The Hampstead Heath Consultative Committee met to discuss a range of topics relating to Hampstead Heath, including the appointment of a representative from English Heritage, an update from the Assistant Director, and an update from Heath Hands.

Appointment of English Heritage Representative

The committee approved the appointment of Simon Cranmer, nominated by English Heritage, to the Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood and Queen's Park Committee. This appointment is for the consideration of business relating to Hampstead Heath, in accordance with the London Government Reorganisation (Hampstead Heath) Order 1989. The previous member, Victoria Stone, stepped down from her role as Interim General Manager at Kenwood House on 28 May 2025, creating the vacancy.

Assistant Director's Update

The committee received a report from the Executive Director, Environment, providing an update on matters relating to Hampstead Heath.

Conservation Efforts

The Hampstead Heath draft hedgehog report, funded by the City Bridge Foundation, has been received from Zoological Society of London (ZSL). The report evaluates the local hedgehog population based on data collected since 2018 and identifies future conservation measures. An alder moth caterpillar was found in the Cohen's Field area, a new record for Hampstead Heath. There was also a sighting of a purple emperor butterfly at the Ladies' Bathing Pond jetty. The Conservation Team has commenced their summer grassland management programme, cutting on the Heath Extension and Cohen's Field. Twenty-six common spotted orchids have been recorded on the Heath Extension, a similar number to 2024. The Conservation Team has acquired a new tractor-mounted cutting deck to maintain amenity areas. The team has also undertaken bramble control, managed bracken, and addressed sapling growth. Efforts have been dedicated to removing Himalayan Balsam from stream lines.

Natural Flood Management

The Conservation team has installed ten small leaky dams on the Heath Extension and the allotment stream line along the edge of Cohen's Field, with the help of Heath Hands volunteers. A City Surveyor's contractor will install surface water deflectors along the repaired pathway next to Hampstead No. 2 Pond at East Heath.

Heritage and Landscape

Summer tasks include litter picking, cleaning toilets, and grass cutting. The Conservation Team has carried out tree lifting along main pathways and cleared tree arisings.

Hill Garden and Pergola

Structural repair and timber-strengthening works continue at the Hill Garden and Pergola, with weekly surveys. The under-croft and mock window painting is complete. The perimeter railings have been repaired, and the Gardening Team has cleared foliage and plants damaging the pergola columns. The Hill Garden shelter has been repaired and repainted. Additional funding has been secured to replace the Belvedere Roof. A Conservation Management Plan (CMP) for the Pergola is planned to be commissioned in the autumn by the Heritage Estate Section (HES) in City Surveyor's Department, funded by a £60,000 budget from the Cyclical Works Programme (CWP).

Tree Management

The Tree Team has been continuing its cyclical tree inspections on roadside trees. The team has removed London plane branches affected by Massaria disease and several dead trees. Recent high temperatures have contributed to tree and branch failures. The Tree Team has continued managing oak processionary moth (OPM) and monitoring OPM parasitoid species. Work will commence at the Downshire Hill entrance to install a root barrier to protect a neighbouring property from alleged subsidence. The Tree Team has started soil decompaction at Golders Hill Park. Members of the Tree Team attended an International Biodiversity of Pollards conference at Burnham Beeches.

Lido and Ponds

Planning permission has been granted for new photovoltaic (PV) panels to be installed on the roof of the Lido.

Sports and Recreation

The football and rugby season finished on the Heath Extension on 4 May 2025. Discussions are underway with Middlesex Football Association and local football clubs to improve the football pitches. The cricket season commenced on 10 May and runs until 21 September 2025. The bowling and croquet season runs until 28 September 2025. The tennis courts at Parliament Hill and at Golders Hill Park continue to be well used. Parliament Hill Athletics Track continues to be well used by many clubs, schools, colleges, and universities. Highgate Harriers hosted the Southern Athletics League Athletics meeting in June and the London 5000m event in July.

With warmer weather, the swimming facilities have been very busy. Repair work and maintenance were carried out at Parliament Hill Lido and the paddling pools in June. The Ponds Accessibility Project has been completed at the Mixed, Ladies' and Men's Ponds. The Ladies' Pond aeration system has been installed and is working well.

Ponds Access

Following the Supreme Court judgment in For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC, the City of London Corporation has committed to a careful review of access policies and will be engaging and consulting with users of the swimming ponds and other stakeholders via a public consultation. A specialist consultation consultant has been retained to support the City Corporation with this exercise. The current access arrangements at the bathing ponds, which have been in place since 2019, should remain unchanged pending the outcome of the consultation exercise. Temporary signage has been erected at the Ladies' Pond and Men's Pond. Sex Matters has initiated judicial review proceedings against the City Corporation regarding the access arrangements at the Ladies' Pond and the Men's Pond. The claim is being robustly defended.

Social Inclusion

Golders Hill Park Zoo celebrated its 120th anniversary in May. The Golders Hill Park Zoo Team is in the process of recruiting new volunteers and hosting summer placements for students. The Lido has taken 15 school bookings in July for their end-of-term school outings. Dost, a registered charity, has liaised with staff at the Lido, and 24 young refugees had the opportunity to swim at the Lido at a discounted rate.

Diversity and Equality

The sandpit area at Golders Hill Park remains closed to the public, but the NCIL funding application for £65,000 to Barnet Council was successful. Officers are working with Procurement to appoint an external contractor.

Learning

From April to July 2025, 5,274 school students participated in outdoor learning programmes, 8,138 people participated across two play centres, 15 City Corporation secondary school students have participated in a 'Green Changemakers' project at the Adventure Clubhouse, and 153 young people participated in the youth programme.

Respect for the Heath

An unauthorised party took place on West Heath on 14 June 2025, resulting in health and safety risks, verbal abuse, theft, and litter. Officers will be seeking an injunction to prohibit future occurrences of this unauthorised party. In mid-August, Officers hosted a tour of West Heath followed by a discussion about various challenges and health and safety matters related to this area of the Heath. Two additional security guards from Parkguard have been stationed at the Lido from 23 May to 14 September 2025 to assist staff with crowd control and antisocial behaviour. Lifeguards and Swimming Stewards have reported 25 incidents at the Lido and Ponds of customers having been abusive or aggressive towards them. Several overnight trespassing incidents have occurred at all three Bathing Ponds, including the Lido and Cafe, which have been subject to vandalism and theft. Filming has taken place across the Heath, including at the Men's Pond for a feature film.

Responsible Management

Hampstead Heath has retained its Green Flag Award and Green Heritage Award status. Golders Hill Park Zoo attained BIAZA (British & Irish Association of Zoos & Aquariums) Accredited status in May. On 24 May 2025, DEFRA released the new standards of modern zoo practice. Officers will need to relocate the three red deer at Golders Hill Park to another facility. Officers are also reviewing the lemur and the wading bird enclosures at the Zoo. The welfare of the collection is of paramount importance. The wading bird enclosure requires significant remedial work, so it has been agreed to move the nine birds to Birdworld in Surrey. A lot of identified works were scheduled in the Cyclical Work Programme for Golders Hill Park and the Heath. Renovations to the toilet blocks at Golders Hill Park are due to be completed at the end of August. The new leisure management system (LMS) planned for the swimming operations continues to be progressed. Routine sampling was carried out at the end of May at the Heath Extension changing rooms, and the results confirmed the presence of Legionella again.

Cafe Remarketing

Following approval from the Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood, and Queen's Park Committee, the three cafes on the Heath are being remarketed. The remarketing process began in mid-July. Once concluded, Officers will review the submissions and prepare recommendations for consultation with Hampstead Heath Consultative Committee and decision of Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood, and Queen's Park Committee.

Events Update

Race for Life returned to the Heath with a stronger turnout than in previous years. Run for Your Life was a joint effort between the City Corporation, Jubilee Hall Trust, and the Royal Free Hospital. The Kite Flying Festival took place on Kite Hill. The Survivors Children's Concert took place in May. Highgate Harriers piloted a summer evening 5,000-metre track event. Bandstand Concerts have been taking place throughout the summer.

City Surveyor's Department Update

The City Surveyor's Department (CSD) will continue to provide an update on delivery of the Cyclical Works Programme in the Assistant Director reports to the Committee. The next CWP bid will be submitted to Resource Allocation Sub-Committee and Finance Committee in October 2026. The City Surveyor has ambitious plans to deliver c. £2.0m of works in Year 2 (2025-26) of the current CWP programme across Hampstead Heath. Works are prioritised using a structured scoring system aligned with the Corporate Property Asset Management Strategy and the Climate Action Strategy.

Heath Hands Update

The committee received a report from Heath Hands, summarising the charity's main activities on North London Open Spaces. The first two months of the financial year have been a busy period for volunteering groups, with 26 schools, 23 corporate, and 8 community groups. Wildlife monitoring is in full swing, and efforts to improve biodiversity are continuing around Parliament Hill. The Hedgehog Friendly Heath project is continuing with support for a hedgehog survey at Highgate Wood and Queen's Wood. Corporate volunteering bookings are popular, and work is progressing to develop a plant nursery at the Hive. To engage different audiences, Heath Hands collaborates with a range of local organisations. Free weekend family-friendly nature interpretation sessions attracted over 400 participants in May and June. Refurbishment works on the former Tennis Hut at Parliament Hill are being undertaken. Since the start of May, staff and volunteers have delivered public walks. The youth volunteering programme is active, and free health and wellbeing programmes are continuing.