Author: Vicky Joseph

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.

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.