A lake in West London, recognized for its natural and scientific importance, will soon feature a new watersports and activity centre. This development comes after the previous facility was shut down due to HS2 construction. The new Hillingdon Watersports Facility and Activity Centre will occupy an 80-hectare site at Broadwater Lake in Harefield, serving as a direct replacement for the former Hillingdon Outdoor Activity Centre, which closed in 2020.
Unanimous Approval and HS2 Impact
Councillors voted unanimously in favor of the plans on April 21. The former centre on Dews Lane was closed to make way for the HS2 viaduct, which has now been completed. However, the viaduct has cut the lake at Dew's Lane in half, resulting in a 50 percent reduction in water surface area.
Target Audience and Activities
The facility will be heavily geared towards young people, Special Educational Needs (SEN) groups, Pupil Referral Units, Scouts, Guides, and families. It will also become the permanent home of the Broadwater Sailing Club. Activities will include dinghy sailing, kayaking, canoeing, dragon boating, stand-up paddleboarding, raft building, windsurfing, and angling. Land-based activities will feature fencing, team building, birdwatching, camping, pond dipping, orchard foraging, and an artificial caving system.
Site Selection and Funding
Hillingdon Council considered 71 lakes within a 20-kilometer radius when searching for a replacement. Denham Quarry was initially approved in 2017 but abandoned due to spiralling costs. The project is funded by £26.5 million from an HS2 funding agreement. The developer is also legally obligated to pay £177,800 for active travel measures, a £42,821 carbon offset contribution, and £66,736 towards an employment training scheme.
Environmental Considerations
Broadwater Lake, a former quarry on green belt land, is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Despite this, the development is allowed to proceed because it demonstrates that significant social and community benefits outweigh any ecological harm. The design avoids harm by focusing buildings on hardstanding left over from the site's former use as a gravel processing plant. Hillingdon Council states that the site's ecology is in "significant decline" due to decades of abandonment, and the proposals would reverse this decline, improve biodiversity, and reduce invasive species such as signal crayfish. To protect wildlife, the "quiet water" bird refuge in the southwest of the lake will be expanded from 3.42 hectares to 14.72 hectares, protected by "no-sail" limits. Both Natural England and the Environment Agency initially objected but withdrew their objections following a redesign.
