Britannia

The Britannia project

The Britannia project, along with upgrades at Shoreditch Park and the transformation of Colville Estate, represents the biggest public sector investment in the area in a generation.

Once complete, the project will have delivered a state-of-the -art new leisure centre. It will also provide a new secondary school for 1,100 students, and 81 new homes for council housing and shared ownership. These will be located in and around the area where the old leisure centre stood.

We are delivering the Britannia project through our in-house, not-for-profit development approach. We’re selling some homes outright to cover costs. This is because government funding for social housing and community facilities isn’t enough.

Replacing the former leisure centre

The old Britannia Leisure Centre was much-loved by the local community. But, it had old facilities and was increasingly expensive to maintain.

The Britannia project was an opportunity to redevelop the facility to provide a high-quality, modern leisure centre, while also using the site and land around it to meet the need for new homes, including social housing, and secondary school facilities.

The new Britannia Leisure Centre

The first phase of the Britannia project included building the new Britannia Leisure Centre, which opened to the public in 2021. The facility includes two swimming pools, a six-court sports hall, four squash courts, two five-a-side football pitches, two tennis courts and much more.

Visit Better – Britannia Leisure Centre

City of London Academy Shoreditch Park

The second phase of the Britannia project included building a permanent home for The City of London Academy Shoreditch Park. The facility provides 1,140 school places for students aged 11 to 18.

Visit City of London Academy Shoreditch Park

New homes

The third and final phase of the Britannia project includes building new homes on the site of the former leisure centre. These include:

  • 51 new homes for social rent, prioritised for local residents on the council’s housing waiting list
  • 30 homes for shared ownership, prioritised for people living and/or working in Hackney who won’t be prioritised for social housing but can’t afford to buy outright. We will market and sell these directly through Hackney Sales.
  • 290 homes for outright sale – these help pay for the Britannia project, including the new leisure centre, secondary school and social housing, in the absence of sufficient government funding

Our construction partner, Ardmore, is building these homes. Construction started in 2023, and they’re expected to complete the homes in 2026.

To sign up for updates from Ardmore, email communityengagementteam@ardmoregroup.co.uk.

Information for residents and leisure centre users

Page updated on: 18 March 2024