JD Gyms Watford opens on Tuesday 22 December 2026 in the Harlequin's old John Lewis unit: £5 first month, then £29.99, open 24/7, two hours' free parking.
Update, 5 November 2026: We reread JD Gyms’ Watford page today. The opening date, Tuesday 22 December 2026, and the prices have not changed. We have added how to get there and where to park.
Update, 18 October 2026: JD Gyms has now named the day. Its Watford page says the gym opens on Tuesday 22 December 2026, “just in time for Christmas”. The details are in the next section.
Update, 25 October 2026: JD Gyms has published the full equipment list for Watford, including 28 treadmills, 70 dumbbell sets and 12 cable towers. It is in the equipment section below.
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 at the end of August.
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 put the arrival “in late 2026” at that point. When we first reported this on 2 September, neither gave a date.
When does JD Gym Watford open? Tuesday 22 December 2026
JD Gyms’ Watford page now reads “Opening on Tuesday 22nd December 2026”, with a countdown clock, and calls it “Watford’s biggest gym”. That is the operator’s own date, first read on 18 October 2026 and read again on 5 November. The Harlequin still gives no date: its store page says “Coming Soon” and its offer page says “this winter”.
What JD Gyms is advertising for the opening:
| JD Gyms Watford | |
|---|---|
| Opening day | Tuesday 22 December 2026 |
| Early-bird price | £5 for the first month (“limited places”) |
| Price after that | £29.99 a month |
| Contract | None |
| Joining fee | None |
| Refund | 14-day money-back guarantee |
| Hours | 24 hours a day, seven days a week |
| Parking | Two hours free, 24-hour car park access |
| Address | The Harlequin Centre, High Street, Watford, WD17 2TW |
| watford@jdgyms.co.uk |
Registering interest on the JD Gyms page costs nothing; the operator says it will contact you when the next batch of early-bird places goes live. The £5 offer was “capped at 200 places” when we first looked in September, and the page now says the early-bird offer has been “extended”, so the number left is not public.
Where is JD Gym Watford, and how do you get there?
JD Gyms Watford is inside the Harlequin Centre, in the former John Lewis space, at High Street, Watford, WD17 2TW.
- By car: JD Gyms says the gym is easy to reach from the M1 and A41, with parking free for up to two hours and accessible 24 hours a day. The Harlequin names Kings car park as the closest to the gym and says the free parking is there.
- By train: JD Gyms says Watford Junction and Watford High Street stations are both a short walk away.
- By bus: local and regional routes stop close to the centre and the High Street.
JD Gyms’ page lists an email address, watford@jdgyms.co.uk, for the branch. Neither it nor the Harlequin says how the two free hours are claimed, so check that when you join.
JD Gym Watford equipment and classes
JD Gyms has now published the full kit list for the Watford gym on its Watford page, read on 25 October 2026. The headline numbers:
| Area | What JD Gyms lists |
|---|---|
| Cardio | 28 treadmills, 8 stair climbers, 6 ellipticals, 4 upright and 4 recumbent bikes, 4 rowers, 4 spin bikes |
| Free weights | 24 adjustable benches, 2 adjustable decline benches, 70 dumbbell sets, dumbbells up to 50kg |
| Cable and racks | 12 multi-station cable towers, two 8-station towers, 3 Hammer Strength vertical Smith machines |
| Plate-loaded | Hammer Strength range including 4 Olympic flat benches, 2 incline and 2 decline benches, hack squat, belt squat, linear leg press and pendulum squat |
| Selectorised | Matrix range: chest, shoulder and leg presses, lat pulldown, rows, leg curls and extensions, hip abductor and adductor |
| Functional and glute zone | 4 Assault bikes, 4 Concept2 rowers, 3 BikeErgs, 4 SkiErgs, a curve treadmill, glute thrust and hip thrust machines |
Classes are included in the membership at no extra cost, and JD Gyms says there is no need to book: you turn up. It names JD ENGINE and JD X-FIT, its own classes, alongside Pilates and Les Mills sessions. All of this is the operator’s own list, published two months before opening, so it can change.
Nine illuminated signs: the decision we cannot yet confirm
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 record showed it open for comments when we read it in October, with an internal target date for a decision of 22 October 2026. The council’s planning site did not respond when we tried on 5 November, so we cannot say whether that decision has been made.
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 when we first looked in September and since extended
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, check 26/00686/ADV on the council’s register first, because its 22 October target date has passed and comments may have closed. 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 prices are JD Gyms’ own. The opening date, 22 December 2026, is the operator’s; the centre had not put a date on its own pages on 5 November, and the sign application was still marked “Pending Decision” on the council’s register on 18 October, four days before its 22 October target date.
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.
Frequently asked questions
When is JD Gym Watford opening?
On Tuesday 22 December 2026, according to JD Gyms’ own Watford page. Until October the operator and the Harlequin only said “late 2026”.
Where is JD Gyms Watford?
In the Harlequin Centre, in the unit John Lewis used to occupy. JD Gyms gives the address as The Harlequin Centre, High Street, Watford, WD17 2TW. The planned signs face Beechen Grove, above the Kings Car Park entrance.
Is there free parking at JD Gym Watford?
JD Gyms says parking is free for up to two hours, with 24-hour car park access. The Harlequin says the free parking is at Kings car park, the closest to the gym.
How much is JD Gyms Watford?
The early-bird offer is £5 for the first month, then £29.99 a month, with no contract and no joining fee. These are JD Gyms’ advertised prices and can change before opening.
Is JD Gyms Watford open 24 hours?
Yes, the operator says it will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including bank holidays, with 24-hour car park access and two hours’ free parking.
What equipment does JD Gym Watford have?
JD Gyms lists 28 treadmills, 8 stair climbers, 24 adjustable benches, 70 dumbbell sets up to 50kg, 12 cable towers, three Smith machines, a Hammer Strength plate-loaded range and a functional and glute zone with Assault bikes, SkiErgs and Concept2 rowers.
Do you have to book classes at JD Gym Watford?
No. JD Gyms says classes are included in the membership and there is no need to book; you just turn up.
Do the signs need permission?
Yes. Application 26/00686/ADV for nine illuminated signs was still pending when we last read the register on 18 October 2026. The gym itself needs no planning permission, because a shop and a gym share use Class E.
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