Busy playing: More fun, more of the time
We’re proposing changes to improve our adventure play sites and we want to hear your views.
About our adventure play centres
About our adventure play centres
There are five free adventure play centres (APCs), run on the council’s behalf by GLL (Better). These sit alongside 27 playgrounds in our parks, 39 on our housing estates, 11 multiuse games areas, eight outdoor gyms, and four youth hubs. Unlike our playgrounds, our APCs aren’t open all the time, only 30 hours per week on average, and some have fallen into poor condition. An independent health and safety inspection recently condemned some of the wooden structures at various sites. These are currently closed off and unusable.
Not all our APCs have traditional wooden adventure climbing structures with rope swings and zip wires for children aged over six –Woolwich, Plumstead and Meridian do, and the remaining two are a combination of sports courts and play equipment. What makes them similar is that they have buildings for indoor wet weather activities and are only open when staff are there. This means they are closed the rest of the time.
The Royal Borough of Greenwich is in a financially strong position compared to councils across the UK, but we’re still feeling the enormous impact of rising demand for services and the rising cost of delivering them. It currently costs us over £730k a year to run the five adventure play centres. It would cost over £200,000 per site to refurbish what is already at each location.
We have £600,000 in total to invest in our APCs but we believe we can improve what is being provided for children and young people, so it is more modern, inclusive, safe and accessible. We also think this is an opportunity to rethink where some of the sites could be best provided - but we need young people and their families to help shape what this could be like.
This booklet will tell you what’s currently on offer at each site, what’s proposed and how to have your say.
You can find out more about what other support and services are already available to families in the borough at royalgreenwich.gov.uk/ busy-playing
What are we proposing?
We’re proposing changes to four of our five adventure play centres to make them more modern, inclusive, safe and accessible for families and young people.
Our proposals include:
• Investing in modern, high-quality facilities – upgrading some of our adventure play centres with new equipment and features, such as refurbished multi-use games areas, improved lighting where possible and seating. This includes removing wooden play structures that are broken and dangerous, closing buildings and reviewing their future use within the scope of other projects.
• Creating more flexible open spaces – opening some sites up so they can be accessed freely all day, evenings and weekends, moving
to an unsupervised model to give families more freedom to use them how and when they want.
• Making spaces more accessible –for children with special educational needs and disabilities, and more welcoming to all groups.
• Repurposing underused or unsafe sites to meet other challenges the borough faces – where it’s not possible to upgrade a site, we will explore alternative locations, ensuring local play facilities are maintained or improved. CCTV will also be installed to help ensure safety where necessary.
Please note, there are no proposed changes to Plumstead Adventure Play Centre, and it will continue to operate in its current format with a supervised play offer.
Why are we proposing these changes?
• Some sites are seeing the effects of years of use and/or are close to main roads exposing children and young people to traffic pollution. They need investment to improve safety and meet the standards our children and young people deserve.
• Not all sites are currently accessible to every child, such as those with certain disabilities. By using one-off funding we can invest in new and improved spaces and create sites that are inclusive and welcoming to even more children.
• The centres are currently open for around 30 hours per week, which limits how much they can be used. We propose opening them up, repurposing and improving the play offer or providing facilities nearby.
• We also want to build stronger links with Young Greenwich, our youth support service for young people aged 8 to 19 (and up to 25 for those with disabilities), so that more activities are available to young people in modern, welcoming spaces. This approach builds on feedback from our recent consultation about youth services, activities and support across the borough.
Please note: The designs shown throughout this brochure are conceptual and for illustrative purposes only. We want local children and families to help shape what these spaces could be like by taking part in the consultation. Final designs will be developed following this community feedback. Woolwich
Glyndon Adventure Play Centre
What’s currently on offer?
• Glyndon APC is open 30 hours per week, 261 days a year, with supervised access. The site is gated, so it’s not accessible outside opening hours.
• Facilities include an indoor building, a small outdoor play area, garden, large alien climbing frame, and a floodlit multi-use games area for sports like basketball.
What’s proposed?
Ideas being considered include:
• opening up the outdoor space for all-day, evening and weekend use by removing the gates and moving to an unsupervised model
• closing the building on site and reviewing how it could be used in future
• relocating services such as free holiday meals to a nearby venue, ensuring continued
access for those who need them
• installing CCTV to keep the site safe
• upgrading the multi-use games area with new line markings and sport equipment
• adding interactive games or table tennis tables
• creating a community growing area or resurfacing the small, grassed space
• introducing new sports coaching and activity programmes at the site
• adding social features, like better seating, shelter, and bright, playful designs to make the space more inviting
• adding new play equipment
• upgrading floodlights with longer-lasting, lowmaintenance bulbs.
Other services nearby
• Glyndon multi-use games area (Villas Road) – 6 minute walk
• Glyndon Community Centre – 7 minute walk
• Plumstead Centre (Library and Leisure Centre) – 15 minute walk
• New Woolwich Waves Leisure Centre opening soon – 17 minute walk
• Plumstead Gardens and Garland Road Playgrounds – both 20 minute walk
• Bostall Gardens – around 20 minute by bus
• Woolwich Common Youth Hub and Hawksmoor Youth Hub – both around 20 minutes by bus
Woolwich Adventure Play Centre
What’s currently on offer?
• Woolwich APC is open 30 hours per week, 261 days a year, with supervised access.
• Facilities include an indoor building, outdoor wooden play equipment, and a multi-use games area for sports like basketball.
• Some equipment (over 10%) is currently unusable, including the slide on the bus.
• The centre is located next to a main road exposing children to traffic pollution.
What’s proposed?
Ideas being considered include:
• the possibility of closing the site due to its unsuitable location and the health risks linked to traffic pollution from the nearby main road
• investing in nearby Maryon Park*, building a new multigames area to provide improved play and sports facilitiesany new upgraded site will be unsupervised, pending consultation
• relocating services such as free holiday meals to a nearby venue, ensuring continued access for those who need them
• introducing new sports coaching and activity programmes at the new site
• adding social features, like better seating, shelter and bright, playful designs to make the space more inviting at the new site
• adding new play equipment
Other services nearby
• Clockhouse Community Centre –5 minute walk
• Maryon Wilson Animal Park – 12 minute walk
• installing CCTV to keep the new site safe.
*Maryon Park redevelopment is subject to planning permission.
• New Woolwich Waves Leisure Centre opening soon – 20 minute walk
• Woolwich Common Youth Hub –29 minute walk
Coldharbour Adventure Play Centre
What’s currently on offer?
• Coldharbour APC building is open 30 hours per week, 261 days a year, with supervised access.
• Facilities include an indoor building, outdoor play equipment and a multi-use games area for sports like basketball.
What’s proposed?
We are proposing to redevelop the Coldharbour APC site into a new, multi-use Community Hub for all ages to be designed in collaboration with local communities to ensure their voices shape how it looks and the services it will offer. This proposal will be subject to a separate future consultation.
Subject to the consultation outcomes and approval, we are proposing to end the APC service to enable redevelopment of the building into a new Community Hub. It’s proposed that the multi-use games area and playground will remain open and accessible to residents and be invested in as part of the wider Community Hub redevelopment.
Find out more about the proposed Community Hub at royalgreenwich.gov.uk/coldharbour-apc.
Other
services nearby
• Coldharbour Community Hall – 5 minute walk
• Altash Gardens Children’s Playground and Tennis Courts – 5 minute walk
• Coldharbour Library – 6 minute walk
• Coldharbour Leisure Centre – 15 minute walk
• Fairy Hill Park – 18-minute walk
• Avery Hill Youth Hub – around 15 minutes by bus
Plumstead Adventure Play Centre
What’s currently on offer?
• Plumstead APC is open 30 hours per week, 261 days a year, with supervised access.
• Facilities include an indoor building, a wooden outdoor play area with climbing frames and ropes, and a small play area for children under five.
What’s proposed?
There are no proposed changes, and the centre will continue to operate in its current format as a supervised play centre.
This decision follows a review of usage data and the site offer. Plumstead APC is the most-used site, with over 50% more visits than the average across the other APCs during the most recent reporting period. It also had more visits from children under the age of five than any of the other sites. Importantly, unlike Woolwich, no suitable alternative location has been identified nearby.
Meridian Adventure Play Centre
What’s currently on offer?
• Meridian APC is open 30 hours per week, 261 days a year, with supervised access.
• Facilities include an indoor building and a wooden outdoor play area with a walkway.
What’s proposed?
We are proposing to redevelop the Meridian APC site into a new supervised Community Youth Hub that could host different youth activities throughout the year.
As part of the updated Young Greenwich Model, the proposed hub could contribute to our borough-wide network of community youth hubs and youth support services, including opportunities for whole-family support. This will be designed in collaboration with local communities to ensure their voices shape how it looks and be subject to a separate future consultation.
If, following consultation, the proposal goes ahead, it will be necessary to close the existing building and outdoor space to enable its redevelopment. This could mean ending the current APC service at this point. It is then proposed the site will reopen as a new, supervised Community Youth Hub, following a refurbishment designed in collaboration with children and young people.
Other services nearby
• Basketball Court (next to Page House) – 2 minute walk
• St Alfege Park – 5 minute walk
• Greenwich Park – 11 minute walk
• West Greenwich Library – 11 minute walk
• The Greenwich Centre – 25 minute walk
How to have your say
We’re considering lots of options for the future of our adventure play centres, and your feedback will shape what happens next.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll be speaking with the community through:
• visits to Woolwich and Glyndon APCs to engage directly with families and young people
• an online survey for all five APCs, with paper copies available in libraries, community centres and adventure play centres
• targeted focus groups with children in schools close to Glyndon and Woolwich to explore how we can improve facilities and make them more accessible
• surveys with residents living near the current sites in Glyndon and Woolwich.
Please note: depending on the outcome of this consultation, there will be separate engagement activities for the proposed Meridian Community Youth Hub and Coldharbour Community Hub in the coming months.
The consultation begins in November and will last four weeks.
Please take a look at the proposed plans for each site. We want to hear your views on the changes and whether you’d use any new facilities in your local area. We are especially keen to hear from children and young people, and we will prioritise their views when making a final decision.
Take part in the online survey at royalgreenwich.gov.uk/busy-playing
What happens next?
November to December 2025
Communities will be able to feedback on proposals online and at in person events.
December 2025 to January 2026
Feedback from the consultation will shape and develop the final proposals for each site.
Early 2026
Based on the consultation, proposals will be presented to councillors for decision.
A decision on the future of adventure play centres and the timeline is expected to be agreed by councillors in early 2026, subject to scheduling and review processes.
Any agreed works would provisionally take place following this decision.