‘Hampstead Heath needs dedicated north-to-south cycle route’

Published: 21 October, 2010
by DAN CARRIER

HAMPSTEAD Heath needs a dedicated north-to-south cycle path – and people who want to use bikes on other routes should be able to do so, says the managing  director of the Barbican, Sir Nicholas Kenyon.

Sir Nicholas, who was the guest speaker at a Heath management committee dinner at the Guildhall last Thursday hosted by Heath chairman Michael Wellbank, said that the growth of cycling meant it was time for the Heath to find a better balance between walkers and cyclists.

The Camden Cycling Campaign has long called for an extension to bike routes on Hampstead Heath, while pressure group Heath for Feet had said there were already enough.

Sir Nicholas said: “I am sympathetic to people who want to use bikes on the Heath. There could be a more flexible approach to cycling. I personally am not much of a cyclist but I think it is a marvellous resource for cyclists. With the growth of commuter cycling with the Mayor’s bike scheme it is hard to defend not having a north-to-south route that can be used.”

He added that if cyclists could be properly policed, there should be no reason they could not use the Heath in harmony with other users. He said: “I think responsible cycling on the Heath should be encouraged and it is not a threat to walkers.”

He revealed he had been living in South End Green since 1983 – and one of the joys of being a journalist and critic before working in his current role as the Barbican’s head was having spare hours in the day to wander over the heath.

He said: “I have a favourite circular walk from the railway bridge in Savernake Road over to the Highgate ponds and then if I have the time, up past Kenwood and back again. 

“I have four children, and my three sons went to William Ellis School, which meant they could walk to there every day over Parliament Hill Fields. My daughter was a regular swimmer in the Ladies Pond – though I can’t reveal whether she paid to get in or not.”

He also praised the City of London for managing the space well in the light of the economic climate which put a squeeze on cash available. 

He said: “The Heath must be protected from spending issues to ensure its future and preservation. The City have done a marvellous job in spite of recent economic problems.”

The annual chairman’s black-tie dinner was attended by Heath staff, City of London workers, aldermen and members of the Heath consultative committee and Keats House in the rarified surroundings of the Guildhall’s historic Livery Hall crypt. There were also representatives from Highgate Woods and Queens Park. 

Chairman Michael Wellbank, who started his speech by quoting a John Keats poem written on the Heath that he knew by heart, praised the Heath staff’s work, mentioning that lido lifeguards had saved the life of a child recently and how the dedicated teams of ecologists, environmentalists and volunteers combined to preserve the Heath for all.