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The KLPA, working with Kate Egerton at Leigh Day solicitors, has sent a letter before action to the City of London, challenging the discriminatory effects of the enforced and increased swimming charges. This is the first stage of a process which may lead to a judicial review of the current charging regime.

KLPA member Ann Griffin, who is registered blind, is a party to this action. The KLPA alleges indirect disability discrimination due to the disproportionate impact of the new charging regime on people with disabilities.  It is also alleged that the new charges interfere with swimmers’ human rights given the history of the bathing ponds and their health benefits.

In the letter before action we have asked for:

• Day tickets to revert to £2 (full price) and £1 (concession)
• Free access for swimmers on benefits and low income
• Free swimming for those under 16 and over 60 at any time of day

Early press coverage of this action can be seen here in Ham and High. It was also reported this morning on BBC London News, initially at 6.27 am. This was followed by a longer item on ITV London News, at 6.15 pm, in which KLPA Committee member Ann Griffin was interviewed. The Leigh Day press release of 5 May 2021 can be seen here.

The City of London has responded to the letter before action, denying any illegality.  Following further consultation with our solicitors at Leigh Day, we will keep members updated.

We have just been informed that online booking to swim at the Bathing Ponds and Lido will resume from 1 May 2021, with the exception of the earliest and latest sessions each day:

• 07.00 – 10.00 free flow (last entry 09.30)  
• 10.30 – 11.30 pre book 
• 12.00 – 13.00 pre book 
• 13.30 – 14.30 pre book 
• 15.00 – 16.00 pre book 
• 16.30 – 17.30 pre book 
• 18.00 – 20.30 free flow (last entry 20.00)

The booking link for the City of London/Eventbrite is here. Tickets will be released on Eventbrite on Monday at 12 noon for the week ahead, except for the first three days (1 to 3 May 2021) which will be released on Friday 30 April at 12 noon. 

A telephone booking line is available for swimmers who have no internet access or who find this system difficult to use at 020 7332 3779 (Monday to Friday).  Please forward this information to any swimmer you know who may prefer to book by phone.

Covid-secure measures will remain in place for the time being, with a maximum capacity of 60 swimmers at the Ladies’ Pond, and the requirement to provide contact details when you arrive for test and trace purposes.

We had hoped there would be greater use of “capped free flow” (no need to book) through the summer months, to preserve greater spontaneity for swimmers.  If you feel strongly about this and would like to give feedback to the City of London, please do so via the email addresses below.  Some thoughts which you may wish to refer to are attached here, but please personalise your response if possible:

Anne.Fairweather@cityoflondon.gov.uk
Bob.Warnock@cityoflondon.gov.uk
HH-swimming@cityoflondon.gov.uk

Please copy to klpamailbox@gmail.com

The next meeting of the Hampstead Heath Consultative Committee takes place on Monday 19 April 2021 at 5.30 pm. This meeting can be viewed on line here.

The full agenda pack can be downloaded here. Items of particular interest are:

• Item 5 and items 7c to 7d – minutes of the Sports Advisory Forum and feedback on the proposed Terms of Reference for a new Sports & Wellbeing Advisory Forum with which to replace this forum.  
• The Hampstead Heath Consultative Committee agenda pack omits detailed feedback on the above item provided by the KLPA on 22 March 2020 which can be seen here.
• Items 7f and 7g cover The City of London Corporation’s review of the 2020/21 swimming season and feedback from the swimming associations including the KLPA.
• The KLPA response has been partly redacted in the published committee papers in respect the costs of the first disastrous online booking platform used last year. For the record it cost £4,134 and was scrapped after a few days; that money would have paid for over 1,700 concessionary swims at £2.40 last summer.

The next meeting of the Hampstead Heath, Highgate Woods and Queen’s Park Management Committee will be on Wednesday 26 May 2021 at 4 pm and in due course details will be available here.

Recent press coverage concerning the re-opening of the ponds and restrictive access can be seen here in the 1 April 2021 edition of the Camden New Journal. 

The 15 April 2021 letters page of Ham & High includes further correspondence challenging the figures used by the City of London in March 2020 to justify inflated and enforced swimming charges.

On 3 April 2021 we sent out an email detailing how the Annual General Meeting would be conducted this year due to the continuing Coronavirus restrictions.  An Annual Report which was circulated is attached again here. Members are reminded of the following deadlines:

• If you have any questions about the contents of the reports, please email klpamailbox@gmail.com with your questions by 5pm on 17 April 2021. A collective response to any questions received will follow in our second mailout to members by 23 April 2021.
• If you wish to stand for the KLPA Committee please return a completed nomination form (signed by two current KLPA members nominating you) by5 pm on 17 April 2021 to klpamailbox@gmail.com.  If you cannot access a printer or scanner, then a chain of emails from the two current KLPA members nominating you will also suffice, forwarded to klpamailbox@gmail.com.
• Please remember to renew your KLPA membership by 30 April 2021. Subscription rates and details of how to do this are on the membership form at page 12 of the report, which should be sent to klpamailbox@gmail.com. Please let us know if paying your subscription is going to present difficulties for you at present by emailing klpamailbox@gmail.com.

Once questions and nominations have been received, there will be a further mailout, by 23 April 2021, responding to those questions and including an e-ballot for members to vote on the following:

• Minutes of the 2020 AGM
• Approval of the 2021 Chair’s Report
• Approval of 2020/21 Accounts
• Any contested positions on the KLPA Committee

Election Results will be declared by 3 May 2021.

On Saturday 17 April 2021, between 10 a.m. and midday, KLPA mugs designed by Sue Hellard, will be on sale at the Ladies’ Pond in the bike park. These are £8 each or two for £15. The KLPA book Wild Swimming Walks will also be on sale for £10. Please bring cash (exact money) or a cheque (payable to KLPA).

KLPA members are also reminded that there is free access to the upper meadow for non-swimming women and girls, which the KLPA has negotiated with the City of London.  This is subject to the overall limits on the numbers of people permitted at the Ladies’ Pond under the Covid-secure measures.

Here are the arrangements for Spring and Summer access 2021:

“Capped Free Flow” access will be in place until 30 April 2021, which means that you will not have to make an advanced booking online in this time.  If the pond becomes full to the current capacity of 60 people, there will be a one-in-one-out procedure in place. 

Opening times at the Ladies’ Pond will be as follows:

DATE	OPENING TIME	LAST ENTRY	EXIT WATER	EXIT FACILITY
29 March -11 April	7am	4pm	4.15pm	4.30pm
12 – 30 April	7am	6pm	6.15pm	6.30pm

From 1 May 2021 there will be a mixture of “Capped Free Flow” and advanced booking.  We are waiting for more details of the online booking platform to be used, which is expected to be Eventbrite.  We hope to see the telephone booking line reinstated for those who do not have internet access or find the online booking system difficult to use (last year the number was 020 7332 3779).

CHARGES
The new prices for day tickets and season tickets will apply from 1 April 2021.  There will be free access for those with 60+ season ticket wristbands until 9.30 am but for now those under 16 are not permitted access at all to the bathing ponds.

Day tickets will go up to £4.05 (or £2.43 concession).  Cash payment is still being accepted but no change given, so this is not being made easy for those without access to contactless payment, or who prefer not to use it.

Existing season tickets have been extended by 83 days to reflect the lockdown period.  If you intend to buy a new season ticket (or renewal is still due on your old season ticket) the old prices will apply until 31 March 2021, so you might wish to take advantage of that window before the price increases apply.  This is especially relevant for holders of ponds-only concession season tickets who face inflation busting price rises on 1 April 2021.

CITY OF LONDON REVIEW 2020/2021
The City of London has published a review of the 2020/2021 swimming season including its implementation of enforced charging to access the bathing ponds. The document can be seen here and also has a brief reference to this year’s arrangements. If you wish to comment directly on this review please send your comments by 31 March 2021 to:

Anne.Fairweather@cityoflondon.gov.uk
Bob.Warnock@cityoflondon.gov.uk
HH-swimming@cityoflondon.gov.uk

Please copy your response to klpamailbox@gmail.com

For those who can afford to swim, and can navigate the booking system likely to be in place from 1 May 2021, we hope you enjoy your swims.  For those who are now excluded, we will continue to campaign on your behalf as the Heath belongs to all Londoners.

On 29 March 2021 the Hampstead Heath bathing ponds and Parliament Hill Lido are due to re-open under Covid-secure arrangements.

Whilst we have no issue with keeping staff and swimmers safe through safe-distancing measures and limited numbers, there is a significant disparity. We cannot see how this can be explained through logic and the City of London Corporation has failed to provide a rationale when asked.

This concerns “Capped Free Flow” entry. At the ponds and at the Lido, the earliest session each day will not require pre-booking. Later sessions, which are also time limited, will require online pre-booking (phone line arrangements have yet to be confirmed). At the bathing ponds, capped free flow will only be available until 10 am from 29 March to 20 September 2021. However, at the Lido this will be available until 1pm up to 30 April 2021 – a month later – before reverting to 10am from 1 May 2021. Overall there will be a disparity of 297 hours of capped free flow access between the bathing ponds and the Lido (3 hours x 3 ponds x 33 days).

Further details of these arrangements can be found here. Details of the new charges can be seen at pages 7-8 here, and will apply from re-opening on 29 March 2021.

If you are concerned about the differences in access arrangements for the Lido and bathing ponds, you can contact the City of London Corporation using the email addresses below. You may wish to ask for parity between the bathing ponds and the Lido for capped free flow hours, and for this to be put in place in time for re-opening on 29 March 2021. If the proposed differences in access arrangements will have a specific impact on you, please include this too:

Anne.Fairweather@cityoflondon.gov.uk
Bob.Warnock@cityoflondon.gov.uk
HH-Swimming@cityoflondon.gov.uk

Please copy your email to klpamailbox@gmail.com

On Monday 22 February 2021, the Prime Minister announced a “road map” out of the third national lockdown , setting out the stages by which the economy and wider society would be permitted to reopen. On 29 March 2021, and subject to continuing improvements in Covid-19 infection rates, organised outdoor sports activities including swimming can resume. 

This will allow the Hampstead Heath bathing ponds and the Parliament Hill Lido to reopen under Covid-secure arrangements. There will be a mixture of “capped free flow” sessions to a maximum capacity and online pre-booked sessions at the bathing ponds and Lido.  When we have further details about the booking platform which will be used in 2021, this information will be forwarded to KLPA members. The City of London Corporation’s draft plan for reopening can be seen here. This plan was approved at the Hampstead Heath, Highgate Woods and Queen’s Park Management Committee which met virtually on 24 February 2021 (recording here).

At that meeting the proposed swimming charges for 2021/22 were also debated, at length.  Whilst most charges were to go up by the November 2020 RPI inflation rate, the concession season tickets for the ponds would go up by 21% (6 months) and 15% (12 months) respectively. Several committee members challenged these particular increases, which would most affect the swimmers least able to pay.  Despite compelling arguments from some committee members, including Ruby Sayed and William Upton, the increases to pond concession season tickets were approved by 9 votes to 5. 

Surprisingly, former Management Committee Chair, Karina Dostalova, also voted against these particular increases. The current Committee Chair, Anne Fairweather, had received correspondence before the meeting about the concession season ticket price increases from local MP, Catherine West (also Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Swimming) and from the KLPA. This did not stop Ms Fairweather enthusiastically supporting the increases to the concession season ticket prices.

We will provide further details of the reopening arrangements when these become available.

On 24 February 2021 at 4 pm the Hampstead Heath, Highgate Woods and Queen’s Park Management Committee will meet virtually. The meeting can be viewed here and the full agenda pack for the meeting can be seen here.

The proposed swimming charges for 2021 are in this paper, with most charges increased by the higher RPI inflation rate, except for concession season tickets at the ponds. These are proposed to increase by 21% (6 months) and 15% (12 months). The City of London Corporation is again “levelling up” by increasing concession charges by a much greater percentage than those for full price tickets. Despite feedback from the KLPA they are still refusing to introduce a monthly direct debit for season tickets, to spread the cost.

The proposed re-opening plans for the ponds and Lido are set out here, based on a tentative re-opening date of 29 March 2021, subject to lifting of lockdown restrictions. This will see a return to mostly pre-booked swimming sessions. The City of London has not yet publicised details of a telephone booking line that is promised for those without internet access, but we will share this number when we find out what it is.

Despite recent denials in Ham & High, the City’s Draft Divisional Plan still includes reference to future charging for the use of toilets based on contactless payment (last page).

Recent coverage of the City of London Corporation’s spending priorities, including wining and dining can be seen in the Camden New Journal.

We have been contacted again by the East London Waterworks Park campaign group.  They are now raising funds to develop their plan for an environmental project in Waltham Forest at a former waterworks, including the development of an open water swimming venue.  Details of the Campaign can be found here, and their fundraising page is here.

Last March the KLPA just managed to hold the 2020 AGM ten days before the country entered its first national lockdown.  It was important that we met then to consider the news of the City of London’s 2020 decision to enforce its new inflated charging regime which is set to become more punitive in 2021 when the ponds can re-open.

We had hoped to be able to hold a meeting this spring, but further national lockdowns happened and some Coronavirus restrictions are likely to be in place at least until the summer. We are also mindful that many members will remain cautious about crowded gatherings for some time to come.

It is important however that KLPA members have an opportunity to hold the association to account, to hear from officers, scrutinise the accounts, ask questions and provide feedback. It is also at the AGM that committee members are elected for the forthcoming year and this provides an opportunity for new talent to come forward.

With this in mind the committee is currently working on alternative arrangements for holding a virtual AGM, taking into account we now have over 700 members. It will need to be a manageable format whilst also ensuring accountability. We anticipate that this might be a month later than usual and may only be able to focus on core business. Later in the year we very much hope to be able to hold a meeting or event to make up for the lack of fun, food and debate which the KLPA has been renowned for in the past.

As soon as we have firmer arrangements for our AGM we will let you know.

There has again been extensive coverage of the City of London’s finances, future charging plans and overall management of Hampstead Heath in Camden New Journal (4 February 2021). The fringe benefits available to City of London “elected” members are exposed here and the letters page contains multiple items here and here.

On 25 January 2021, the Hampstead Heath Consultative Committee met online (recording here). The agenda items concerning tentative plans to re-open the bathing ponds and lido from 29 March 2021 and the proposed 2021 swimming charges, were buried late in a long agenda.  These items are to be found at 1’14” and 1’52” in the recording respectively. 

Despite some comments about the inflation-busting price rises for pond concession season tickets (21% for a six-month ticket and 15% for a 12-month ticket) and access to cash payment, the overall package was accepted. This will go to the next meeting of the Hampstead Heath, Highgate Woods and Queen’s Park Management Committee on 24 February 2021 at 4pm (papers will be uploaded here as well as the online link, when they become available).

The latest developments on Heath finances and charging to swim are covered in the local press here (Ham & High 26 January 2021), here (Camden New Journal 28 January 2021) and here (Camden New Journal letters 28 January 2021).

A support scheme, the existence of which was used to justify the charging enforcement decisions in 2020, still has not happened. There is a limited list of concessions, based on a poor understanding of the benefits system or life on a low income. Ad hoc and belated approaches by the City to voluntary sector organisations in Camden will be of no assistance to the many swimmers who travel to the ponds from other boroughs (two thirds of swimmers according to our own survey, come from outside Camden).

At the Consultative Committee meeting on 25 January 2021, buried even deeper in the papers, there was reference to a feasibility study into charging to use toilets on the Heath, using contactless payment, which is also mentioned briefly in the meeting at 1′ 50″. There are no depths to which the City of London Corporation is not prepared to sink.  We know what happened when Heath toilets were closed during the first lockdown and it does not take a genius to work out what would happen if charging were to be  introduced.

If you would like to share your views on the toilet charging proposal (details are here on the last page) please contact the Chair of the Consultative and Management Committees Anne Fairweather at Anne.Fairweather@cityoflondon.gov.uk. Please copy your email to the Heath Superintendent Bob Warnock at Bob.Warnock@cityoflondon.gov.uk and klpamailbox@gmail.com.