employment Travel Plan, demonstrating the commitment to creating a sustainable development, promoting the use of walking, cycling and public transport and reducing the reliance on vehicular travel for all land uses. The Detailed Planning Application was submitted in 2019.