The first phase of urgent repair works to Waterfront Leisure Centre, which brought forward after an overhead pipe fell from the ceiling at the start of February, have now been completed.

The centre's fitness pool and multi-lane slide will now reopen tomorrow (February 21) following the repair work, but the rest of the pool hall, including the leisure pool and anaconda flume, are remaining closed until the summer.

But the rest of the pool hall, including the leisure pool and anaconda flume, will remain closed with the council stating that all repairs will hopefully be completed before the summer holidays.

The pool area at Waterfront Leisure Centre, which is now over 30-years old, shut its doors over the weekend of February 8 after a section of ceiling pipe which came loose and fell into the centre's main pool.

Luckily the centre was closed at the time of the incident, and no staff or members of the public were injured, but after investigating the cause, Greenwich Council and the GLL decided to bring forward already-planned essential repair works.

There are plans for a brand new Woolwich Leisure Centre, expected to open in 2024, to replace the ageing Waterfront, but the council has now been forced to speed up a £1.4 million investment in the current centre to make sure the facility is safe and fully-operational.

Mark Sesnan, CEO of GLL which runs the Better Waterfront Leisure Centre said: “We apologise to customers who have not been able to swim at the Waterfront for the last fortnight.

“We’ve worked with Royal Borough of Greenwich to relocate the swimming programme to prioritise getting the fitness pool re-opened so residents can get back into the pool as quickly as possible.

“Our team are looking forward to welcoming customers back.”

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With the fitness pool fully reopening on Friday, swimming activities will be reprogrammed to prioritise fun sessions for the small remainder of the school half term.

As of Monday, February 24, a new fitness pool programme will be in place, prioritising school lessons and Better Swim School during the day, and opening to the public in the early morning, lunchtime and in the evening.

With phase one complete, phase two will tackle the boilers, air handling units and roof repairs, as well as improvements to the changing facilities.

These works are part of the GLL and the council's total £1.4m investment into Waterfront, which should enable the centre to stay open for further five years when the new centre opens.

The council has also warned that it will have to close the entire pool hall again in the next few months to allow the phase two works to be completed, with the aim being to have the whole pool area back in public use by summer 2020.

Cllr Miranda Williams, cabinet member for culture, leisure and the third sector, said: “The Waterfront Leisure Centre is now over 30 years old and as promised, we will invest £1.4million to make sure the facility is safe, up-to-date and fully operational while we build the new Woolwich Leisure Centre.

"Considering the incident at the weekend, it is necessary for us to begin those works immediately and ensure there is good-quality leisure centre provision for Woolwich residents.”