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The City of London Corporation has provided an update on the closure of the bathing ponds following the heavy rain on Monday evening. The first set of water quality test results has come back and is unsatisfactory for all three bathing ponds (E.coli and Enterococci indicating the presence of sewage). Further test results are anticipated tomorrow but, as yet, there is no indication of a date when the bathing ponds might re-open safely. The most recent email from the Heath Superintendent is here.

When we have more information, members will be updated, particularly if there is any news of re-opening. The City of London’s Hampstead Heath twitter feed can be seen here. 

On a more positive note, there has been progress in the campaign to prevent King’s College Cambridge banning swimming in the River Cam at Grantchester Meadows. The College has now held discussions with campaigners and representatives of the local authorities concerned, to explore ways to manage the area better whilst maintaining access to swimming. Campaigning has paid off (petition update page here).

The bathing ponds have been closed since Monday afternoon following very heavy rain, which led to incidents of flooding and suspected sewage contamination. The City of London Corporation is currently carrying out water quality tests, which may mean that the ponds will remain closed until at least Thursday. Occasional updates are being posted on the Hampstead Heath twitter feed, and a more detailed explanation is here in an email from the Heath Superintendent.

Coincidently, press coverage concerning sewage contamination caused by water companies, including Thames Water, were published yesterday here and here.

We are also awaiting further updates on arrangements to be put in place at the bathing ponds following the lifting of most Coronavirus restrictions in England from 19 July 2021. This will now be dependent on when the water is clean enough for swimming. The Superintendent’s email (link above) also provides an outline of the proposed operating arrangements from next week subject to the outcome of water quality tests.

This website will be updated when we have more information.

Grantchester Meadows

On 4 July 2021 the KLPA emailed members with details of a campaign in Cambridge to defend access to open water swimming at Grantchester Meadows, pictured above. King’s College Cambridge, which owns the land next to the River Cam, had put up signs forbidding swimming and other activities. This stretch of the river has been used for swimming for centuries and became even more important during the lockdowns of 2020-2021. 

A local campaign which included a petition and generation of national press coverage has seen a partial climb-down by King’s College. The college is reviewing its legal advice and has stated it will not take action against “responsible” swimmers.  Details can be seen in this article (Observer 11 July 2021), which also explores tensions between “town and gown” as well as exclusion and privilege in what is believed to be the UK’s most unequal city. 

Legal Action Against the City of London Corporation

Our own campaigning on fair access to the Hampstead Heath bathing ponds continues to generate press interest, for example here (Camden New Journal 8 July 2021). This report concerns the legal action being taken, supported by Leigh Day Solicitors, which focuses on disability discrimination. Our crowd funding page is still open here.

Meetings with the City of London Corporation

On 5 July 2021, the first meeting of the Heath’s new Sports & Wellbeing Advisory Forum took place. This body replaces the former Sports Advisory Forum as well as other groups like the Swimming Forum, and it is chaired by Anne Fairweather (who also chairs the Heath Management Committee and Consultative Committee). Each bathing pond has one representative. Ruth Hallgarten (KLPA Chair) attended from the Ladies’ Pond. The full recording of the meeting can be seen here. We note with disappointment little practical progress on implementing a support scheme, e.g. through “social prescribing”, to improve access to the bathing ponds, has happened. There is also no tangible evidence so far that the limited efforts will extend beyond Camden residents. There has been a great deal of talk about these proposals but concrete results are yet to be seen at the bathing ponds.

We are awaiting further details from the City of London Corporation about arrangements for access to the bathing ponds from 19 July 2021, when many of the national restrictions related to the Coronavirus pandemic are due to be lifted in England. 

KLPA Committee members continue to attend meetings with the operational managers on Hampstead Heath to address practical day-to-day matters at the bathing ponds, and to raise the concerns which members have brought to our attention.

It is not only on Hampstead Heath that access to open water swimming is being restricted.

Grantchester Meadows in Cambridge, which features in the KLPA book “Wild Swimming Walks” has been used to access swimming in the River Cam for centuries. Famous swimmers here include Lord Byron, Virginia Woolf and Rupert Brooke. 

The land is owned by King’s College Cambridge, which is now seeking to ban swimming and other popular activities here. The reasons given include health and safety as well as public order.

A petition seeking to “Keep access to the river at Grantchester Meadows open to all” has been launched on Change.org here. Already there are over 17,000 signatures. 

Further coverage can be seen here (Guardian, no paywall) and here (Telegraph, paywall). Local press coverage includes details of a spoof letter purporting to be from the college here.

This is a valuable open space for the people of Cambridge, not only those linked to the university. Please show solidarity and support this campaign for inclusive access to open water swimming.

On 1 July two items appeared in the national press concerning the legal action being taken against the City of London Corporation, and the KLPA’s campaign against the new charging regime at the bathing ponds.

Guardian journalist Lucy Campbell has written about the legal challenge supported by the KLPA (here) and the wider issues of exclusion at the bathing ponds since the introduction of the new charging regime (here). 

The KLPA also continues to try to engage with the City about difficulties experienced using the Eventbrite booking system and seeking to increase the use of capped free flow instead for the time being. The ultimate aim is the removal of such restrictions when the easing of social distancing requirements allows, other than the normal maximum bather load. The booking system is an unnecessary cost for Hampstead Heath, which will be passed on to swimmers in due course, and it creates a two-tier system. It is often fully booked within minutes each Monday, but on cloudy days no-shows are frequent. We receive regular feedback from members concerning the distress this causes, despite the existence of a telephone booking line (020 7332 3779) for those who lack internet access. In the morning, on busier days, it has also been a source of friction when women are still lined up outside waiting to enter as the free flow session comes to an end and pre-booked session commences.

If you have not already seen it, our most recent KLPA Newsletter is here, with news of the legal challenge and much more.

Details of our crowd funding appeal for the legal action can be seen here.

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.

The KLPA would like to mark and celebrate this 150th anniversary of access to common land, at the Ladies’ Pond, in a myriad of different ways once the easing of Coronavirus restrictions allows us to do so. This is an opportunity to celebrate access to common land and for our swimming community to have some fun after an incredibly difficult year.

Please send us your thoughts and ideas so we can start making tentative plans.  What do you think would be a fitting way to mark this anniversary?  Please email klpamailbox@gmail.com with your ideas.

And please donate to our campaign to raise the costs for a Judicial Review.  We are challenging the City of London over the current charging regime at the bathing ponds, which we believe has a disproportionate impact on swimmers with disabilities and some older swimmers.  We are working with Leigh Day Solicitors to launch a claim based on indirect disability discrimination.  Click HERE to see details of the campaign and how you can donate.

The Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood and Queen’s Park Management Committee is meeting virtually on Wednesday 26 May 2021 at 4 pm.  The public gallery can be accessed online here. The full agenda pack with supporting documentation can be downloaded here.

Items of particular interest to KLPA members include:

1. Item 10 (Appendix 8) – Proposed Terms of Reference for The Sports & Wellbeing Advisory Forum here. This was discussed at the Hampstead Heath Consultative Committee on 19 April 2021 (here). They expressed concerns about the size and unclear remit of the new body and it being chaired by the same person who chairs both the Management Committee and Consultative Committee, rather than by a lay member like the current Sports Advisory Forum.  Will the Management Committee consider these issues?
2. Item 11 – Hampstead Heath Bathing Pond and Lido Annual Report 2020-21 here.  This includes reference to free swimming for under 16s and over 60s to remain before 9.30 am and the very limited progress towards a “Support Scheme”, which still appears to be at the talking stage. There is also a brief mention of the letter before action sent by Leigh Day Solicitors on behalf of the KLPA.

With reference to the final point, the KLPA has recently launched a crowdfunding page with Crowd Justice and needs in the first instance to raise £5000 before the fundraising can go further. This is to launch a Judicial Review against the charging regime at the bathing ponds, based on indirect disability discrimination.  Thank you to all the generous people who have donated so far.  If you have not yet done so and you are able to make a donation, please do so by by clicking the donate button below:

If you have already donated, you can still help by spreading the word, via email, social media and, of course, word of mouth.  Please help us to get to our initial target of £5000.  The link to share is https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/fighting-discriminatory-charges-to-swim/

Following the partial lifting of Coronavirus restrictions from 17 May 2021, and continuing pressure from the KLPA, the City of London is making some changes to swimming arrangements.  There is still a long way to go but this is the most recent news:

• From 18 May 2021 the capped free flow hours (no need to book online) will be expanded to 7.00 am – 10.30 am (last entry 10 am) and 5.00 pm – 8.30 pm (last entry 8 pm).
• Booking through Eventbrite will still be necessary for swimming between 11 am and 4.30 pm based on the following time slots (with closure periods for cleaning) – 11 am to midday, 12.30 pm – 1.30pm, 2 pm – 3pm, 3.30 pm – 4.30 pm.
• The maximum number of swimmers who can be at the Ladies’ Pond at any one time is due to be increased and we are awaiting details.
• Women and girls who are non-swimmers can continue to access the upper meadow without paying, subject to the maximum capacity numbers at the Ladies’ Pond.
• The City of London may re-open the changing rooms from 21 June 2021, if public health restrictions continue to be lifted on schedule.

The following issues remain to be resolved:

1. There are currently no plans to make additional showers available and we believe that just one outdoor shower during the summer months is entirely inadequate.
2. The City still plans to employ stewards at the gates even when Coronavirus restrictions have, hopefully, been lifted from 21 June 2021.  This is intrusive and not consistent with the decision on charging taken at the Management Committee on 11 March 2020.
3. We believe that, on quieter days, it should be possible to turn up and swim between 11am and 5pm with payment accepted at the gate by cash or card, rather than having to book via Eventbrite.
4. We are awaiting an update on access for swimmers under 16 at the bathing ponds and we look forward to welcoming girls and teenagers back to the Ladies’ Pond. 
5. We are asking for the large black lockers placed on the path near the changing rooms to be removed as they appear to serve no useful purpose, but reduce available space.
6. Various temporary signs at the gates tell swimmers what they must or must not do. Following the lifting of remaining public health restrictions we believe this area should see fewer and more welcoming signs.

If you feel strongly about any of these issues please email the City of London via the following email addresses:

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

Please copy to klpamailbox@gmail.com

Press coverage of our legal challenge to the City of London’s charging regime can be read here:

Ham & High 6 May 2021
Camden New Journal 7 May 2021
Evening Standard 7 May 2021

The campaign also featured in ITV and BBC London News on 6 May.

In addition a swimmer’s letter to Camden New Journal on 6 May 2021 highlighted ongoing problems with the City of London’s online booking system for the Ponds. Further correspondence in the Ham & High letters page of 6 May 2021 highlights the lack of democratic control over Hampstead Heath.