Consultation on future access to the Hampstead Heath Bathing Ponds - Closes 25 November 2025

They won't dare to repeat that farce — though the handmaidens of the Kenwood Ladies Pond Association have emailed members to say there will be 'safeguards' to ensure the consultation isn't 'flooded' with orchestrated/multiple responses.
It's definitely worth responding as it's possible the City of London Corporation is looking for cover to placate the activists when they are forced to restore single-sex ponds

Are COL looking to change the charter? Creating 3 mixed sex ponds which they can rebrand as trans inclusive - as a way around the law?

Using this & previous ‘consultations’ as proof of the need to modernise.

As the EHRC have stated in their guidance this would potentially be discriminatory. Sex matters or someone else would definitely challenge this in court.

I've filled it in.

They asked me about my experience at the men's pond. I said I had no experience as it was for men and I'm not one.

I also added in the comments that they will not be able to know about the many women who self exclude because of the trans inclusion policy

Wouldn't it have to be someone bringing an equality act claim?

How does one go about initiating a judicial review to force compliance? Does any one know?

Thank you for posting that link - I thoroughly enjoyed filling that in with blunt answers about trans women not being men and therefore not being allowed in the women's spaces etc.

I particularly enjoyed the end bit when it asked who you were replying as and I was able to tick other and when it asked me for my organisation I put City of London - and role - Liveryman and Citizen of the City of London 😁

It doesn't harm for the staff to remember that there is a wide umbrella of people involved in the running of the City - as Livery we elect the Sheriffs and Lord Mayor.

About 12 EDI questions. Every one of them has the option "prefer not to say" except, strangely, the question about sexual orientation. I wonder why you're not allowed to prefer not to declare your sexual orientation?
And although you can "prefer not to say" your gender, "none" is not an option.

I've got spices in my cupboard older than that.

And you're prepared to admit that on MN? Brave woman! 😀

I’ve filled it in.
So many EDI questions but at least it asked about your sex, not just gender.

Completed! I don’t care if they publish my responses (although I’m not sure I was as eloquent as @MissScarletInTheBallroom - though we had the same answers to the questions 😉!)

I’d love to use the ladies pond if it was a female only space.

I have checked the guidelines on the website and it says that some consultations will be private but even if they are not there will be no identifying information published with it unless it is a planning application so hopefully it should be ok. As a precaution I have emailed support asking them to make my comments private.

Same here. I'm self employed and old enough to no longer give a shit, so filled in the whole thing.

I just can't see what the alternative is given they are absolutely wedded to it being trans inclusive. Any other solution will be in breach of the equality act.

For iPhone/apple users, they offer the option called “hide my email” where they generate a random email address that Apple forwards to your usual address. Allows you to be totally anonymous. Not sure if Google and others offer a similar service but worth finding out.

That would be so disproportionate that I instinctively feel they'd be opening themselves up to other challenges there. But I'm not a lawyer so what do I know.

The email I got seemed to say that my responses wouldn’t be part of the survey unless I confirmed I was genuine by clicking the link. Then I got taken to a profile where it said my comments were being moderated and weren’t yet visible. The problem is my email address is basically my name and job so I am fucked if they link my comments to my email publicly.

I think they'll all go mixed sex which is such a shame. I don't live locally anymore but I used to swim in the ladies pond several times a week, it was so good for my mental health.

Once you submit your comment (i.e. publish) the acknowledgement page says

Thank you for your interest in Public Consultation on Hampstead Heath Bathing Ponds
Thanks for your contribution! It is not currently possible to view respondents' comments on this engagement.

So I don't think the comments are visible.

If you don't press on the email link to publish, do they still take your answers into consideration? It wasn't totally clear on the survey.

I ticked the box for publish, I'm at the do not care stage now. It's definitely there to put women off completing and I've had enough, if we all do it there's nothing to worry about.
I also write my usual essay at the gender question saying that I don't have a gender as I don't believe in a repressive ideology based on stereotypes .

If you leave out postcode will they ignore the response as coming from a non Londoner? I am also worried about giving details for them to “publish”. Maybe they know this is a deterrent to GCs, sounds crazy, but no more crazy than men becoming women.

Done. They are VERY slippery on the issue of there being a mixed pond. I reminded them of its existence on every page.