NORTH-WEST LONDON — A City of London Corporation committee voted on Thursday to maintain the current access policy for bathing ponds at Hampstead Heath. This decision followed a public consultation, launched in October, which received 38,000 responses regarding the ponds' access arrangements.
The Hampstead Heath facility features gender-segregated ponds for men and women, along with a mixed-gender pond. Under the maintained policy, transgender women will continue to access Kenwood Ladies' pond, and transgender men will continue to access Highgate Men's pond.
The implemented policy classifies the men's and women's ponds as not being single-sex spaces under the Equality Act. The Corporation, which manages the bathing ponds, stated that 86 percent of consultation respondents favored retaining the existing trans-inclusive arrangements.
Fiona McAnena, director of Sex Matters, said, "Many City of London councillors seem to think UK equality law doesn't apply to the Hampstead ponds." McAnena added, "The clue is in the name: female users don't expect to encounter male people in bikinis or sometimes even naked in the showers at the Ladies' pond, but that is what the City of London Corporation has endorsed." She also said, "The whole policy is an unlawful mess and it's a disgrace that London councillors think that they can ride roughshod over the law."
The campaign group Sex Matters secured a Court of Appeal application in March to pursue a legal challenge concerning the ponds' access policy. Government guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission indicates that single-sex services are to operate based on biological sex.
Chris Hayward, Corporation policy chair, said, "Although our consultation was never a referendum, the message from regular swimmers and the wider community was clear – people want these ponds to remain safe, respectful and inclusive." Hayward noted, "Whilst the supreme court judgment confirmed the legal definition of 'sex', it did not decide that all trans-inclusive services must become single-sex services."
"The approach agreed today protects the character and unique spirit of the ponds while ensuring they remain welcoming to all," he added. The Corporation also agreed to install additional private cubicles during upcoming upgrades to the toilet and shower facilities at the ponds.