Judge blocks bid to stop trans women using Hampstead pond

A judge has blocked a high court challenge from a charity trying to prevent transgender women swimming at the women-only bathing pond on Hampstead Heath in north London.

The claim was brought by Sex Matters, a gender-critical charity that has supported a number of high-profile legal cases against public bodies over their trans-inclusive policies since April 2025, when the UK supreme court found the legal definition of a woman under the Equality Act 2010 is based on biological sex.

The charity was seeking a judicial review to challenge the admission policy, which allows transgender people to swim in the pond of their choice, claiming it amounted to sex discrimination and is “based on a misunderstanding of the law”.

The City of London, which operates the bathing ponds, told the high court in a December hearing that Sex Matters had “jumped the gun” by bringing its challenge while the corporation was engaged in an extensive public consultation process over its admission policies.

In a judgment published this morning, Justice Lieven found that because the City of London was “in the process” of making a decision on its admission policy, Sex Matters was “premature” in seeking a judicial review “at this point”. Justice Lieven also found that rather than a charity, it would have been “more appropriate” for the claim to have been brought by an individual, or group of individuals, who believe they have been discriminated against by the admission policy, and that they should have done so in the county court instead.

The ruling is the latest example of how single-sex spaces in the UK have become a legal battleground as public bodies seek to balance the rights of transgender people while recognising the supreme court’s decision on biological sex.

In response to the judgment, Maya Forstater, CEO of Sex Matters, said: “The fight for women’s safety, privacy and dignity in single-sex spaces will continue. Just because this particular claim was ruled out on procedural grounds does not give any service provider the green light to allow trans-identifying males into female facilities. The City’s policy and its unwillingness to defend the lawfulness of that policy in court simply pushes the risk of harassment and the cost and difficulty of taking legal cases on to individual women and members of staff. This is deeply unjust.”

A spokesperson for the City of London Corporation said: “We note the court’s decision. This case has required significant time and resources which could otherwise be focused on managing Hampstead Heath as a charity and providing high-quality public services.”

Steph Richards, CEO of the trans rights charity Translucent, which had requested to intervene in the judicial review as an interested party in the case had it been allowed to proceed, said it was “unacceptable that taxpayer money is wasted by relentless legal assaults from a powerful, well-funded minority who are determined to exclude trans people… when there are so many more important issues that women face.”

Richards, who is a trans woman, added: “The government must deliver decisive legal clarity, empowering service providers to act inclusively without living under the shadow of expensive litigation.”

Last week, David Holdsworth, the CEO of the Charity Commission, warned ministers that “urgent improved clarity and guidance” is needed for charities that he said were being forced to divert resources to deal with legal threats as they wait on government approval of statutory guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission on how to operate single-sex spaces.

The City of London has said it will now present the results of its public consultation over pond admissions, which were also published, to its relevant committee. The committee will consider the results “alongside legal duties, equality impact assessments, safeguarding responsibilities and operational considerations” when determining an admission policy towards trans people.

Of the 38,000 people who engaged in the consultation, 86% said keeping existing access arrangements, which allow trans men and women to use the pond of their choice, was their preferred option. Some 90% of respondents rejected requiring trans people to use separate changing rooms or having to swim in separate sessions.

City of London Corporation policy chairman Chris Hayward said: “It’s important that we take the time to ensure future access arrangements are fair, lawful, evidence-based and, crucially, respectful to those who use the swimming ponds.”

Photograph by Hollie Fernando/Getty Images