City of London Corporation officers’ report recommends keeping trans-inclusive policy for swimming ponds

The Corporation currently manages three swimming ponds in Hampstead Heath, consisting of a men's pond, a women's pond and a mixed pond.

Access to the ponds has followed a trans-inclusive policy since 2017, meaning the men’s pond currently admits only biological men and trans men, and the ladies’ pond currently admits only biological women and trans women. The mixed pond is open to everyone.

The Corporation launched a review of the arrangements after the Supreme Court ruled in Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers that a person with a full gender recognition certificate, which recognises their gender as female, is not a “woman” for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 (EA 2010), and that the meaning of the word woman in the 2010 Act is “biological”.

The judgment meanwhile led gender-critical campaign group Sex Matters to seek a judicial review challenge against the Corporation, claiming the ruling rendered its admission arrangements unlawful.

The High Court initially refused permission for the claim on the basis that it was premature. However, the Court of Appeal has since granted the charity permission for a judicial review.

The officers’ report reveals that Sex Matters has applied for an expedited hearing on the first available date after 1 June 2026.

However, the Corporation maintains that these proceedings are “premature” and has applied for a stay of the proceedings pending the fresh decision by members.

The officers’ report says that if the approved draft EHRC [Equality and Human Rights Commission] Code is published by the Government before members have considered the matter, then it will be circulated for information.

The officers’ report is due to be discussed by the Hampstead Health Consultative Committee this week (5 May), before it goes for decision by the Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood & Queen’s Park Committee on 12 May and the Corporation’s Policy and Resources Committee on 4 June.

The joint report – authored by the authority’s Executive Director for Environment, its Assistant City Solicitor and its Comptroller & City Solicitor and Deputy Chief Executive – includes the outcome of the Corporation’s consultation.

The report notes that the original policy was consistent with the previous version of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) Statutory Code of Practice and the City Corporation’s Gender Identity Policy (adopted in 2019).

"Both the City Corporation’s Policy and the previous EHRC Code of Practice interpreted the Equality Act 2010 as requiring that trans people should be able to access single-sex services aligning with their gender identity, and that they should only be excluded if this was a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim," the report states.

Commenting on the effects of the Supreme Court judgment in 2025, the report says that, while the case clarified that the terms “man”, “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 relate to biological sex, not certificated sex, it "remains the case that gender reassignment is a protected characteristic, separately protected from unlawful discrimination and inequality".

It added: "However, the judgment also clarified that, if a service provider admits trans people to a service intended for the opposite biological sex, it is not a separate-sex or single-sex service under the Equality Act 2010.

"It should be noted that there is no legal requirement to provide single sex swimming facilities. The Men’s Pond and the Ladies’ Pond are atypical in terms of comparable swimming facilities in London which are overwhelmingly mixed sex."

The officers’ report noted that some 38,455 respondents including 35 organisations responded to the Corporation’s consultation, which ran from 30 September 2025 to 25 November 2025.

Some 83% supported Option 2 (of six options), namely “That the Men’s Pond and the Ladies’ Pond should continue to be trans-inclusive spaces as currently operated”. Just over two in five respondents (43%) supported Option 3, “That the Men’s Pond and the Ladies’ Pond should be trans inclusive spaces based on how people have decided to live their lives”.

Only 13% supported Option 1, “That the Men’s Pond and the Ladies’ Pond become strictly single sex facilities”. Option 6 – “That the Men’s Pond and the Ladies’ Pond should be mixed-sex spaces” – received support from 16% of respondents.

The officers’ report said: “A large majority of respondents therefore supported keeping the current trans inclusive arrangements at the Men’s Pond and the Ladies’ Pond, over alternative trans-inclusive arrangements, mixed-sex spaces or strictly single sex spaces. There was very little support for compromise options such as requiring trans swimmers to use separate changing rooms and toilets or having different access arrangements at different times.”

Six in-person focus groups were also held for bathing pond users. “The focus group participants also gave the broadest support to retaining the current trans-inclusive arrangements,” the officers’ report said.
Turning to the prospects of a judicial review, the report warns that there is a “high risk of a legal challenge, whichever option is selected”.

It notes that while Sex Matters is seeking to make the ponds “strictly single-sex facilities”, other organisations such as TransLucent have indicated that they intend to intervene in the proceedings “in an attempt to ensure that they remain trans-inclusive facilities”.

The report states the recommended option – was considered “the most proportionate and appropriate approach” after weighing legal, equalities, safeguarding, operational and financial considerations.

It adds that maintaining the current arrangements would avoid requiring staff “to visually assess whether swimmers are biological men or women” and would instead allow them to “focus on behaviours rather than the physical characteristics of user’s bodies”.

The Corporation is also being asked to approve in principle up to £1.08m of improvements to changing, showering and toilet facilities across the ponds.

Adam Carey