HWSFAC will provide an inclusive water sports, outdoor activity and field studies facility in the Mid Colne Valley SSSI, supporting recreation, learning and access to nature.

Hillingdon Water Sports Facility and Activity Centre (HWSFAC) will provide Hillingdon with a unique, multi-use resource for water and land-based outdoor activity. Replacing an outdated facility, the Centre is designed to support a wide range of users, including children and young people of different ages, abilities, genders and religions, who may use the site concurrently. Accessibility, safety and flexibility are therefore central to the brief.

Situated within the Mid Colne Valley Site of Special Scientific Interest, the proposal is ecologically led. The buildings and wider site strategy promote the retention and enhancement of local ecology, while part of the site will operate as a field studies centre, encouraging young people and students to engage with and care for the natural environment. Nature is also used as a tool to support emotional regulation and wellbeing.

The Centre is arranged as three built forms across the peninsula, sensitively embedded around existing woodland, shoreline and landscape conditions. The Operation Zone forms the main hub, a two-storey building with low, sloping roofs set amongst tall tree canopies and close to the water’s edge. The Safety Zone sits opposite, echoing its form at a smaller scale, with low-lying roofs and a muted material palette creating a clear relationship between the buildings. The Camp Zone is located further south, close to camping and outdoor activity areas, where an activity shelter with tensile cover allows groups to gather safely, supported by WC and changing facilities that allow greater independence.

HWSFAC will create a distinctive cultural and recreational asset for Hillingdon, combining inclusive sport, environmental learning and access to nature for the whole community.