Victory on and off the pitch
The ultimate aim of any football club is to become an established Premier League team. Whilst footballing skills, strategy and effective management are the key ingredients of success, planning too can have a role to play, as Niamh Piercy, Associate Partner in Carter Jonas’ London office, explains.
“Carter Jonas, and before it, Planning Perspectives (which was acquired by Carter Jonas in 2014), has been working for Brentford Football Club for some 15 years,” explains Niamh. “At that point, Brentford was a League 1 club with strong ambitions to achieve promotion to the Championship and then possibly Premier League status. So, from the point at which we were instructed, the objective has always been to support that aim.”
In May 2021, that greatest aspiration was realised: Brentford was promoted to the Premier League for the first time since 1947. So, what role did Carter Jonas play in this sporting success?
“Throughout our work with Brentford, the objective has been to support the Club in creating a stadium, training ground and other facilities suitable for a Premier League club,” says Niamh. Although the work is ongoing, the built environment is invariably a factor in any sporting success.
A state-of-the-art new stadium
It all started with the need for a new stadium. The Club’s Griffin Park ground, which had been its home for over 100 years, was no longer fit for purpose, even for a Club in the lower leagues. In June 2014, Planning Perspectives helped the Club to secure permission for a new stadium, together with almost 1,000 apartments to help fund its development, on an underused site just north of Kew Bridge in the London Borough of Hounslow.
Securing planning permission required many hurdles to be overcome – visual impact, transport, crowd flow, noise, air quality and flooding to name just a few – but ultimately the various planning authorities (Hounslow Council, the London Mayor and the Secretary of State) were satisfied that the benefits of the scheme outweighed the impacts and the proposals were approved. After some subsequent amendments to the proposals, the stadium hosted its first game in September 2020.
Excellent training facilities
Having excellent training facilities is just as important as the stadium, perhaps more so.
The Club’s training ground is a 17.35 hectare site on Jersey Road, also in the London Borough of Hounslow. When the Club first leased the site, the buildings were a mixture of temporary buildings in very poor condition clustered around an old sports pavilion.
The site is designated Metropolitan Open Land, close to the Grade 1 Listed Osterley House and grounds. It is also within an archaeological priority area and an area of nature conservation importance and so the development proposals faced some very major challenges, each of which were successfully overcome through planning consultancy advice.
Having a first-class performance centre for its elite players was a key part of the club’s development strategy. Planning permission was therefore obtained for a modular two-storey building with attached large gym to house all the required facilities in conjunction with the excellent training pitches being developed on the site.
An Academy was then required because, in 2022, the Premier League determined that all top-flight clubs must have at least a Category 3 Academy at the start of the 2024/25 season. Brentford was the only Premier League club without a Category 3 Academy and the deadline urgently required planning permission for this facility and its various components - which included classrooms, medical facilities and much more - to be secured.
The Academy would also help the Club attract footballing talent it had identified in West London and the surrounding area, and the future operation of a Category 1 Academy will be imperative to enable the Club to recruit the very best young players.
Niamh explains, “We obtained planning permission for the Club’s elite player performance centre - the Robert Rowan Performance Centre – in August 2022. Then, following on from this permission, planning permission was granted in April 2024 for the construction of a football academy building, a permanent indoor football pitch, a grounds’ maintenance building, an artificial pitch, additional playing pitches, car parking, access roads and paths and hard and soft landscaping.”
Financial growth and stability
“As a newly promoted Premier League club, Brentford is also competing in a new league commercially,” say Niamh. “Expectations were raised in terms of maximising revenue to sign and retain top players and to attract sponsorship deals. The built environment is crucial to these financial objectives, from providing top facilities for training, recovery and relaxation, to creating a world-class matchday experience. A club’s built environment is a physical representation of its ambition and identity, which is a major pull factor for players and fans alike.”
Brentford’s financial success is as impressive as its sporting success. The Club has been transformed from a lower-league club with financial struggles into a sustainable Premier League club with smart investments which has contributed to significant growth. The Club’s promotion to the Premier League was worth an estimated £170 million due to increased broadcasting revenue, sponsorships and commercial deals and remaining in the League beyond an initial season secured an additional £100+ million in TV rights and sponsorship income. Revenue has grown from £15M when the Club was in the Championship to over £166m as a Premier League club.
Community outreach
The very essence of Brentford is that it is a community-focussed club. Developing its facilities, both within the stadium development and at the training ground, to maximise the community benefit has been a golden thread running through every planning application that has been submitted.
Niamh explains, “In essence, the club’s work in the community promotes inclusive community programmes, extending access to sports facilities to, for example, people with disabilities, older residents and people experiencing mental health challenges. The Academy development at Jersey Road provides opportunities for local residents to participate in football and other sports both during the week and in school holidays, and it aligns with initiatives led by Brentford FC Community Sports Trust by focusing on health and wellbeing, particularly the Club’s cardiac health campaign, Heart of West London. It also encourages the development of young female footballers from the local area, providing a pathway to elite football. Finally, in identifying and supporting talented young footballers, the Club’s community work ultimately contributes to its overall ambitions.”
Environment and biodiversity
Associated with the Club’s awareness and support of its local area is its conscientious approach to environmental sustainability. Niamh explains, “Most of the planning applications for the redevelopment occurred before the mandatory requirement for 10% Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) was in place, but despite this the planning application for the Academy facilities ensured that BNG was provided in excess of 10%. The Club has initiated wildflower planting around the stadium to support pollinators and enhance local ecosystems and worked with the local wildlife trust to enhance local habitats and promote conservation efforts in the community.
“The new stadium supports renewable energy, energy-efficiency, rainwater harvesting and recycling programmes. Additionally, last season the Club has put partnerships in place with public transport providers to encourage sustainable, affordable travel to the stadium, while also facilitating fans cycling to games.”
“We achieved further efficiencies partly through the fact that the Academy building, for a number of reasons - not least sustainability - is a temporary building. It’s made up of a series of prefabricated, modular, portable buildings that are leased by the Club. However, a visitor to the club would be hard-pressed to identify the facilities as former classrooms, or workers’ cafes, as they have been very effectively renovated and re-clad. The important, underlying, principle is a significant saving in resources, and a significant contribution to the circular economy.”
Conclusion
Since entering the Premier League in 2021, Brentford has defied expectations, finishing 13th in 2021-22, 9th in 2022-23 (just two points shy of European qualification), 16th in 2023-24 and 10th in 2024-25.
Brentford has achieved incredible football success in a short time, making the Club a model for smaller clubs aiming for long-term growth. Carter Jonas is extremely proud to have played a part in that success by supporting the Club in obtaining planning permission for all the built facilities it has required.
It is important to understand that success in the Premier League is dependent not just on goals scored on the pitch. The country’s top clubs need to meet much broader goals including supporting the community, creating local economic benefits, providing extensive training facilities and addressing sustainability objectives. For this, Carter Jonas can claim some credit.