Steelwork creating Outstanding south London leisure centre

Aiming to achieve a BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ rating, the steel frame for the Woolwich Leisure Centre, which will be one of the UK’s largest urban leisure facilities, is taking shape.

Working on behalf of Morgan Sindall Construction, Elland Steel Structures is fabricating, supplying and erecting 1,650t of steel for the project.

Because of the town centre location, space is at a premium on this job and so a stacked design has been chosen. In this way, the steel-framed 12,800m² centre is able to accommodate three floors of facilities within a relatively confined area.

The leisure centre’s array of facilities will include a 25m, eight lane swimming pool, leisure pool with flumes and splash pad, a teaching/training pool, a spa, a six-court sports hall, a five-a-side football pitch, a two-level gymnasium, dance and spinning studios, and two squash courts.

The centre will also feature flexible and accessible community spaces, along with a commercial café, creche, and soft play area, as well as two studios that will be linked to the neighbouring Tramshed theatre and community arts hub.

“The leisure centre requires long unsupported spans to provide large floor plates for the swimming pools, sports hall, fitness centre etc. The complexity increases when you undertake a stacked centre, where vibration is a main consideration due to the dynamic load imposed on the spans from above,” says Morgan Sindall Construction Senior Project Manager Mike Perera.

With so many different long-span areas to accommodate, a steel frame supporting precast flooring planks has been chosen as the best method to create these spaces, and dampen any potential vibration issues between the various areas of the building.

The Woolwich Leisure Centre is due to open in October 2025.