Mayor's visit shines spotlight on the importance of outdoor leisure assets for community health and wellbeing
'Hidden Gem' West Reservoir shines
London Mayor Sadiq Khan visited West Reservoir Open Water Centre yesterday (Weds 29 July) to launch his Clean Rivers and Waterways plan to transform London’s blue spaces over next decade - emphasising the role of water quality in contributing to the active enjoyment of the city and supporting wildlife.
West Reservoir Open Water Centre has been run by charitable social enterprise GLL under the 'Better' brand for many years as part of its successful Leisure Partnership contract with Hackney Council.
The visit shone a spotlight on the beautiful 'hidden gem', 30 acre, publicly accessible facility which has benefitted from a multi-million pound Council investment in recent months to improve the ecological quality and species diversity while creating new access and walking routes for local people to enjoy and connect with nature in the city.
West Reservoir Open Water Centre provides safe, lifeguarded swimming for a community of dedicated year-round dippers, plus kayaking and sailing for local children in some of the most disadvantaged postcodes in London.
In addition, it has an 'industrial chic' events space with expansive open water views for corporate hires and weddings.
West Reservoir’s recent investment includes a new café, outdoor showers and changing facilities.
Joe Rham, GLL's Customer & Communities Director said:
"We agree with the Mayor that access to safe and clean bathing is a right for all Londoners - whatever their circumstances.
"We run some of the capital's most iconic swimming spots - including West Reservoir in Hackney and Charlton Lido in Greenwich.
"As this historic summer has shown, Londoners are flocking to their local swimming spots in record-breaking numbers to cool off and enjoy safe, lifeguarded swims.
"We will continue to advocate for the democratisation of leisure in London's pools and open water venues and for the restoration of lidos and development of new open water swimming locations."
GLL runs 140 pools, 10 lidos and five open water swimming spots and is one of the largest swimming providers in the UK. It is a thought leader in leisure - lobbying the Government on improving access to and preservation of community leisure facilities - as well as supporting the 20 MPs from across the UK currently petitioning for the forthcoming Water Bill to require all water companies to fund the reopening of lidos and create local outdoor swimming spaces.
In line with the increased awareness of and demand for outdoor recreation, GLL offers open water swimming outside the city, including at Debdale (Manchester), Herts Young Mariners Base (Waltham Cross) and Stanborough Lakes (Welwyn Hatfield) - as well as running 10 outdoor lidos across South East England – including London Fields Lido in Hackney, one of the nation’s busiest.
GLL champions the improvement of public spaces and leisure facilities for community benefit and to get people more physically active.
Understanding its unique scale and scope, GLL has rescued several defunct or threatened facilities for the community – including Charlton Lido and Swindon’s Health Hydro.
GLL will shortly add City Baths (Newcastle), Wycombe Rye Lido (Buckinghamshire) and Folkestone Sports Centre (Kent) to the list of public swimming facilities safeguarded for use by future generations, further enhancing leisure and wellbeing opportunities for local people across the UK.