Hampstead Heath could get new saunas, a padel court and 11 new ponds

Hampstead Heath is one of London’s most treasured parks. It’s home to one of the best views of the London skyline, a Grade-II listed lido, three of the city’s most beloved bathing ponds, a zoo, a grand manor house and acres of glorious woodland. And over the next five years, there are big plans to introduce even more attractions and conservation schemes to the space. 

The park is managed by the City of London Corporation’s Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood and Queen’s Park Committee. Last week, it revealed its draft five-year business plan.

There are more than 70 proposed actions listed in the plan, all of which come under a selection of 10 priorities. Those priorities include ensuring that the Heath’s natural habitats flourish, preserving its heritage aspects, maintaining the balance between visitor activities and the conservation of the natural environment, and improving the physical and mental wellbeing of visitors. 

For Londoners embracing the citywide sauna obsession, the corporation says that it wants to look at the possibility of installing more saunas across the park. There’s already a small sauna at Parliament Hill Lido but the corporation plans to ‘explore opportunities for introduction at other areas’. The anticipated timeline for that is between now and the end of the 2027/28 financial year.  

And, jumping on another rapidly growing wellness trend of the past year, it also has ambitions to ‘explore opportunities and provision for installing a padel and/or pickle ball court(s)’ some time between 2028 and 2031. 

Another notable part of the draft plan is the proposal to create up to 11 new small ponds. These won’t be for swimming though. Their purpose would be to help mitigate flood risk and generate more habitat for the heath’s wildlife. 

On top of all that, the corporation has a vision to re-landscape and open the popular mixed bathing pond year-round, to restore the Hill Garden Pergola, which has just been categorised as ‘at risk’, and to have sheep grazing on the heath in 2026 to help with conservation. 

ICYMI: Four beloved London park cafés are being taken over by new ownership – here’s why that’s controversial. 

Plus: A new bookshop café has opened next to Hampstead Heath. 

Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke – from news and reviews to events and trends. Just follow our Time Out London WhatsApp channel.

Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out London newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.