Hampstead Heath battle over nude sunbathers’ demand for more space

Taking the plunge: a swimmer dives into the men’s pond. Nude sunbathers are hidden behind a screen after a barrister said his young son didn’t want to see naked men
12 April 2012

It is the only nude sunbathing area in London... and well known as a rendezvous for gay men.

But a demand to increase the space set aside for naturists beside the men's pond in Hampstead Heath has prompted a backlash from swimmers.

More than 1,000 people, including comedian Julian Clary and gay rights activist Peter Tatchell, have signed a petition calling on the City of London Corporation to redesign the pond's changing rooms to double the nude sunbathing area.

They say the present "squalid" conditions only provide enough space for 32 men — leaving the nudists "packed like sardines" in summer.

Since 1994, when a barrister complained that his son was troubled by the sight of naked men, a concrete area has been partitioned off for sunbathing.

Campaigner Michael Peacock said London should follow cities such as Prague, which has seven nudist sites for a population six times smaller, and raise provision for naturists. He said: "All the partition has created is divisions."

Mr Peacock said that some "strategically placed shrubs" could help prevent causing offence.

But Robert Sutherland Smith, chairman of the United Swimmers Association of Hampstead Heath, said: "If Mr Peacock had his way I think it would mean that swimming would become very, very difficult."

A City of London spokesman said: "It has been recommended that the petitioners' proposal, to approximately double the area available for nude sunbathing, at the expense of changing accommodation, should not be agreed."

Mr Tatchell said until the early Nineties the whole changing area was shared with nude sunbathers.

He added: "All people are now seeking is a restoration of a large area for the majority who either want to sunbathe nude or who don't mind if other people do."

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