Guest blog by North London Aquatics to Sadiq Khan

An open letter to Sadiq Khan Mayor of London 📝

An Open letter to the Mayor of London and Crowdfund London Team
Re: Crowdfund London 2018
Back in 2016 we were in constant contact with you over our campaign to save our pool. Fast forward 2.5 years and we are now a charity aiming to deliver a ground breaking, disability sport game changer for the capital. Back then you signed a letter to say you would help in any way you could.We believe our project tackles a local challenge head on with the only deep-water pool in Barnet, North London being demolished next summer. Therefore, we spent months on preparing our crowdfund campaign. We put the maximum amount of effort into our crowdfunding pitch. We travelled far and wide, secured voice overs, worked with some talented rising stars and engaged with amazing community groups. We continue to blow people away with our simple, but incredibly strong project despite being also hit by a recent huge GDPR blip. We bring people together with our shared vision. One unique pool, many many objectives delivered by volunteers fully engaged in their community and the capital city. This is not just any pool; this pool will have the ability to change lives by providing over fifty inclusive and accessible aquatic activities weekly. Our aims match that of not just match yours Mr Khan but also those of Swim England, London Sport, London Swimming, Sport England and more. Our plans are to not just increase inactivity, but to deliver head on by not just removing those barriers but providing the very platform (get it) to springboard all abilities into the way future sport should be shaping up. We feel it’s time now for the governing bodies to step up recognise our effort and dedication and begin to support us in any way possible.Our charity aims and objectives match that of #CrowdfundLDN being:#community-led #inclusive #diverse #engaging #social-mobility #disability-sport #social-integration #positive-change #jobs #mental-health #impactful #legacy #asset #future-sport the wider community #opportunity #ambitious #obesity #activity #game-changing and much much more.It’s with huge disappointment and desperate confusion that we hear we were unsuccessful in our pitch to the Mayor for 50K out of the One-Million-pound fund available for the Crowdfund London project. We feel strongly that we ticked every single box and exceeded expectations which we ultimately believe resulted in our total rejection. Because our project is as exciting and ground-breaking as it is, it becomes more regional which in turn can smash local and regional impact. This however does not match with the objectives of the Crowdfund money and we are baffled?We have hit many blips within the last two and a half years, and whilst this one is time sensitive as the pool gets bulldozed next summer we continue with plan B. We ask that you urgently review this decision as soon as is possible..As volunteers we committed to making this project not just about saving a grass roots facility but delivering a strategic space for all abilities and ages for future generations to come. Whatever the reasons were for rejection, lets aim to remove those barriers and take some action now before it’s too late.We ask that our project be considered again, as it fully aligns with your aims and objectives and together we can  deliver  this future facility right here in the Capital.

The NLA Committeewww.spacehive.com/north-London-Aquatics
www.spacehive.com/north-London-Aquatics

#crowdfundldn