Frequently Asked Questions

• The Wave team has identified a site In Edmonton in Enfield at Lee Valley Leisure Complex, behind Lee Valley Athletics Centre, which is currently being used as a golf course and campsite.

• Lee Valley Regional Park Authority own the freehold of the site.

• The site is currently home to Lee Valley Golf Course which includes Ponders End Lake and Lee Valley Camping and Caravan Park, Edmonton. We want to open up these spaces to many more people.

• We are looking to create the first inland surfing destination in any capital city around the world – an oasis of sport, health & wellbeing and relaxation.

• As well as surfing, there will be other options for those who want to be active, as well as places for those who want peace and tranquillity, with food and drink, and facilities for children and families.

• We also see the potential to improve access to the beautiful green spaces and lake on the site, while protecting and enhancing greenery and biodiversity that’s already here.

• There’s a lot of potential for different areas of activity alongside surfing and relaxation, such as natural play-spaces, camping and yoga areas.

• We will also look to deliver a number of new jobs and opportunities for local people.

• Absolutely, our vision is to create an oasis of sport, leisure, health & wellbeing that will be a major asset to local residents and visitors for years to come.

• Absolutely, at this very early stage we are keen to hear from residents and community groups, to ensure our plans meet local needs. We have provided a list of options we would like residents to be able to feedback on. We’ll then go away and consider these as we continue to evolve the plans over the coming months. You can have your say by filling out our short survey here.

• As well as being great for physical and cardiovascular fitness, balance, coordination and muscle strength, surfing is also really great for our mental health. It is a blue health activity. Blue health is a growing area of research that shows that being in or even near water is good for our health – especially our mental wellbeing. Exercising in or near water ‘turbo charges’ the mental health benefits of exercise.

• Yes, this is a designated Green Belt site, though it has been used for leisure since the 1970s. It is also identified within Enfield Council’s Local Plan as a ‘Major Development Site within the Green Belt.’ This means that there is an opportunity to improve the sports and leisure offer here with a variety of activities, reflecting the Lee Valley Regional Park Development Framework.

• In Bristol, we have ‘rewilded’ the former low-grade farmland the surfing lake was built on, with new trees, hedgerows and beehives. And we now have an opportunity to do even more here.

• The Wave London will respond to the climate and ecological emergency by creating a biodiverse rich environment – one which celebrates the mature trees, waterbodies and rolling landscape across the site with ideas that will restore, rewild and regenerate.

• Our vision is to create a place where people and nature coexist in harmony with local ecosystems, establishing a benchmark for social health, well-being and climate resilience.

• We see this project as ‘Greener than the Green Belt’, where the majority of the existing landscape will be preserved, enhanced and restored, supporting new leisure facilities and sustainable infrastructure – planting the seeds of a ‘Blue-Green Future’.

Everything we will do here will be to the ultimate benefit of the planet.

• The Wave Bristol is powered by 100% renewable energy via Ecotricity. We now have funding and planning permission to build our own solar and energy storage array, which means we will produce more energy than we use, making us Net Zero in terms of operational energy. This means we will increase renewable energy generation across South Gloucestershire! We will be looking to do the same here. 

• The Wave London will aspire to achieve Net Zero once it opens. We will look to manage our carbon footprint across the site, with the introduction of a solar power farm and installing high quality heat and ventilation systems across all of the buildings. 

• We will take great care when choosing materials to construct the new buildings, ensuring that it does not add to our carbon footprint. The materials we will use could also be potentially recycled at the end of the building’s life.

• As our plans progress we’ll undertake detailed technical studies on transport and local roads.

• We’re also looking carefully at how people travel to The Wave Bristol to inform our proposals for London.

 
Car parking

• The site already has a significant car park, though this is shared with the cinema, Lee Valley Athletics Centre and a wedding venue and we understand it can be very busy at peak times.

• We don’t want to add to the need for lots of car parking, but we are also realistic about the way people are likely to travel to the site and we really don’t want our visitors parking on local roads.

• We are working with Enfield Council and TfL to explore a number of solutions to ensure there’s enough parking on the site.

There are a number of ways you can share your feedback:

• Through our short survey here
• Freephone: 0800 096 7112
• Email: TheWaveLondon@londoncommunications.co.uk
• At one of our consultation events