Missing on the Heath

Published: 20 May, 2010

• I WRITE to highlight the lack of facilities for the elderly and people with disabilities on Hampstead Heath.
For some time now, the authorities have offered an excellent service of free buggy use on the Heath. Within a very short time, two new buggies bought last year were out of action for several months, due to punctured tyres.
It took a letter from myself to the superintendent to get the buggies repaired.

I pointed out to him the inappropriate use of sharp gravel pathways on the Heath, which damaged bike and buggy tyres.
Within a very short time the new buggy tyres were punctured again and have now been out of use again for the entire winter. Two old buggies in use are so ancient and in desperate need of an engine rewind that they completely stall on the slightest incline, and are useful for Heath travel only on a few, flat pathways.

From the Gordon House road entrance, up to and including the athletics track, there are only two seats (at the back of Parliament Hill Girls’ School) and these are constantly in use.
I realise the Heath is not a park, but there is a completely inadequate amount of seating for a busy activity area, that also borders on the ­­­­­ Gardens estate. Here a number of disabled and elderly residents would like to be able to sit and watch activities on the field, or just take in the scenery.
We need seating now – not in a year’s time!
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