The Wave (company)


The Wave is a company and surf/lifestyle brand, building artificial wave pools for surfing in South Gloucestershire, England, and in London. The Wave: Bristol was opened in 2019, with a second site, The Wave: London, planned.

The Wave, Bristol

The founder of the project is Nick Hounsfield. The project was named "The Wave: Bristol" in 2012, initially focussing on a site next to the Portway in Bristol, but rejected it as not big enough. A site on farmland at Easter Compton was selected in 2013, with the technology generating the artificial waves to be supplied by the Spanish company Wavegarden.
In August 2017, South Gloucestershire Council approved the £20 million scheme, which is designed for sustainability. The Olympic medallist Jenny Jones spoke in support of the project at the planning meeting, citing the social benefits of engaging all ages in the activities at the park. Besides the wave pool, the scheme will include a natural swimming lake, barefoot trails, foraging areas and gardens of various types - activity, sensory, healing, culinary and herb gardens. Other proposed features include a clubhouse, a surf shop, a ropes and tunnels course and a campsite.
The planned dimensions of the pool are long by wide and deep.
In June 2015 it was decided to use the American company Wave Loch's wave generation technology instead of Wavegarden's, requiring the opening date to be put back to 2016.
However, as of May 2017, it seems they have reverted to the Wavegarden's technology.
The Wave plans to host a High-Performance Surfing Centre and surf contests.
In April 2016, The Wave announced that South Gloucestershire Council had approved the revised designs. With the switch back to Wavegarden, the planning permission was resubmitted which was approved in late August 2017.
In October 2019 construction was completed.