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Press release from London Pools Campaign re:

GLA Free School Swimming

We are pleased to welcome Ken Livingstone's announcement today that a pilot project for free children's swimming in 5 boroughs is to be funded over the Easter holidays.  

London Pools Campaign put this idea to Diana Johnson's office at the GLA last year - on the basis of successful projects in Wales and Glasgow.  We are delighted that the GLA has taken up this suggestion and backed an idea which can only do good in combating obesity and youth crime - as well as making children safer, and giving them a life-long skill and encouragement to participate in sport. 

This is a great step in the right direction - the next step is to stop closing swimming pools to enable children to take up this offer. 

Each year on average London loses one public pool, from a total of about 100.

One of the boroughs involved - Hackney - has closed 2 pools in the last 4 years  (Haggerston in 2000, and the now notorious Clissold Leisure Centre at the end of 2003.  There are no plans to re-open either).  This leaves the nearly 50,000 under 16 year olds in the borough with one lane pool and one small leisure pool in which to take advantage of their free swimming.

Notes to editors:

London Pools Campaign opposes pool closures where there is no replacement being built in consultation with the local community. 

We are a network of 10 campaigns for closed and threatened pools across London.

We support the creation of a London Pools Trust in association with the GLA to manage London pools which are not safe in the hands of the local authorities.

More information :

Liz Hughes
London Pools Campaign
C/o HCD
62 Beechwood Road
London E8

020 7690 6662 or 0777 300 2646
http://londonpoolscampaign.ground-level.org