Published: June 5, 2026 ⢠12:35 AM IST ¡ Updated: June 5, 2026 ⢠7:27 AM ISTBy TheBriefWire Editorial Team
Key points
The bathing ponds at Hampstead Heath in north-west London will remain trans-inclusive after a public consultation overwhelmingly favoured its existing rules.
There are gender-segregated ponds for men and women, with trans people able to swim in whichever they feel most appropriate, or use the heathâs mixed-gender pond instead.
The City of London Corporation (CLC), which manages the ponds, reviewed its policy in response to the supreme courtâs ruling in April 2025 that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex.
On Thursday, a committee made the decision after a public consultation, launched in October, in which 86% of 38,000 respondents favoured retaining the pondsâ existing trans-inclusive arrangements, the corporation said.
The policy agreement means that transgender women will continue to have access to the siteâs Kenwood Ladiesâ pond, and the Highgate Menâs pond will be open to trans men, the CLC confirmed.