Trans people will be allowed to swim in Hampstead Heath ponds after ruling

A charity has been blocked from challenging rules allowing trans people to use single-sex facilities in Hampstead Heath’s swimming ponds.

A High Court judge dismissed the legal challenge brought by gender-critical charity Sex Matters against the City of London, which operates the men’s, ladies’ and mixed bathing ponds in north London.

The barristers for Sex Matters told a hearing in December that the policy of allowing trans people to use facilities which matched their gender identity was sex discrimination.

In a ruling throwing out the legal action on Thursday, Mrs Justice Lieven said that the ‘appropriate forum’ for the claim was the county court, rather than the High Court.

She said: ‘In my view the more appropriate person to bring this claim is an individual who says that they have been discriminated against by decisions about access to the ponds.’

The judge also said that the City of London is ‘in the process’ of making a ‘fresh decision’ on the issue, making the legal challenge from Sex Matters ‘premature’ and ‘unhelpful’.

Reacting to the High Court Verdict, the chief executive of Sex Matters, Maya Forstater, said: ‘The fight for women’s safety, privacy and dignity in single-sex spaces will continue.

‘Just because this particular claim was ruled out on procedural grounds does not give any service provider the green light to allow trans-identifying males into female facilities.

‘The City’s policy and its unwillingness to defend the lawfulness of that policy in court simply pushes the risk of harassment and the cost and difficulty of taking legal cases onto individual women and members of staff. This is deeply unjust.’

A consultation run by the City of London and published today found that nearly 90 per cent of respondents back trans-inclusive access to the ponds.

More than 38,000 people took part in the consultation over a period of two months, with 84 per cent of respondents saying they had swum in the ponds.

Reactions to the decision

A spokesperson for the City of London Corporation said: ‘We note the Court’s decision. This case has required significant time and resources which could otherwise be focused on managing Hampstead Heath as a charity and providing high-quality public services.

‘We have now published the results of a consultation on future access arrangements at the Heath’s bathing ponds.

‘The findings will be presented to City Corporation committees which will consider them alongside legal duties, equality impact assessments, safeguarding responsibilities, and operational considerations.

‘In the meantime, the current admission rules will remain in place until a final decision has been made by Members. Further announcements will be made in due course.’

The judge’s decision comes after the Supreme Court ruling last year, which said that a person’s legal sex is the one they were biologically assigned at birth.

Jess O’Thomson, trans rights lead at Good Law Project, said: ‘Despite their supposed victory in the Supreme Court last April, anti-trans campaigners like Sex Matters have encountered failure after failure in their attempts to use the law to bully trans people out of public life.

‘The reason for that is clear – as the overwhelming support for trans inclusion in the City of London’s consultation shows, people in this country want to be inclusive, and trans people have been welcomed in these spaces for decades.’

Also celebrating the ruling, the Trans+ Solidarity Alliance said: ‘It’s a shame that yet more public money has had to be spent defending against endless lawfare from a vocal, well-funded minority trying to force trans people out. 

‘Trans inclusion is the norm across the country, and this government needs to act to ensure clarity and confidence for service providers to continue this without leaving them at risk of expensive litigation.’

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