The new operator of West Kirby's watersports centre plans to open it in spring 2027 with a sauna and a lakeside restaurant. It runs the centre on a ten-year lease from Wirral Council.

The watersports centre on West Kirby Marine Lake will open in spring 2027 under its new operator. The operator plans to add a sauna, an upstairs restaurant and a kit shop.

Coastal WK Ltd now runs the centre for Wirral Council and trades as Wirral Watersports. Its website, updated on 28 October, says the handover from the council is done. The building is now being fitted out, and partners for the restaurant, sauna and food pitch are still being chosen. The operator says it will announce opening hours, lesson prices and memberships before it opens.

What is planned

The operator’s website lists:

  • lessons in sailing, windsurfing, paddleboarding, kayaking, powerboating and open-water swimming
  • wing foiling, pump foiling, parawing and kitesurfing, taught by Northern Kites
  • demo kit, hire and a shop run by Northern Watersports
  • a sauna by the water, which you can use without going on the lake
  • a first-floor restaurant looking over the lake and out to Hilbre, open to everyone
  • a pitch on the front for a coffee cart or food van
  • changing rooms, hot showers, a kit rinse and beach wheelchairs

Lake memberships will cover launching your own board or boat all year, with free parking in the on-site car park. There will be annual, family, under-25 and under-16 memberships, plus day launches. Before it opens, the operator is also offering a founder membership: one payment covers ten years. No prices have been published for any of them yet.

Businesses are invited to run the restaurant as a joint venture “with no rent, no deposit, a revenue share”, the operator’s opportunities page says.

The council deal

Wirral Council approved the deal on 1 June 2026. The officer decision gives Coastal WK a five-year concession contract, which can be extended by five years. It also grants a ten-year lease on the building. Either side can end the lease after five years.

The council’s report says the centre had overspent its budget “over a number of years”. Handing it over is expected to save about £100,000 a year. The operator will also pay the council a fee that rises each year with inflation. The amount of that fee is in an appendix the council has not published.

Under the deal:

Who Responsible for
Coastal WK Ltd Running the centre, staff, and repairs to the building
Wirral Council Owning the site, maintaining the marine lake, and the inside of the lakeside public toilets

The report says three bids were received. Coastal WK scored highest, with bids judged 50% on price, 40% on quality and 10% on social value. Six council staff, two permanent and four casual, were in line to move to the operator on their existing terms.

The contract was due to start on 5 August 2026. The report also says Coastal WK has pledged to invest in the building and bring its empty spaces back into use. That includes the room left by the former Sail Loft cafe.

Why the council handed it over

The council asked residents about the centre’s future in 2025 and received 439 responses. Of those, 59.5% supported or strongly supported looking for an outside operator, the council said in a Wirral View release on 1 June.

The council’s report rejected closing the centre. It called West Kirby “a premier destination in the North of England” for windsurfing and wing foiling. It also noted that West Kirby Sailing Club, a private club, uses the centre.

Adam Crouch, a director of Coastal WK, said in the council’s release: “West Kirby Marine Lake is one of the best watersports locations in the country, known internationally, and has been loved by generations of local people.”

What it means for you

  • You cannot book lessons or buy a membership yet. The operator says these go on sale before it opens in spring 2027. Its newsletter subscribers will hear first.
  • The lake itself stays council-owned. The council keeps looking after the water and the inside of the public toilets by the lake.
  • The sauna and restaurant are open to everyone, not only people using the water, the operator says.
  • Prices are not known yet. The council said in June that the operator is expected to keep the centre affordable, especially for young people, schools and community groups.

The centre is on South Parade, CH48 0QG, a short walk from West Kirby station. The operator can be contacted at team@wirralwatersports.co.uk.