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| Lido swimmers face price hike |
Heath bowlers and runners also hit
by rises
Robert Sutherland Smith |
THE cost of playing sport on Hampstead Heath is due to rise again
next year, the Corporation of London has revealed.
New charges for using the athletics track, bowling pavilion, Lido
and tennis courts will be put before the Heath consultative committee
on Monday.
The increases follow last year’s review of Heath charges, which
aimed to cut the estimated £330,000 deficit on the Heath’s
£5.5 million budget. It was said then that prices would have
to come into line with those charged by neighbouring councils and
private competitors.
Measures introduced last year included the controversial “self-policing”
ticket machines for swimmers at Heath ponds and pay-and-display
tickets at its car parks.
The new proposals would see a £65 season ticket at the bowling
pavilion increase to £80 from April while an adult summer
season ticket for the Lido is expected to rise to £75 from
£55.
The standard charge for a school using the Parliament Hill athletics
track could rise from £35 to £42. Reserving a junior
cricket pitch is expected to cost £40, a £10 increase,
from April. Other rises have been calculated in line with an inflation
figure of three per cent.
But there will be no changes to car parking charges or the pond
tickets until autumn 2006.
While the ponds brought in just £9,406 from June to September
out of an anticipated £80,000 over the year, the car park
machines have already raised £55,000 – £5,000 more
than the £50,000 target for the end of the financial year.
Meanwhile, an ice rink planned for Parliament Hill Fields for six
weeks from December will also bring in money for the Corporation,
which is leasing the site to ice rink specialists PWR Events for
the period.
Heath bosses will also be entitled to a percentage of the profits
from the ice rink if they exceed an agreed amount, although the
exact figures are “commercially sensitive”, according
to a Corporation spokeswoman.
She added: “It looks like we might be on course to reach our
target for the car parks, although that figure does not take into
account operating costs.
“But while we are pleased with how the car parks are performing
and excited about the arrival of the ice rink, it does not mean
we are taking our eye off the ball in terms of the ponds.
“We are still asking swimmers to contribute as other sports
users are contributing. We have made a lot of cuts on the Heath
and there is still a lot of work that we have not been able to do.”
But Robert Sutherland Smith, chairman of the United Swimmers Association,
said: “Swimming in the ponds is not a sport. It is a leisure
activity in the same way as walking and the ponds are an integral
part of the Heath. One doesn’t see why the ponds should be
singled out for charges.”
Ronald Veldun, from Camden Sports Council, said he was not surprised
by the increases.
He added: “They have subsidised the facilities for donkeys’
years and compared to other places they are cheap. No one wants
to see increases but one has to be realistic – especially in
view of the difficulties they have in raising revenue.” |
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