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The KLPA recently sent out a survey to members and beyond, to investigate the impact, so far, of the compulsory swimming charges introduced in 2020. We asked some questions about changes in economic status over the last year, as the impact of the pandemic could not be ignored.  We also asked respondents, voluntarily, to provide information about “protected characteristics” under the Equality Act such as ethnicity or disability. This is because the KLPA and the other swimmers’ associations are continuing to investigate the potential for discrimination claims arising from the new swimming charges.

The survey results have revealed the dramatic impact of the new swimming charges and the economic distress being experienced by many swimmers. The City of London has to date failed to introduce the promised support scheme and our survey results helped to reveal the complexities of need which would need to be addressed by such a scheme. Some headline figures of interest include:

1. The new charges have affected affordability for 58.33% of respondents.

2. Of those, 24.58% said they could no longer afford to swim, and 26.49% said they could not afford the upfront cost of a season ticket. 8.83% of respondents had been helped by friends or relatives to pay for tickets.

3. Half of all respondents had seen their income decline over the last year.

4. Respondents included 29.5% who were self-employed and 18% who were retired. A total of 16.84% of respondents received either means tested benefits or Covid-19 related support payments. A further 7.83% were either not entitled to such benefits or had no recourse to public funds. 

5. Unfortunately, 34% of respondents have been prevented by the new charges from swimming with family members and there has been an impact on accessing a safe space for 35.83% of respondents.

6. A disability was declared by 11.33% of respondents.

7. Just 33.17% of respondents lived in Camden so any support scheme yet to be developed by the City of London will need to take into account swimmers coming to the ponds from further afield.

8. Only three respondents live within the Square Mile so could hold any City of London representatives “democratically” accountable.

A full summary of the results can be seen here.  We will be contacting those swimmers who provided contact details shortly.

Thank you to everyone who completed the most recent survey, it has helped us to understand better what the impact has been so far of the compulsory swimming charges.

Earlier in the week members were updated on proposed increases to swimming charges in 2021, and following an opinion poll of members about this prospect in December 2020, the KLPA has already made its objections to the price rises clear, and will continue to do so.

Last week’s edition of Ham & High (14 January 2021) was full of Hampstead Heath business.  The budget row at the City of London is reported here and here.  Former KLPA Chair Nicky Mayhew has been busy again responding to disinformation from the Chair of the Management Committee (Anne Fairweather) in the letters page.  Finally there is a report here about the Hampstead Heath Act of 1871 which has protected the Heath from private development, so far.

The Camden New Journal has just reported further on the proposed budget cuts on 21 January 2021 here.

On 18 January 2021, representatives of the swimmers’ associations attended an online Swimming Forum meeting with the City of London. This was convened at short notice without a live public gallery (a link to a recording is supposed to follow). At the meeting the City attempted to side-line any detailed discussion of the proposed 2021 price rises, which are due to be put to the Hampstead Heath Consultative Committee on 25 January 2021, by taking this subject as “Any Other Business”.

The Forum did see draft proposals to re-open the ponds from 29 March 2021, if an easing of the lockdown permits. The City intends to re-introduce time limited sessions and to use online pre-booking for most of these sessions. They will exclude 8- to 15-year-olds from the ponds again. This time it will be possible to use season tickets for online bookings, so that begs the question why it was not possible last year. The City has yet to select an online booking platform for 2021.  Details of the re-opening proposals can be seem here.

Forum members still attempted to hold a robust discussion of the proposed price increases for 2021/22, within the limits of the tightly controlled agenda. These proposals will go to the Hampstead Heath Consultative Committee. Details can be seen here and here. Points to note include:

• The higher RPI inflation rate is being applied to swimming charges.
• The under-16s free access before 9.30 am is irrelevant to the ponds as they will be banned until late September.
• Season tickets will still be based on intrusive wristband technology, with personal data being passed to an external marketing company.
• The unrounded session-ticket prices are based on the assumption that most swimmers will use contactless card payments (£4.05 and £2.43). This is a further example of financial exclusion at the ponds, by making cash payment more difficult.
• No meaningful support scheme is in place and the existing concession arrangements still demonstrate ignorance of the lives of low income Londoners (many benefits excluded and no support is there for those who fall outside the benefits system).

The Hampstead Heath Consultative Committee meeting can be viewed live here on Monday 25 January 2021 at 5.30 pm.

KLPA members have recently responded to a survey on the impact of the 2020 charges and we will shortly be reporting back on the details of those findings. The coming year is set to be a further stage in exclusion at the bathing ponds.

It is 150 years since the Hampstead Heath Act of 1871 was passed in order to protect this valuable green space, close to central London, from commercialisation and development.

Since 1897 the Heath & Hampstead Society has defended the Heath against further encroachments, and in their most recent newsletter you can see an article by former KLPA Chair Nicky Mayhew here (page 22) about our recent, and entirely avoidable, battles with the City of London Corporation concerning swimming charges. The response from Anne Fairweather (current Chair of their Hampstead Heath, Highgate Woods and Queen’s Park Management Committee) seeks to take credit for concessions hard fought for in 2020 by the KLPA.

On 7 January 2021, the Hampstead Heath, Highgate Woods and Queen’s Park Management Committee held an additional meeting to discuss the outline of budget cuts of 12% across the City of London Corporation for 2021/22. There was a surprisingly heated debate by committee members, objecting to the imposed budget cuts and seeking to raise their objections with the City’s Resource Allocation Sub-Committee which meets later this month. The Management Committee appeared incensed that their views might be ignored (in much the same way that they ignored the views of the Hampstead Heath Consultative Committee in March 2020 concerning swimming charges). The full meeting can be viewed here. Interesting contributions are seen from Ruby Sayed and Karina Dostalova (Chair of the Management Committee at the time that the Consultative Committee was over-ruled).

Currently we cannot access the part of the Heath which brings us together as an association, Kenwood Ladies’ Pond. The bathing ponds will remain closed for the foreseeable future due to the requirements of a third national lockdown to combat the Coronavirus. Our campaigning activity continues, even if constricted in scope by the terms of a national lockdown. Fair access to open spaces has become more important than ever in the last year.

If you have not already done so there is still time to complete our survey on the economic impacts of the current swimming charges here.  Please forward this link to any other swimmers you know who may have been affected by the charges.

The survey closes at midday on Sunday 17 January 2021.

This evening the Prime Minister has announced a third national lockdown in England. 

The announcement means that the bathing ponds and Lido on Hampstead Heath will close with immediate effect.

We urge all KLPA members to observe the terms of this lockdown, and to avoid attempts to swim in any of the ponds on Hampstead Heath as this puts lifeguards and other Heath staff at risk. 

The new variants of the Coronavirus are highly infectious. Positive tests across the UK have exceeded 50,000 for each of the last seven days. Hospitals are under extreme pressure, and this third national lockdown is intended to prevent our NHS from being overwhelmed. Please continue to support its efforts.

Many KLPA members are employed in the NHS and other essential services. Together all of our efforts matter, whether working in those essential services or remaining at home to reduce the spread of the Coronavirus.

We hope you have had as enjoyable Christmas as possible this year and that you have kept well. To those of you who have been working in essential services through the holiday period – thank you.

Earlier this month we asked members their views about continuing to campaign against the new charges at the bathing ponds, receiving a clear response that campaigning should continue. In particular there was strong opposition to any steep price rises which might occur in the next financial year. That has already been hinted at heavily by the City of London in recent committee meetings, and early in the New Year we expect to hear of their proposals for ticket prices in 2021/22. 

The City of London has also indicated that it will not be consulting formally with the swimmers’ associations about those price rises, only being prepared to receive comments from us by email. Following our experiences in early 2020 we are already familiar with the City of London’s unwillingness to listen to Heath users.

TAKE THE SURVEY

In order to be prepared for this, we are asking members to complete a short survey to let us know what the impact has been of the current ticket prices.  You have already made it clear that we should campaign against future price rises. Here we are gathering hard evidence of the impact so far of the ticket prices, and the economic effects of the Coronavirus pandemic on our swimming community.

This survey will run until midday on Sunday 17 January 2021 and can be completed entirely anonymously.  We are requesting specific information about financial impacts and at the end there is an option to provide contact details if you are willing to discuss your response further. The survey also includes questions about equality and diversity to help us to assess the impact across the wider swimming community, and potential examples of discrimination occurring.

We will be sharing this survey link with the other swimmers’ associations and beyond.  Please feel free to forward this link to any swimmers who you think might be interested, including those who no longer feel able to use the ponds due to the new charges.

TAKE THE SURVEY

We were all relieved to hear that the bathing ponds could stay open under the Coronavirus Tier 4 restrictions in London and we all share responsibility for complying with the safe distancing and hygiene measures in place so they can remain open. 

We have been contacted today by Hampstead Heath operational managers addressing the following issues which have a direct impact on front line staff:

• Please do not arrive at the entrance of the Ladies’ Pond in groups and please do not crowd around the steward’s booth.
• Each swimmer must wear a mask whilst queuing to enter and whilst at the steward’s booth. This is a new requirement.
• Each swimmer should maintain a safe distance of at least two metres from all staff members and other swimmers at all times.
• Please use the hand sanitisers made available.
• Each gazebo has a maximum capacity for the number of swimmers changing there – you must adhere to these numbers.

The City of London has specific responsibilities to its staff on the Heath, under the Health & Safety at Work Act and its supporting regulations, as well as a general duty of care to the public.  If the procedures set out above are not adhered to, or infection rates continue to grow, the following may happen:

• Removal of the changing gazebos.
• Reduction of the maximum capacity from 60 to 30 swimmers.
• Closure of the Ladies’ Pond (and all of the swimming places on the Heath).

PLEASE help to keep the Ladies’ Pond open by following the procedures set out above.
Thank you for your support. 

We are happy to tell you that we have just received the following email from the Heath Superintendent: –

The Ponds will remain open for the time being.  Please continue to abide by the safe distancing measures which are in place, allowing the lifeguards to work safely and ensuring that the Ponds can continue to remain open through the Tier 4 restrictions.

This year the Christmas Day arrangements at the bathing ponds, predictably, are very different to those we are used to. Due to the need to maintain Covid-secure arrangements, there will be no mass races at the Men’s Pond, with crowds cheering on the participants. This means, more positively, that the Ladies’ Pond will be open later than usual on Christmas Day as our lifeguards will not need to assist at the Men’s Pond races. There will also be a period of mixed bathing permitted at the Men’s Pond. At both ponds overall numbers will continue to be restricted to 60 swimmers each at a time.

The opening hours are as follows:

• Ladies’ Pond open 7.30 am to 1.00 pm (last entry 12.15 pm)
• Men’s Pond open 7.30 to 10.00 am (men only) and 10.30 to 11.30 am (mixed swimming and last entry 11.15 am)

This has been a very difficult year for everyone, with the pandemic causing health and economic distress, as well as our ongoing disagreements with the City of London over swimming charges and exclusion. Please take a moment on Christmas Day to thank the lifeguards for their continued hard work in the face of many challenges this year. They have worked through a public health crisis to keep swimming in the ponds possible.

We will not be able to hold our usual New Year’s Day festivities for 2021 either (in 2020 this attracted over 200 swimmers). When it is possible for us to meet again and celebrate the Ladies’ Pond in our usual crowded and disorderly manner, it will have been worth the wait.

KLPA MERCHANDISE

On 19 December 2020 between 10 am and 12 midday, the KLPA stall will be back at the Ladies’ Pond, where you can buy KLPA mugs (designed by Sue Hellard) and the hi-viz knitted hats so essential on dark and murky mornings at the pond.

On 12 November 2020 the KLPA and Bishopsgate Institute held an online launch of the KLPA Archive, which was brought together by Sarah Saunders. Places for that event were limited so many members did not get to see the presentations from current and former KLPA activists.  Those who saw the launch may also want to see these inspiring speakers in action again.  Click here to see the video, and hear about the fighting spirit of the KLPA.

Speakers and times are as follows:

• Sarah Saunders (Introduction by KLPA Archivist) 4’52”
• Jane Shallice (Former KLPA Chair on the 2004-05 campaigns against closure of the Mixed Pond and charging) 19’30”
• Nicky Mayhew (Former KLPA Chair on 2020 campaign against enforced charging) 28’49”
• Ruth Hallgarten (Current KLPA Chair bringing the 2020 story up to date) 35’02”
• Margaret Dickinson (Director of City Swimmers and Editor of Wild Swimming Walks) 36’48”
• Janet Richardson (a wonderful personal account from a long time Ladies’ Pond Swimmer) 44’56”
• Harriet Wills (KLPA Committee Member on visiting the archive and the KLPA Logo Competition) 49’03”

With thanks to Sarah Saunders and the Archive Group for all their work bringing the archive together over many years, also thanks to the Bishopsgate Institute for taking care of our archive and hosting the launch event.

The KLPA Archive is alive and growing, with an oral history project currently under development.  If you would like to be involved in this and to share your memories of the Ladies’ Pond, please make contact via klpaarchive@gmail.comwith “Oral History” in the subject line.  You should include your name, age, contact details and how long you have been swimming at the pond in your message.

From time to time we need to “take the temperature” from our 700+ members and so we recently sent out a succinct and focussed survey to help understand priorities for the coming year. We asked about continuing to campaign against the City of London’s charging regime now and in the future. 

The results of this survey were:

Total Responses: 171
1. In favour of continuing the current campaign against charges:  81.9%
2. In favour of campaigning against future price rises and restrictions:  94.7%
3. Those who responded expressed a preference for campaigning activities such as signing a petition (26%), peaceful protest (21%) and writing to or lobbying elected representatives (16.3%).

We received 12 additional responses, either in the “other” field of question 3 or as emails sent separately. Views here included working with other swimmers’ associations and community groups (including those beyond the Heath), greater community participation in running the ponds and exploring legal challenges to the charging regime, including on grounds of discrimination . 

The KLPA has been working closely with the other Heath swimmers’ associations and seeking legal advice on potential claims. The suggestion that we work with other swimmers’ groups beyond the Heath is certainly worth exploring. Please let us know if you have any useful contacts and can assist with developing those links. 

Many of you over the last year have said that you object to the level of the charges and the methods of enforcement, but not in principle to those who can afford it paying a reasonable amount. This has been the line taken by the KLPA in supporting “Option 2”. We have campaigned to prevent the exclusion of those who cannot pay the new charges (details are on our website here and here).

Thank you all for your input and continued enthusiasm.

KLPA LOGO COMPETITION CLOSES 5PM ON 12 DECEMBER 2020
There is still time to enter! Details here.

KLPA MERCHANDISE
The KLPA stall will be back at the pond on 19 December 2020 (10 am to midday).  Come along to show your support and buy your KLPA mugs and hi-viz hats.