Uh oh:
according to PTP, which operates lifeguarding at Beckenham Place Park, the lake is closed to the public and does not station lifeguards on Mondays.
A dog walker and concerned parent who gave his name as Ben said he saw “lots of older kids swimming and plenty of people in the lake” on Monday afternoon.
Maybe it would have been wise to keep the lifeguard on the first Monday after opening when there’s a heatwave on the horizon and school term’s nearly finished.
Open water swimming - be it a lake or the sea is very different from using a pool. There should be lifeguards at all times when it is open but perhaps parents should take some responsibility to educate and supervise their children.
Apologies if it’s already been asked but can you pre-book? It’s really not clear on their site!
Parents need to realise it’s a large deep water swimming lake and not a paddling pool. I was there at the weekend and was amazed by the number of parents keeping a distant eye on their kids while nattering, utterly irresponsible in my view.
According to the News Shopper a child was rescued from the lake and taken by air ambulance to hospital on Monday.
According to some reports the issue is that it looks like a paddling pool (it’s called a splash area) but in actuality the rope marking the splash area moved so it got very deep very quickly.
That’s a shame, but given schools finish today, and on top of the heat wave, I guess it could be quite difficult to ensure the safety of everyone in the water…
Hopefully it will re-open soon.
Sounds like quite a change. Also suspect this fencing will be ugly…
To manage the number of swimmers and lake users safely:
Does sound like they have realised their is a big issue - it’s a big call to close this a few days after it opened.
I wonder if this will become a permanent fenced chargeable off area - which I think would be a shame.
I hope this is temporary whilst they amend signage and perhaps more solidly re-enforce the limits of the lake and where depth increases significantly.
I’m actually pleased that they have taken swift action here - must have been a difficult call for somebody, but safety, especially with young children around is paramount. I hope to use it later next month, both for swimming and kayaking.
Updated statement, the park has reopened, but the pond is still closed:
The public response to the relaunch of Beckenham Place Park has been fantastic.
The number of visitors enjoying the new facilities has exceeded our most ambitious forecasts.
However, as with any open water facility, we need to ensure people can enjoy themselves safely. This means carefully managing the number of people using the lake and the space around it.
While the park has re-opened, the lake remains closed as we make these changes.
The park is still quite busy today but definitely feels like it still isn’t quite finished and maybe they rushed to open it as there is still the odd skip and piles of construction materials around the place.
Lake was fenced off as expected, but still looked nice:
Or perhaps never. Why shouldn’t the swimmers take responsibility?
Most areas of the coast where people swim in the sea are not regulated and have no lifeguards or supervision.
