Clayponds Estate Set to Be Given a New Playzone
Proposed facility is part of a £1million borough-wide sports upgrade
An example of a PlayZone at another location. Picture: Football Foundation
March 17, 2026
Hounslow Council has announced a £1 million partnership with the Football Foundation to create three new PlayZones across the borough including one at the Clayponds Estate in Brentford.
The PlayZones programme will refurbish and upgrade outdoor mini-pitches to support a wide range of sports, including football, basketball, netball, cricket and even yoga. The initiative is designed to target neighbourhoods with the greatest health inequalities and the least access to good sports provision.
Clayponds Estate has been selected as one of the three priority locations, alongside Heston Farm Estate and Brabazon Estate in Heston. The Brentford site has limited existing sports infrastructure, and residents have consistently raised concerns about the lack of safe, well-maintained outdoor spaces for young people.
The new PlayZone will provide a modern, floodlit, multi-use games area designed for year-round activity. The Council will work closely with Brentford FC Community Sports Trust, which already has a strong presence in the area, to develop a programme of free and low-cost sessions for children, teenagers and adults.
The Trust plans to run Premier League Kicks sessions, Street Sports activities funded by the Council, and opportunities for young people to progress into training, volunteering and work experience.
Lee Doyle, Founder and CEO of Brentford FC Community Sports Trust, said, “Realising potential in people and places is at the core of the Trust’s mission. This new partnership initiative will create space for participants to meet and play. Moving forward, we plan to facilitate regular sessions for boys and girls with competitions, extending to other opportunities within the Trust such as training and work experience.”
The project is being funded through £724,663 from the Football Foundation, with the Council contributing nearly £300,000 from its Thriving Communities Fund.
Councillor Salman Shaheen, Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Public Spaces, said the programme is central to tackling health inequalities across the borough.
“Too many people in our borough still encounter barriers to accessing sporting activities. We face some of London’s highest obesity rates and poor health is strongly linked with deprivation,” he said.
“This pioneering programme is our commitment to the residents of Hounslow – we will harness the power of sport to confront health inequalities and ensure those most in need find easy, accessible ways to keep active.”
The Council’s recent budget also included an additional £250,000 to reduce barriers for young people, including discounts and offers across its six leisure centres.
The Football Foundation emphasised that each PlayZone will be shaped by local residents.
Chief Executive Robert Sullivan said, “When it comes to tackling the greatest inequalities to becoming active, the Football Foundation knows a ‘one-size fits all’ approach doesn’t work. That’s why community engagement is at the heart of our PlayZones programme.”
Residents in Brentford will be invited to take part in surveys and drop-in sessions at Clayponds Community Centre to help shape the final design, layout and programming of the new facility.
The Clayponds PlayZone builds on the success of the Cruyff Court at Brentford Towers, delivered in partnership with Brentford FC Community Sports Trust and the Cruyff Foundation. That project transformed a tired multi-games area into a high-quality, modern facility now heavily used by local children and young people.
Following community consultation, the plans will be submitted to the Council’s planning committee later this year. Construction is expected to begin in late 2026, with the new PlayZones — including the Clayponds Estate facility — opening in 2027.
The council says residents will be contacted directly about upcoming consultation events.
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