Subject to Cabinet approval on 28 January, the Royal Borough of Greenwich is investing £600,000 to transform its adventure play centres (APCs). This includes a brand-new multi-use games area for Woolwich, upgraded outdoor facilities at Glyndon Adventure Play Centre, plus a brand-new NextGen Greenwich Community Youth Hub at Meridian Adventure Play Centre in Greenwich Creekside Ward. This is in addition to £1.5million the council will invest in Coldharbour Community Hub to Get Things Done and create a state-of-the-art hub complete with a revamped playground – subject to conversations with the community.
Councillor Sandra Bauer, Cabinet Member for Equality, Culture and Communities, said: “We want to make sure children and young people have the play areas that they deserve. Only 1.4 per cent of kids in Greenwich currently visit the borough’s adventure play centres. By using £600,000 in one-off funding, we can invest in new and improved spaces that are inclusive and welcoming to even more children and young people and financially stable for years to come.
“Young people told us they want safe spaces with trusted adults, a range of activities shaped by their input, and support that recognises their changing needs as they grow. We heard you. We're investing in supervised play by repurposing Meridian Adventure Play Centre as a Community Youth Hub. We’ll be upgrading some existing outdoor sites and building a brand-new multi-use games area in Woolwich, plus we’ll still have Plumstead running as a supervised adventure play centre. That’s more choice for our young people, all within a bus ride of each other.”
What’s happening?
- As part of our new, reimagined youth offer, NextGen Greenwich, the council will repurpose the Meridian Adventure Play Centre site into a new dedicated Community Youth Hub, with better opening hours and supervised activities shaped by young people and delivered by qualified youth workers.
- The outdoor facilities at Glyndon APC will be upgraded, while the council explores ways to collaborate with the local voluntary sector at the site.
- The council is exploring a new location in Woolwich to invest in a multi-use games area for local children and young people to enjoy freely, that’s away from the traffic pollution of the main road. The current adventure play centre site will close, while the nearby Woolwich Common Youth Hub will continue to offer supervised youth activities.
- Plumstead is the most used site and isn't changing - it will continue to serve the local community as a supervised adventure play centre. The council will seek opportunities for targeted investment to address ageing equipment, accessibility and indoor facilities.
- As part of Getting Things Done, the council is also investing £1.5million to develop a new Community Hub at Coldharbour that could include youth services, designed in collaboration with the local community (subject to stakeholder and community engagement).
GLL which manage the adventure play centres and employ the staff, will be consulting fully with staff who may be affected by the changes to adventure play centres, and have stated their commitment to working closely together to minimise impact and protect employment wherever possible.
As well as the APCs, the Royal Borough of Greenwich already has four dedicated Youth Hubs in Charlton, Eltham, Thamesmead and Woolwich. We're proposing to launch NextGen Greenwich - a new health, wellbeing and youth service that will also include a £400,000 grant for young people.
The council offer Holiday Food and Fun programmes during school holidays for children eligible for free school meals – including children with special educational needs and disabilities. Royal Greenwich is also home to 66 playgrounds, 12 libraries providing free activities, 14 multi-use games areas, 15 outdoor gyms, seven leisure centres and nine Family Hubs and Children’s Centres.
*Please note, these proposals are all subject to cabinet approval on Wednesday 28 January.
Find out more about services available for children, young people and families in Royal Greenwich.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is happening to the adventure play centres?
- As part of our new, reimagined youth offer, NextGen Greenwich, the council will repurpose the Meridian Adventure Play Centre site into a new dedicated Community Youth Hub, with better opening hours and supervised activities shaped by young people and delivered by qualified youth workers.
- The outdoor facilities at Glyndon APC will be upgraded, while the council explores ways to collaborate with the local voluntary sector at the site.
- The council is exploring a new location in Woolwich to invest in a multi-use games area for local children and young people to enjoy freely, that’s away from the traffic pollution of the main road. The current adventure play centre site will close, while the nearby Woolwich Common Youth Hub will continue to offer supervised youth activities.
- Plumstead is the most used site and isn't changing - it will continue to serve the local community as a supervised adventure play centre. The council will seek opportunities for targeted investment to address ageing equipment, accessibility and indoor facilities.
- As part of Getting Things Done, the council is also investing £1.5million to develop a new Community Hub at Coldharbour that could include youth services, designed in collaboration with the local community (subject to stakeholder and community engagement).
- All proposals are subject to Cabinet approval on Wednesday 28 January.
How did you use feedback from the consultation?
Young people told us they want safe spaces with trusted adults, a range of activities shaped by their input, and support that recognises their changing needs as they grow. Parents and carers told us they were concerned about losing supervised provision at adventure play centres.
We listened to this feedback carefully and made changes where possible. As part of our new, reimagined youth offer, NextGen Greenwich, we’ll repurpose the Meridian Adventure Play Centre site into a new dedicated Community Youth Hub, with better opening hours and supervised activities shaped by young people and delivered by qualified youth workers. We’re exploring community-led options for supervised activities at Glyndon and as the most used site, Plumstead isn't changing. It will continue to serve the local community as a supervised adventure play centre.
This approach will build stronger connections between adventure play and other youth services across the borough. Our children and young people will have a wider range of activities to choose from that meet their individual needs, from sports, arts and music to personal development opportunities, advice and support from trusted, qualified adults.
Why are you making these changes to our adventure play centres?
We want to make sure our youth services best meet the needs of our children and young people for years to come.
The adventure play centres are currently open for around 30 hours per week, which limits how much they can be used. 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. Not all sites are currently accessible to every child, such as those with certain disabilities, and they aren't financially sustainable in their current format.
Under 1,000 of the 70,000 kids in Greenwich currently visit the APCs - we're trying to reach more children and young people of all ages. By using one-off funding we can invest in new and improved, accessible spaces and develop a network of youth hubs, reimagined adventure play centres and multi-use games areas all within a bus ride of each other.
Will the centres being refurbished be closed while this is happening?
Wherever possible, sites will be developed with a phased approach to avoid any gaps between existing and new services.
What other services are available for children and young people in Greenwich?
Alongside our adventure play centres, we already have four dedicated Youth Hubs in Charlton, Eltham, Thamesmead and Woolwich. A range of supervised activities are on offer at these sites, including sport, art and music, careers support, health advice and mentoring from qualified staff in a safe and welcoming environment.
We offer Holiday Food and Fun programmes during school holidays for children eligible for free school meals – including children with special educational needs and disabilities.
We’re also home to 66 playgrounds, 12 libraries providing free activities, 14 multi-use games areas, 15 outdoor gyms, seven leisure centres and nine Family Hub and Children’s Centres.
My family uses the free holiday meal service at my local adventure play centre. Will we still be able to access this service?
Your child(ren) will still be able pick-up free holiday meals from libraries, leisure centres and Plumstead Adventure Play Centre. Where necessary, the service will be relocated from APCs to nearby locations.
What will happen to the staff at the adventure play centres?
GLL, who manage the adventure play centres and employ staff, will be consulting fully with staff who may be affected by the changes to adventure play centres, and have stated their commitment to working closely together to minimise impact and protect employment wherever possible.