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Maldon Marine LakeMaldon, a small historic town on the estuary of the River Blackwater in Essex, England has been renowned for its promenade park with its salt water lake. The lake was created in 1905 and greatly added to the attraction of the area, making it a popular tourist venue. The attraction being that one could swim, no matter what the state the tide in the adjacent estuary. Sadly in 2002 a young father lost his life swimming in the lake when he seems to have collided with a submerged and unseen post that was the base for a warning sign. Ultimately the Maldon District Council http://www.maldon.gov.uk/home was prosecuted by The Health and Safety Executive http://www.hse.gov.uk/ and found guilty. Meanwhile the lake was closed to swimmers on safety grounds. The Council's plans to reopen the lake for swimming has floundered because they cannot afford to satisfy the HSE's condition that 26 life guards should supervise swimming at any one time and the lake should be enclosed by a barrier of at least 2 metres, which some have said would make it like a prison. It has been pointed out that there are many other swimming places in the UK where swimming is permitted without formal supervision. Local people seem not to understand why there need to be different standards applied in Maldon. A campaign is now underway to force the Council to challenge the HSEs conditions. With local elections due in May 2006 it would not be surprising if some of the existing Councillors, who seek re-election, find they are opposed by candidates who seek election in order that the Council overturn its hugely unpopular decision that is now being debated in the letters pages of the Maldon and Burnham Standard newspaper.
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