Activity at former Arches leisure centre in Greenwich
With the Waterfront leisure centre in Woolwich closing for good last week an opportune chance came up for a look inside the former Arches centre in east Greenwich which closed in 2015.
Since Greenwich Council sold the building the site has sat empty with no revamp plans ever being submitted.
Now work is underway to clear out detritus from what was the swimming pool. Whilst the current condition was no great surprise it was good to see some fitting survive on the upper floor.
Sadly photos of the former interior are lacking for me though a few do exist online.
As for the outside little has changed since closure more than a decade ago when leisure facilities moved to the Greenwich Centre a short distance east.
The Greenwich Centre also includes a library which replaced the former east Greenwich library near the Blackwall flyover where a church is soon set to open. Greenwich Council sold the site in 2018.
Future
The future of the former Arches remains to be seen. Clearing out the building suggests something may be in motion (staff on site didn’t know much) and the site is included in the authorities draft Local Plan (page 51 here).
It suggests 110 homes with ground floor commercial units facing Trafalgar Road.
It suggests “sensitively adapting the building for a new uses while preserving its existing street façade”.
The structure also extends someway up Maze Hill.
The Draft Plan suggest buildings heights no taller than six floors: “New blocks set back from the street should be mid-rise in character, not exceeding six storeys, and should integrate well with the surrounding context in terms of scale and architectural expression”.
Will it happen soon? So far it’s been more than a decade but activity on site suggests something is brewing. Keep an eye out for consultations and/or a planning application.
You’ll find more images of the former interior over years gone by if you search for Greenwich Baths. An older taxi driver who took me home (I lived a few doors down) about 10 years ago was recounting they used to have actual “slipper baths” in there in his youth. Haven’t verified if true!
Greenwich baths was where I FAILED learning to swim. 😂😂😂 I remember the smell of chlorine and the changing room. It’s a beautiful building that like the former East Greenwich library, nearly fell into dereliction.
@John Smith: the scaffolding that was around the old library has been taken down and the exterior is looking less sad. I imagine fitting out to accommodate the new congregants is the next step.