Chiswick Boathouse Plan Ditched Due to Lack of Funds

Council to carry out feasibility study on potential uses of the site

The boathhouse site viewed from the Dukes Meadows Footbridge

May 19, 2024

A plan rebuild the Chiswick Boathouse near Dukes Meadows has been officially scrapped by Hounslow Council due to a lack of available funding.

The borough is now going back to the drawing board and will be spending £50,000 on a feasibility study on the site saying it remains a priority to restore sporting activities at a new building. This study will include an ‘exploration of commercial opportunity and associated costs, design and benefits’.

The boathouse on Dan Mason Drive was vacated by the Thames Tradesmen’s Rowing Club (TTRC) at the end of 2021 and demolisheed in 2022 to allow construction work on a new facility as part of the Dukes Meadows Masterplan.

It was to be replaced with upgraded facilities with a café on the ground floor and four boat bays to allow a range of water sports activities in addition to the return of the TTRC.

There had been a protracted legal dispute between the TTRC and the council over the club’s lease, but this was eventually settled in the rowing club’s favour and it was working with the council on the realisation of the plan for the new club house. In the meantime, the club has been operating from the University of London’s Boathouse on Hartington Road.

This week, a report issued by Hounslow Council revealed that a budget allocation of £260,000 was being made from the borough’s feasibility fund for a new appraisal of the boathouse project as well as an upgrade to the access road within Dukes Meadows and a ‘refresh’ of the Dukes Meadows Masterplan.

The report states, “Consideration was given to retaining the existing masterplan, however, as this does not establish the priorities for the future ambition of the site as a sports hub, while ensuring that benefits to borough residents are maximised at a time when the availability of capital for investment is more limited, this option was rejected.”

A drawing of the proposed new boathouse near Dukes Meadows. Picture: Hounslow Council

Last year’s budget had included an allocation of £4,038,000 for the development of the boathouse at Dukes Meadows as part of the Approved Capital Programme which was due to be spent in the current financial year. However, although the site has been fenced off, no construction activity is currently being undertaken and the council has ruled out spending this money this year.

Following the agreement on an updated mandate for the Dukes Meadow Programme, an extra £750,000 is being proposed for highway works in the area as well as £400,000 for parks works which will be funded from the unallocated capital fund with some of the money for the parks coming from the Thriving Communities Fund.

The council report is not specific as to why it has been decided not to continue with the project, but it is understood that rising construction costs may have had an impact on its viability. It has also been suggested that cost overruns on the Dukes Meadows Footbridge have eaten into the capital set aside for the boathouse.

It is also thought that projections for the revenue that the boathouse could generate were over optimistic with the cost of the lease on the café budgeted to be £100,000 per annum. Although the riverside location could be expected to be popular during the summer, for much of the year it would see low footfall due to poor weather.

A visualisation of the planned Boathouse cafe. Picture: Hounslow Council

The council claims that the option of leaving the site empty has been considered and rejected with the report stating that, “This is a key riverside site which has significant potential for sport and community use.”

The original vision for the new boathouse was included a plan for the widespread introduction of rowing across the borough’s schools with the involvement of London Youth Rowing and British Rowing. It was hoped that every state secondary school pupil would have had the opportunity to experience rowing.

Alan Meegan, British Rowing Facilities Manager, confirmed that discussions had been ongoing with council and said that he would be very surprised if the site would be considered for another use adding, “We will of course be feeding into any feasibility studies and are confident that any proposals we submit will be given full consideration.”

Nigel Brophy, the Chairman of TTRC, said he would be ‘devastated’ if the new boathouse was not built. As its name implies, the TTRC is committed to broadening participation in the sport and its volunteer run Learn to Row courses have significantly increased the number of people taking to the river. However, being the tenant of a single boathouse bay raises cost and capacity issues for the club. Having previously benefited from a relatively inexpensive lease in the old Chiswick Boathouse, it has now seen a huge increase in rents.

When the proposal to redevelop the boathouse were originally put forward, concerns had been expressed that the site might be given over to a private members’ club with the means to pay an annual rent which would give the council a return on its investment. However, the council remains adamant that the priority is to provide a facility that can be used by the wider community.

This has not assuaged concerns within the local rowing community that ultimately the site might simply be turned into a car park. If the previous plan is deemed unviable and there is no extra funding available to complete the project, it is thought unlikely that ‘commercial opportunities’ would generate sufficient revenue to construct and maintain a community use boathouse.

Cllr Tom Bruce, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Development, said, “The boathouse site remains a priority for the council and continues to provide an excellent opportunity to deliver a new riverside facility to meet the needs of the local community and provide access to water-based activities on the River Thames.

“We are currently working to appoint a consultant to explore a range of potential options and solutions for the future use of the site and expect an appraisal of these options by the end of June. This will be used to help decide on the future use of the site and the budget identified for this project.”