The City of London said the Hampstead Heath Extension changing rooms will remain closed over the summer ‘as planned’, with hopes they will be reopened by September reports Ben Lynch, Local Democracy Reporter

An image of Hampstead Health Extension — Dudley Miles, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Changing rooms on Hampstead Heath have been shut after Legionella was found during a routine water test. The City of London Corporation, which manages the green space as a registered charity, said the facilities on Hampstead Heath Extension were ‘immediately’ shut following a recent check-up. Hampstead Heath Extension constitutes the top-left corner of the space stretching into Barnet, and has a number of sports pitches on site.

A spokesperson added the changing rooms, which are on part of the heath that’s filled with sports pitches, will remain closed over the summer period ‘as planned’, as they were not due to be used over the summer months anyway, with hopes they will be reopened by September. Legionella is a bacteria which can be found in water systems such as hot tubs, showerheads and cooling towers. It can cause Legionnaires’ disease, a potentially fatal lung infection.

In papers prepared for a Hampstead Heath Consultative Committee meeting earlier this week, City of London officers wrote traces of Legionella were found during a routine test, following which the changing rooms were closed immediately. Work is continuing with the city surveyor’s department and external contractors ‘to address the situation and ensure continued public safety’.

“Despite the closure of the changing rooms, there will not be any impact on our sports clubs’ ability to use sports pitches while work is carried out to resolve this problem,” the officers wrote. “It is hoped that the changing rooms will be reopened by the start of the rugby season in September this year.”

Commenting on the finding of Legionella, a spokesperson for the City of London said: “The health and safety of Heath users is our top priority.

“We regularly carry out inspections for Legionella, and a recent routine water-quality test revealed traces in the Hampstead Heath Extension changing rooms, which were immediately closed.

“We are working to address the situation and prevent any future occurrence. The changing rooms will remain closed over the summer period as planned, and we hope to reopen them by September.”

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