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.