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Heath’s swimmers sink just £13,000 into ponds
Unpopular payment scheme falls well short of target
CHARGING Hampstead Heath ponds’ swimmers has raised just £13,000 in the past year – prompting calls for the controversial scheme to be scrapped.
The figures, released this week by Heath managers the City of London, represent a fraction of the target £80,000 figure. The ponds cost nearly £500,000 a year to maintain.
The shortfall will be met by a fund called City Cash, which is invested in a variety of stocks and shares.
A Heath management committee report said: “Given the work to raise awareness of the need to pay, it was unfortunate that again the summer weather conditions were so atrocious. There were only two or three hot days when the bathing ponds reached anything like capacity. Officers will continue to work with the Swimming Forum to build on compliance and endeavour to reach the income target.”
Writer Al Alvarez, aged 78, who swims daily in the men’s ponds, said the charging system would never work.
“I do not pay,” he said. “My feeling is the Heath is common land and to swim in the ponds is a natural right.”
He added that forcing people pay to go for a swim would be virtually impossible to police.
“I just can’t see how they could make it compulsory,” said Mr Alvarez. “They are fighting a losing battle over this. The best way to keep the ponds free would be to save money elsewhere. The Heath constabulary swan about in these awful 4x4s, which could easily go.”
The poor weather also hit attendance at the Lido with season tickets falling by 40 per cent. The Lido costs £240,000 a year but took just £84,000.
A City of London spokesman said: “We experienced poor weather in the summer which had a dramatic impact on our income from the ponds. The City of London will continue to work with swimmers to encourage compliance with paying for entry for these cherished and unique facilities.”
Chairman of the City of London’s Hampstead Heath Committee, Bob Hall, added that they were planning to increase spending in 2009.
He said: “The overall 2009/10 budgets will include an increase of £382,000 to enable additional maintenance and repairs schemes.” |
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