New Home Proposed for the Brentford Fountain
Brentford Voice wants to relocate it to the Sega redevelopment
A visualisation of the fountain in its proposed new location from the planning application
November 9, 2023
A new plan is afoot to bring home the Brentford Fountain which has been in exile for nearly half a century.
The historic landmark built in 1877 used to be situated at the northern approach to Kew Bridge close to The Express. The Brentford Fountain Leisure Centre is named after it.
When the original Brentford Market was closed in 1974 it moved along with the Fountain, to Western International Market between Southall and Hayes.
In its current isolated spot, it has been neglected and is now on Historic England's register of Buildings at Risk.
Earlier attempts have been made to return it to the Brentford area including two campaigns in the 1990s but they came to nothing.
In 2004, what was then the Isleworth and Brentford Area Committee considered a proposal for it to be placed in a riverside location near the new housing schemes in the area with developer St. George’s being asked to meet some of the associated costs.
Even at this stage, the bill for moving the structure was estimated to be around £100,000. Taking the Fountain apart, transport, repairs, renovation, and reassembly is now estimated to cost more than double that.
Despite this consideration, Brentford Voice has been campaigning for four years to bring the Fountain home.
It now believes it has identified a clear opportunity to achieve this objective. A planning application is being prepared for the redevelopment of the site of the SEGA building at 27 & 1053 Great West Road, immediately to the north of the Gtech Community Stadium.
The proposals include a large public square which will host the Fountain, complete with running water and lighting. This location is about 300 metres from the Fountain's birthplace. The planning application will also include 916 homes (35% affordable) accommodated in four tall buildings of 15 -19 storeys. There would be commercial space, including shops and workspaces for "locally made, artisan and craft products". There are also plans to improve pedestrian and cycle access across the A4 to Gunnersbury Park.
The Fountain today at Western International Market
Brentford Voice says, “It's early days, but this development provides the best opportunity so far to bring the Fountain home. The planning application will, as always, be decided on the balance between its harms and benefits. In the event that the application is approved, the earliest we could hope to see the Fountain settled in at home would be about 2027 or 2028 when it will be 150 years old.”
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