NEWS

We have been advised of the following details concerning access to the Public Gallery on 23 and 24 February 2022, to watch the Judicial Review proceedings to challenge the charging regime at the Hampstead Heath bathing ponds:

Where: Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London WC2A 2LL (map here)
Court Number: 76
Public Gallery Capacity: Approx 50 (accessible courtroom and further information about accessibility is here.)
Hearing Sessions:  23 February 10.30 am to 1 pm and 2 pm to 4.30 pm.  24 February 10.30 am to 1 pm.
Security:  Please allow approx. 30 minutes to clear security before entering the courtroom.
Online Access: This is only available in exceptional circumstances to members of the public who are unable to attend a court hearing in person.  To request an individual link to watch the hearing, please email the court directly (email address here).  This link must not be forwarded to anyone else and it is illegal to broadcast a hybrid hearing in any way using this link.

Please be aware that members of the public who access the public gallery will be expected, as far as possible, to stay seated for the 2.5 hours of each session, and observe in silence.  If you are attending court, you will be expected to wear a face covering, unless exempt.  More information about what to expect in the court building can be seen here.

The Judicial Review will focus on the specific issues of alleged disability discrimination rather than the wider principles of charging to swim on Hampstead Heath.  The hearing will be focused on detailed legal arguments. 

A lot of work has been put into this case by the KLPA, Kate Egerton and the legal team at Leigh Day, Zoe Leventhal QC and her team at Matrix Chambers, and of course claimant Christina Efthimiou.  We would like to thank everyone who hascome forward to help and to pledge financial support for this legal challenge.

Supporters are invited to assemble outside the court on 23 February 2022, from 9.15 am for a photo opportunity and potential press coverage, even if you cannot commit to attending the hearing.  The KLPA banner will be present as a focal point and supporters are invited to bring their own home made banners on the theme of inclusion and fair access.  However please be aware you may not be able to take these banners into the court building.

The Judicial Review to challenge the charging regime at the Hampstead Heath bathing ponds is almost with us. Claimant Christina Efthimiou, supported by the KLPA, has alleged that the current charges amount to disability discrimination. The hearing is on 23-24 February 2022 at the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand. 

Please come to show support outside the court:

When: 23 February 2022.  Assemble from 9.15 am for 9.30 am.
Where: At the front of the Royal Courts of Justice
Dress Code: Swimwear and KLPA accessories

We are expecting press interest so let’s make an impression outside the court! The KLPA banner will be there as a focal point and members are encouraged to make their own banners supporting fair access and inclusivity at the bathing ponds. It is time to be noticed; please spread the word.

We expect to have more information about the public gallery arrangements early next week and will forward this to members as soon as we have it.

Thank you to everyone who has supported this campaign and contributed to the Crowdfunding so far. Every donation matters, as it shows the breadth of support for inclusivity at the bathing ponds.

The KLPA will be holding its monthly merchandise sale on Saturday 19 February 2022 from 9 to 11 am, at the Ladies’ Pond.  We will have hi-viz knitted hats, mugs and books for sale at £10 each. Mugs and hi-viz knitted hats can be bought in bulk, four for £35 (including mix and match options). We also have bright coloured silicon swim hats for sale at £5. We can take payment by cash, cheque or card (cash preferred). The knitted hats and silicon swim hats help with visibility at the pond in poor light conditions so they are helpful to the lifeguards. These hats and the mugs and books also make great presents.

Please remember to renew your membership if you pay annually.  Renewal (still £5) is due by 1 April and if you renew now that will cover you until 31 March 2023. The quickest way to do this is via our new online payment system Member Mojo which you can find on the KLPA website. You can also use this to take out a life membership instead for £125 (or £80 if aged 65+). Your membership is important to the KLPA and we hope you will feel able to rejoin this year.

The Judicial Review hearing to challenge the current charging regime at the bathing ponds on grounds of disability discrimination takes place on 23-24 February 2022 at the Royal Courts of Justice.  Claimant Christina Efthimiou is being supported by the KLPA. There is still time to donate to the crowdfunding page for legal costs here, and to encourage friends, relatives or colleagues to do so as well. Thank you to everyone who has contributed; there have been over 400 donations so far.

We are writing to inform you about the arrangements for the 2022 AGM of the Kenwood Ladies’ Pond Association.  This year we will be holding the meeting in person at:

 The Highgate Literary & Scientific Institution
(11, South Grove, Highgate, London N6 6BS)

Sunday 20 March 2022 at 3 pm
Followed by shared buffet until 5pm

At this meeting we will provide an update on the Association’s activities during the previous year and hear your views on priorities for the forthcoming year.  We hope to have news of an outcome from the Judicial Review by this date.  At the AGM our annual accounts will be put to the meeting for approval and Committee members elected for the following year.

If you are interested in standing for the KLPA Committee, please complete the attached nomination form (here), counter-signed by two other KLPA members who are nominating you.  You must all be fully paid-up members completing the form.  This can be returned by email as a scanned document to klpamailbox@gmail.com.  Ours is an active campaigning Committee and we encourage new members who can help to ensure that it is representative of the pond community.

At the AGM, we will also present an updated draft of the KLPA Constitution, which would require a two-thirds vote of those present to be accepted.  The current Constitution is here and the proposed update (with amendments highlighted) is here.  The Constitution was last reviewed in 2013.

Any additional resolutions need to be submitted in time to be circulated to members at least 14 days before the meeting, as required by our current Constitution.

If you are an annual member of the KLPA please remember to renew your membership which is still just £5 per year.  This entitles you to participate in the AGM, as well as receive regular updates and newsletters from the KLPA, including details of our social and campaigning activities.  Ways to pay for your membership are detailed below.

At the last in person AGM in 2020 it was not possible to hold our usual shared buffet, and the 2021 AGM was carried out by remote means due to public health restrictions in force at the time.  This year we are pleased to be able to invite members to bring food to share after the business of the meeting is completed, and the KLPA will be providing hot and cold drinks.

MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL

We have just set up an online option to pay for your membership by credit or debit card using “Member Mojo” and a link is on our website home page.  You will be able to use this to pay for annual or life membership. 
 

Alternatively, you can pay for your membership in person at the AGM (cash or cheque), or via bank transfer using the bank details on our Membership Form.  If you use bank transfer please use your surname as a reference and send a screenshot of the payment confirmation by email to klpamailbox@gmail.com so that we can identify your payment. 

The bank details can also be used to set up a yearly standing order (using your surname as reference), or you can choose to become a life member for £125 (or £80 if aged 65+).

The Judicial Review hearing, which the KLPA has been supporting for nearly a year, is almost upon us.  The hearing will take place at the Royal Courts of Justice on 23-24 February 2022 and we will let members know how to show support on the day shortly

This is a challenge against the charging regime at the bathing ponds, which we believe excludes many people from such a life enhancing activity, including those whose physical and mental health has benefitted previously from access to the ponds.  Claimant Christina Efthimiou, who is a KLPA member, alleges that the new charges amount to disability discrimination and the KLPA is supporting her claim. 

The KLPA Crowdfunding page has so far raised nearly £12,000 but we do need to continue to fundraise to meet potential adverse costs and any costs which fall outside the support of Legal Aid. We are grateful for the support from our friends who swim at the Men’s and Mixed Ponds as well as supporters from further afield. Please help us to reach our target by donating here:

It is essential that the bathing ponds do not become an exclusive facility available only to those who can afford the increased and enforced prices.  Throughout 2020 and 2021 the KLPA attempted to engage with the City of London Corporation to keep this special place affordable; the background can beseen here and here.  Along with the other Heath swimmers’ associations we supported what was known as Option 2, to encourage payment from those who could afford it whilst not excluding anyone else.  The City of London Corporation ignored this and the recommendations of its own Hampstead Heath Consultative Committee to vote through increased, compulsory charges in March 2020.  Under the cover of the first national lockdown the infrastructure for this charging regime was put in place, and pleas for magnanimity in the face of a public health emergency were ignored. 

In 2021 the City proceeded to increase charges disproportionately for concession tickets, for a second year running and that led to the application for Judicial Review. Season tickets prices for concession holders were increased by 15-21% when other tickets went up by 1.3%.  The City also continued to refuse to allow for payment by instalment on season tickets which would have helped swimmers on a low income. A Support Fund, which was cited as justification for the 2020 charging decisions, has not materialised.  We have asked for evidence of the Social Prescribing which was also promised in 2020 but have not seen this either.

Please take one more opportunity to spread the word to your friends, family, colleagues and anyone else who might support this cause. Every donation helps, however much you can afford. So far more than 360 individuals have made donations. Please donate here:

The KLPA Spring Newsletter will soon be under preparation.  This popular newsletter depends on the creative contributions from KLPA members.  Please send us your original pieces for inclusion by Sunday 27 February 2022.

For example, this may include your accounts of new swimming places you have discovered in the UK and beyond, news of campaigns on water quality and access to swimming elsewhere, or poems, photographs and artworks which you have created.  If you are looking for inspiration, the most recent newsletter can be seen here.

This copy date for the newsletter also fits in well with the dates for the Judicial Review hearing on 23-24 February 2022 (details here).  The KLPA is waiting for further details of public gallery access for members who would like to attend the hearing, and we will let you know when we have more information. 

In the meantime please keep 9-10 am on 23 February 2022 as a date in your diary for a photo opportunity outside the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand.  The KLPA is currently liaising with Leigh Day solicitors, who are acting on behalf of the claimant Christina Efthimiou, concerning press interest in this hearing.

The Hampstead Heath Consultative Committee meets next on Monday 24 January 2022.  This meeting starts at 5.30 pm and can be viewed online here.  The full agenda and supporting papers for the meeting can be seen here (14MB).  At page 111 there are details of the proposed charges for swimming in the 2022/23 season which are based on a 4.9% increase to prices.  At pages 91-93 the proposed swimming arrangements for the summer season are set out including a return of the online booking system to restrict access between midday and 4.45 pm each day. 

Meetings of the Hampstead Heath Consultative Committee are usually held shortly before the next meeting of the Hampstead Heath, Highgate Woods and Queen’s Park Management Committee, giving us some idea of what decisions will be put to the Management Committee affecting the running of the bathing ponds and Heath generally.  However the Covid delayed local elections are being held for the City of London Corporation on 24 March 2022 so there is a longer gap this time.  We expect the next management committee meeting to be held on 4 May 2022 (details here).  It is not therefore clear how the decisions on charging and the summer 2022 swimming arrangements will be mandated in time for 1 April 2022.

At the last meeting of the Sports and Wellbeing Advisory Forum on 11 January 2022, the KLPA and Highgate Men’s Pond Association (HMPA) asked for the age-related free swimming times to be extended, as these currently clash with the provision of free travel for swimmers over the age of 60.  The current arrangement does not give swimmers under 16 or over 60 a real choice about when to swim, affordably.  This request was refused, pending the outcome of the forthcoming Judicial Review, despite age-related concessions having no logical link to the legal case based on a claim of disability discrimination. Anne Fairweather, who was chairing the meeting expressed the view it would have been better to have discussions rather than revert to legal action, but the swimmers’ associations, including the KLPA, have offered to work with the City repeatedly since 2020 to address income generation without exclusion, but to no avail.  Hence the Judicial Review which is taking place on 23-24 February 2022.  Both the KLPA and HMPA also objected at the Forum to the return of online booking now that most Covid-related restrictions have been lifted.

During the last 6 months there have been significant changes of personnel affecting the Heath, both “elected” members of the City of London Corporation and senior managers connected with the running of the Heath.  These changes are also continuing:

• August 2021 – Retirement of Heath Superintendent Bob Warnock, who recommended and oversaw the new charging regime at the Hampstead Heath bathing ponds from 2020.
• August 2021 – January 2022 – Acting Heath Superintendent in place, Richard Gentry, who has now returned to his substantive post.
• October 2021 – Retirement of Director of Open Spaces Colin Buttery(manager of Superintendent).
• November 2021 – Former Chair of Management Committee, Karina Dostalova, who oversaw charging decisions in March 2020, stood down entirely from City of London Corporation.
• January 2022 – New Heath Superintendent in post, Stefania Horne.
• January 2022 – Departure of Business Manager Open Spaces Department, Yvette Hughes.
• March 2022 – Current Chair of Management Committee, Anne Fairweather, who continued the implementation of the new swimming charging regime, to stand down entirely from City of London Corporation.

Management of the Heath and the bathing ponds in particular appears to be going through a period of instability, which the KLPA and other swimmers’ associations will continue to monitor and attempt to hold to account.

Welcome to 2022.  We hope this will be an easier year for everyone after the difficulties of 2020 and 2021.

The Judicial Review supported by the KLPA, which is challenging the charging regime at the Hampstead Heath Bathing Ponds on grounds of Disability Discrimination, is due to take place on 23-24 February 2022.  There are still ways in which you can support this challenge before the date of the hearing:

1. The Crowd Funding page is still live here and so far we have raised over £11,500 from more than 350 supporters.  Please contribute what you can and share the details with friends, family and colleagues.  When we have more details of the arrangements at court for a public gallery, we will let members know.
    
2. On Saturday 22 January 2022 between 9 am and 11 am, the KLPA will be selling merchandise at the Ladies’ Pond.  KLPA hi-viz knitted hats, seasonal KLPA mugs and the Wild Swimming Walks book will all be on sale for £10 each. The hats and mugs can be bought as sets of 4 (including mix and match options) for £35.  Hi-viz hats continue to help the lifeguards keep swimmers safe at this time of year when visibility at the pond can be poor.

The KLPA is continuing to participate in meetings with City of London Corporation managers, to engage constructively where possible and to challenge the worst excesses of their charging regime where necessary.  This week at the Sports and Wellbeing Forum we heard the news that the Chair of the Hampstead Heath, Highgate Woods and Queen’s Park Management Committee, Anne Fairweather, is stepping down in March, one year earlier than expected.  We await news of her successor.  Details are reported here in Ham & High.

We will continue to keep members informed of any new developments in the meantime.

It has been another difficult year, both locally at the Ladies’ Pond and in the world beyond.  Swimmers have continued to make the Ladies’ Pond the special place that it is, with the support of the fantastic lifeguard team.

This Christmas will again be very different, and there will be no New Year’s Day celebration at the Ladies’ Pond.  The reasons for this, intended to help reduce the risk of spreading the Coronavirus, are understandable and supported by the KLPA.  We will still miss the raucous and irreverent gathering of our pond community to see in New Year 2022.  This last happened for New Year 2020 (local press coverage here). 

We wish you all a safe and happy Christmas and a healthy New Year, when hopefully the KLPA can resume its social activities.

On Saturday 11 December 2021, 9-11 am, KLPA merchandise will again be on sale at the Ladies’ Pond.

Whether you are buying Christmas presents, or treating yourself, come along to support the KLPA’s campaigning work. We will have mugs designed by pond swimmer Sue Hellard, high-viz knitted hats and copies of the ever popular Wild Swimming Walks book. 

These items are all £10 each. The mugs and hats can be purchased as sets of four for £35 (with mix and match options). The price of the book is already discounted from the retail price of £14.99.  We can take payment by cash, cheque or card.

The KLPA is also still fund-raising to support the costs of a Judicial Review which challenges the current charging regime at the Hampstead Heath bathing ponds.  If you would like to donate to this cause directly, you can still do so here. Over 350 supporters have already pledged money to this cause. The case is now listed for hearing on 23-24 February 2022 at the Royal Courts of Justice.