Why Can't We Swim In Shadwell Basin?

This is part of our Why Can't We Swim Here? series, where I'm investigating potential new swim spots across London and asking what needs to be done to make them swimmable. If there is a spot you think I should visit, please let me know.

Shadwell Basin is the single most requested spot for me to visit as part of this series, and in many ways the most obvious candidate for a new swim spot in London.

It's also controversial. There is a well-established culture of swimming here, but there have also been several deaths in recent years. It is most definitely not a safe place to swim in it's current state.

Interestingly though it does appear on the front cover of the Mayor's 10-year plan to make London a swimmable city, which suggests it's at least on the radar as a potential new swim spot.

How & Why Swimming Is Banned In Shadwell Basin

Legal Framework

Swimming in Shadwell basin is prohibited, made clear by about a million signs dotted around the place. The prohibition is contained within Tower Hamlets' byelaws for pleasure grounds, public walks and open spaces (byelaw 29):

"No person shall without reasonable excuse bathe or swim in any waterway except in a designated area for bathing and swimming."

What's interesting is the carve-out at the end of the byelaw, which enables the council to designate an area for swimming. That is, the legal framework already provides the basis for part of the basin to be turned into a designated swim spot.

The fine for breaching this prohibition is £500, however it is routinely ignored and anecdotal evidence suggests fines are basically never issued.

The authorities seem to have accepted that people will swim here and there is not much they can do about it.

Rationale

Unlike the River Lea, where the core justification for prohibiting swimming is pollution, the swim ban at Shadwell Basin is justified on safety grounds. And those safety concerns are very real.

The basin is very deep (~30ft) and has no shallow areas where one can stand. The only entry & exit points are steep ladders sparsely distributed around the vertical dock walls, which means once you are in you need to tread water until reaching a ladder.

The water is murky and contains submerged machinery from the basin's time as a working dock. The water can also be very cold beneath the surface, creating a risk of cold water shock — especially when jumping into the water.

How We Can Make It Swimmable

The front cover of the Mayor's plan to make London a swimmable city, ft. Shadwell Basin.

My opinion regarding Shadwell Basin is as follows — people are going to swim there, so we can & should make it safe.

In it's current state the basin has been rendered actively unsafe for swimming. There is a pontoon which could provide a safer entry & exit point for swimmers than the few industrial ladders, but this has been fenced off behind a locked gate.

Presumably this is to dissuade people from swimming for their safety, but all it does is make it less safe. It's an absurdity that repeatedly raises its head when it comes to swimming in this country.

Designate A Swimming Area

There is already a natural place in the basin for a swim spot to be designated — that being the area around the pontoon.

This could be demarcated with rope floats, which would encourage swimmers to stay within a particular area and separate them from the swans, geese & other birds nesting during spring/summer.

As I said above the legal framework for doing this already exists under the byelaws. Designate this area of the basin for swimming with signs and prohibit it elsewhere.

Safer Entry & Exit

Again the pontoon bridge is ready-made as a safer entry & exit point. Add some ladders and maybe even a ramp and this would make the place so much safer for swimming.

It would take more work, but you could even create a shallow area or platform so people could stand rather than needing to tread water.

Add More Safety Aids

There are already liferings and throwlines dotted around the basin, but a few more could be concentrated near the pontoon bridge.

Within the designated area there could also be floating liferings attached by rope to the basin floor — much like those at the swimming ponds in Hampstead Heath.

These would create a natural swimming route and provide a buoyancy aid for anyone who got into difficult while swimming.

Final Thoughts

As I was writing this I really started to ponder the absurdity of the situation at Shadwell Basin.

People swim there, and seemingly the authorities don't enforce the prohibition against swimming, yet the powers that be have actively made it unsafe.

As I said above this can only be because they think by making it unsafe people won't swim there, but that obviously isn't happening. People are swimming and occasionally getting into serious trouble, which is completely unsurprising given the state of the place.