By Tamara Davison

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London should open ten new wild swimming spots around the capital, according to a new report released by the London Assembly.

Based on the advice issued by the assembly’s Environment Committee, London’s leaders are being advised to create ten new swimming spots by 2034 across parts of London.

It comes as the weather in the capital settles after yet another sweltering summer that saw local lidos overpacked and swimming spots brimming with people desperate for a cooling dip.

While there are plenty of wild swimming spots within an hour’s travel of London, it seems like local authorities want more to be done to encourage outdoor recreational swimming closer to home.

As it stands, there are just eight safe places to swim in natural bodies of water around London, such as London’s Royal Docks and Hampstead Heath.

However, none of them are in local rivers amid broader health and safety concerns over water quality.

The report goes on to recommend that the new swimming spots should be spread out across the capital, but should start with river locations where people already tend to go swimming.

Earlier this year, London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, spoke of plans to clean up London’s waterways alongside an Open Water Swimming Guide that provided insights on where people could swim, or do so in the future.

“London’s rivers have been neglected and damaged for far too long, with shameful levels of pollution entering our rivers in recent years. I’m pleased to be working with a coalition of partners across the sector on a major plan to turn things around,” he said.

He added: “We have made great progress in cleaning our air in London, and I’m committed to doing the same with our rivers. Together we can make our rivers something that every Londoner can be proud of as we continue to build a greener, fairer, better London for everyone.”

The report, conducted by the Environment Assembly when Green’s Zak Polanski was chair, also made several recommendations regarding water safety and how to make sure Londoners are informed about safe swimming spots.

“We are calling on the mayor to drive forward this plan by targeting improvements to designate four new sites as bathing waters by 2028, a clear and tangible target which Londoners can see as progress in the plan,” he said in a statement at the time.

Here’s a list of wild swimming spots currently open across London.