The press release below has been issued today on behalf of the Highgate Men’s Pond Association, the Highgate Lifebuoys, the Kenwood Ladies’ Pond Association, the Mixed Pond Association and the United Swimmers’ Association, membership groups representing swimmers at the ponds on Hampstead Heath. Consultation with the City of London will resume tonight, Tuesday 11 February 2020.
The City of London is about to railroad through changes at the world-famous swimming ponds on Hampstead Heath that will hit the most vulnerable, including those for whom access to the ponds is vital for their mental and physical health, say swimmers’ groups.
The groups say the City of London appears to have decided to enforce payment and increase charges even though it is in the middle of a consultation.
Frustrated swimmers say they have been asking the City for years to improve payment options but nothing has happened. The City’s decision, they say, is not only damaging to those who rely on the ponds, it is against the City of London’s own ‘Heath Vision’ of 2019.
If allowed to go through, the move has potential implications for wild swimmers across the country, say the groups representing regular swimmers at the Men’s, Women’s and Mixed ponds.
Swimming in the ponds was free for centuries until the City of London took over ownership of Hampstead Heath and, in 2005, decided to introduce charges. Some swimmers maintain there is a historic right to swim free of charge, but many others are willing to voluntarily pay a reasonable contribution towards the running costs and staffing of the ponds.
User groups point to the City of London’s extreme inefficiency in collecting payment from those who are willing to pay. They say that for years they have been asking the City to make payment easier, but they have failed to introduce contactless payment, replace ticket machines that don’t work or make it possible to renew season tickets online.
Swimmers also believe that the introduction of mechanised gates or turnstiles and staff charged with ‘enforcement’ would destroy the peaceful and natural environment that attracts people to the ponds in the first place. In addition, they fear that people deterred by charges would be tempted to swim in non-lifeguarded ponds on Hampstead Heath at considerable risk of injury, illness or even death.
Chris Piesold, chair of the Highgate Men’s Pond Association commented ‘It would be tragic if the City of London, one of the wealthiest local government authorities in the world, was allowed to destroy the unique character of Hampstead Heath and its ponds.’ He continued, ‘we stand ready to work with the City to find imaginative and sensitive ways of achieving sustainability in the current financial climate.’
Julia Dick, co-chair of the Kenwood Ladies’ Pond Association, added ‘we believe we have a duty to ensure that swimming in the ponds remains affordable and accessible to all.’
The review follows advice to the City of London from the Health & Safety Executive that it should increase lifeguard provision at all its swimming facilities at a time when the budget for all its open spaces, including Hampstead Heath is frozen. The user groups say they recognize the financial pressures but want the Heath management to work with them to achieve an increase in revenue and find ways of making the ponds more sustainable.