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Tony Hillier
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Heath walkers’ left-out feeling
Plan has four lines on most popular activity
A DRAFT plan for the future management of Hampstead Heath has been criticised for having only four lines that mention walking in a 104-page document.
Heath and Hampstead Society chairman Tony Hillier said the document was impressively put together, but the failure to acknowledge how the Heath was used by walkers was a serious oversight.
He added: “It only has four lines in a massive document that refer to walkers, yet 95 per cent of the people who go on the Heath are walkers. We feel the document should emphasise the primary importance of going for a good, quiet walk.”
The four-line passage acknowledges how many walkers use the Heath – “by far the highest percentage of visitors come to walk” – and then says: “Walking: Visitors are able to roam freely over the Heath and problems of compaction and disturbance to wildlife are emerging which need to be addressed.” Mr Hillier added: “It needs a proper perspective on the importance of walkers. This is not currently the case.”
The society chairman hopes the plan will settle the debate over whether cycle paths should be extended or cut back.
He said: “Public safety is a key issue. The society does not believe there should be any more cycle paths, but we are willing to have the issue reviewed, as long as a consultation is properly conducted.”
He said paths on the Heath were not safe enough to be shared by cyclists and walkers. Mr Hillier added: “We doubt any of the shared-use paths would meet the standards of regulatory bodies anywhere.”
Another potential flashpoint between Heath managers and users is the future of charges for the swimming ponds. But the draft document makes no mention of the controversial installation of ticket machines at the men’s, women’s and mixed ponds.
A spokesman for the City of London, which manages the Heath, said the machines were in place and therefore did not need to be mentioned. He added: “The purpose of the draft plan is to outline aims and objectives for the Heath in the future and to prioritise these to create a long-term plan.”
Regular pond swimmer Margaret Dickinson, who made a documentary chronicling the fight to keep the ponds free, said: “They may think it was just not worth the trouble to put in something about the future of charging for swims, and we hope this is a good thing.
“Their introduction was a huge public relations disaster, and this means there are two conclusions: the sinister one would be that they are thinking of raising the charges, but would not want to make it public in this way. The more likely conclusion is they do not consider the charges are set in stone, so they have left the option open and are going to see how it goes.”
Mr Hillier will be discussing the draft plan with society members before presenting their views at a meeting with the City of London next week.
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