Hounslow Council Issues Revised Parks Guidance


Asks residents to enjoy local open spaces but use them responsibly


Flower beds in Boston Manor Park. Picture: Maxwell Hamilton

Hounslow Council has updated its advice on using local parks following the change in government guidance this Wednesday (13 May).

This enables people to use the parks and in more ways than before but the council is stressing that this does not mean that parks are back to normal.

The new guidance means you can now:

· Exercise more often – with members of your household, and with one person not in your household
· Have a game of tennis – local courts will reopen, but only for singles games
· Sunbathe and have picnics – with people from your own household
· Play sports with members of your household and one person not in your household, e.g. knockabout football
· Walk your dogs – but keep them on the lead
· Drive to the park – car parks will be open on weekdays, but closed on weekends to avoid overcrowding
· Meet up with one person not from your household

Whilst council car parks within the parks will be open in the week, the council are urging resident to walk or cycle if possible and stay at home as much as you can.

It is not known at this stage if Gunnersbury Park, which is not managed by the council, will reopen their car park.

What the council say you still cannot do:

· Use council sports facilities (except for tennis courts), children’s playgrounds and outdoor gyms as they will remain closed because of the high risk of cross contamination
· Use the toilets or other buildings as they will remain closed
· Gather in groups and play sports with anyone other than those in your household (and one other person – but you must keep 2m distance)
· Use the car parks at the weekend
· Let your dogs off their leads

Cllr Samia Chaudhary, Cabinet Member for Parks and Leisure Services at Hounslow Council, said, "We are pleased that some of the guidelines are beginning to relax a little. But please remember that coronavirus is still a major risk if we can’t maintain social distancing, and our priority is keeping people safe and protecting our most vulnerable residents. This is why we still need to keep our sports facilities, children’s playgrounds and outdoor gyms closed, and we will only open car parks on weekdays in order to help people keep social distancing.

"We will continue to monitor the use of our parks and review our arrangements on a regular basis to make sure our residents can enjoy our open spaces as much as possible. We want to encourage you to enjoy the outdoors and get plenty of fresh air and exercise, so please do visit our parks, but please remain considerate of others, and keep two metres apart to help limit the spread of coronavirus."

May 14, 2020