PARENTS have gone off at the deep end after a community swimming lake was suddenly deemed unsafe for their kids – and shut down just four days after opening.
Beckenham Place Park was swamped with visitors after a £6.8m relaunch saw it open with a new ‘open water facility’ allowing the public to swim in a 219-year-old lake.
But an ambulance had to be called on Monday after a child was rescued from the water after getting into difficulty just two days after the pool was officially opened by London mayor Sadiq Khan.
Managers Lewisham Council also said the number of visitors due to the hot weather had “exceeded our most ambitious forecasts.”
The council has now closed the venue – as well as the entire park – with immediate effect to “ensure people can enjoy themselves safely.”
They are erecting temporary fencing around the lake, introducing tickets for anyone visiting the lake area and making sure lifeguards are on duty whenever the water is open to swimmers.
It follows a slew of complaints from parents who said the venue didn’t have enough lifeguards, wasn’t properly signposted and got too deep too quickly – even though the definition of wild swimming is that it isn’t subject to the usual safety precautions.
Some parents described how their children panicked when the water suddenly got deeper.
But locals who have waited for months for the pool to open are furious it has been shut down already.
Jade Court said: “I grew up in a seaside town where kids went to the beach on their own when they could swim well enough.
“If they couldn’t, their parents would be there with them taking full responsibility for their child’s safety.
“It wasn’t the sea’s fault when a child got into difficulty. You can’t police everything, surely?
“It’s clear the lake isn’t manned on a Monday so parents know to properly accompany their children on that day or avoid the lake altogether.
“Labelling the lake unsafe seems a bit shortsighted…Surely the parents should be shouldered with the responsibility of their child’s welfare, particularly if they choose to swim outside the designated guarded times.”
Ant Westgarth said: “We are in an age where common sense has been removed from the equation.
“Many parents just do not think, this is not a paddling pool it’s a lake, why would you let your child go in if you can’t swim yourself.”
“If there are no lifeguards do not swim there, go to a public baths or lido.”
The revamp of the Georgian park – one of London’s oldest and largest – cost more than £6.8m, with £4.8m coming from the Heritage Lottery Fund and £2m from Lewisham Council.
The lake is 285 metres long and reaches depths of up to 3.5 metres and will also be used for kayaking and other water sports.
A spokesman for Lewisham Council said: “The public response to the redevelopment of Beckenham Place Park has been fantastic. The number of visitors enjoying the new facilities has far exceeded our most ambitious forecasts.
“However, as with any open water facility we need to ensure that the lake and the space around it is managed carefully to ensure people can enjoy themselves safely.
“In order to manage the numbers of swimmers and lake users safely we are introducing some temporary fencing around the lake perimeter to restrict the amount of people in the water at any one time.
“Access will be ticketed and there will be a small charge to enter. There will be lifeguards on duty during opening hours.”
