Woolwich Waves

Story and photos courtesy of Ustigate Waterplay

At 36 years of serving the community, the Waterfront Leisure Centre had reached its end of life, so the Royal Borough of Greenwich made the decision to invest in a brand-new centre. Residents voted to name it Woolwich Waves, and it opened its doors on January 1, 2026.

Designed by FaulknerBrowns Architects and built by Morgan Sindall, with engineering support from Buro Happold, Woolwich Waves is a state-of-the-art, multi-activity facility with an aquatic area, health suite, gym, sports hall, football pitch, exercise studio, squash courts, and a café. Rooftop solar panels help reduce the building’s heating energy demand.

Vortex partner Ustigate Waterplay collaborated with the teams to design and build Woolwich Waves. Its design team identified opportunities to increase interaction and play value in the leisure pool for all ages, incorporating a row of stimulating Rooster Tail water jets along a wall and overhead features that create a more dynamic environment for swimmers.

The splash zone is a vibrant hub of aquatic play activity. Some of the exciting water features are situated in shallow water, while others are in a zero-depth space, ensuring Woolwich Waves offers accessible and inclusive water play for everyone.

The expansive zero-depth Spashpad® is anchored by a PlayNuk™ low-level play structure; its small slide and cascading water elements will excite even the littlest water adventurers.  It is surrounded by a multitude of interactive and dynamic features, including two water cannons, the award-winning Astra No2 with three tipping buckets, and a Cascade Loop. Several features from the Explora collection engage children to move, push, pull, spin, and splash!

The adjacent shallow pool brings additional splash fun. A SlideNuk introduces toddlers to their first waterslide fun, while an additional Cascade Loop and the unique Luna No3 encourage the little ones to explore water in its many forms. Whimsical characters Frog No1 and Snail No4 also invite children to engage with their water effects.

The new Woolwich Waves exceeded all expectations in its first full week of opening, with three times the visitors as its previous facility. Family fun swims in the leisure pools, including the Splashpad®, have proven to be the most popular activities.