JD Gyms takes the Harlequin's former John Lewis space, opening late 2026. Nine illuminated signs are now with Watford planners and open for comment.
The Harlequin’s former John Lewis unit has a tenant. JD Gyms says it will open there in late 2026, and the first planning paperwork for the arrival reached Watford Borough Council last week.
The gym chain’s own Watford page says the site will be “based in the Harlequin Centre, in the former John Lewis space”. It describes the branch as “our flagship gym location”. The centre’s own JD Gyms page puts the arrival “in late 2026”. Neither gives a date.
Nine illuminated signs, now open for comment
The application in front of the council is for advertisement consent, not for the gym itself. It is reference 26/00686/ADV, received and validated on 27 August 2026. The council’s own record shows it is open for comments, with an internal target date for a decision of 22 October 2026.
The applicants are Watford Centre Limited and WRP Management Limited. Their agent is Profectus Town Planning of Manchester. The covering planning statement sets out nine signs in total:
- three JD Gyms signs, all internally illuminated, at a maximum 400 cd/m2
- one of those three is a car park entrance sign above the Kings Car Park vehicle entrance, to direct gym users to the right car park
- six further elevation signs, marked “LOGO TBC”, at a maximum 300 cd/m2
- the eight elevation signs sit in two groups of four, one above the Kings Car Park entrance and one flanking a full-height window
Only the JD Gyms lettering is designed. For the other six the applicant is asking the council to fix the maximum size and brightness now, and to settle the wording, colour and materials later. The statement offers the council a condition to that effect. Each group of four is to carry the same four “key brand occupiers”, so three tenants beyond JD Gyms are still unnamed on the public file.
The fee was £174, plus a £91 Planning Portal charge.
The nine signs would sit at five different heights above ground, from 4.38 metres for the car park sign to 17.4 metres for the highest pair:
Why the blank wall matters
The eastern elevation faces Beechen Grove. The planning statement calls it “an expansive façade which is presently largely blank and inactive”. That is the case the applicant is making: signs there would advertise the centre’s anchor tenants to passing traffic and lift footfall.
The council has said no to signs on this wall before. In 2024 it refused 24/00487/ADV, an application for two illuminated fascia signs and a window vinyl for B&M. The refusal was issued on 18 July 2024. The council’s record shows the applicant appealed and the appeal was dismissed.
The new statement argues this scheme is different. It says the B&M signs were larger, sat at ground level either side of the existing Dunelm signage, and would have crowded the street. These signs are smaller and higher up.
The centre is also mid-rebrand. Watford’s shopping centre reverted to the Harlequin name after the council approved 25/00727/ADV in 2025, covering 8 entrance signs, 6 elevation signs, 3 car park entrance signs and 5 non-illuminated posts. The old web address, atriawatford.com, now redirects to harlequinwatford.com. The planning statement says the centre has been owned by SGS Group since 2020.
There is no separate planning application on the register for the gym itself. A gym and a shop both sit in use Class E, so a change between them inside an existing unit does not usually need permission.
What JD Gyms says it is building
These are the operator’s own claims, on its own website, and not something the council has assessed:
- open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including bank holidays
- more than 250 machines, with classes included in the membership
- an Eleiko functional zone with a rig, Concept2 ergs, kettlebells and a sled track
- over 20 adjustable benches and dumbbells up to 50kg
- saunas in both the male and female changing rooms
- an early-bird offer of £5 for the first month, capped at 200 places
JD Gyms gives the address as The Harlequin Centre, High Street, Watford, WD17 2TW, and says parking is free for up to two hours. Two days after the application was validated, it ran a taster day at Charter Place on Saturday 29 August.
What it means for you
If the signs bother you, or you support them, the council is taking comments on 26/00686/ADV now. Advertisement consent is decided on two things only: amenity and public safety. Objections about the gym itself, its opening hours or its traffic are not matters the council can weigh in this application, because the use does not need permission.
If you are interested in the membership offer, note that the price is JD Gyms’ own and there is still no opening date from either the operator or the centre. Late 2026 is as specific as both have gone.
On parking, the free two hours is JD Gyms’ claim about the centre’s car parks, not a council rate. Our guide to parking in Watford covers the council’s own car parks and charges.
You can follow this and other applications through our Watford planning news page, and see what else is open in the town centre in things to do in Watford.
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