The Reader: London’s green spaces are its greatest asset

Your Leader (April 3) highlighted the vital role that spaces like Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park play in these times of physical and social distancing.

More than half the area of this great capital is made up of parkland. It serves as the city’s green lungs and provides spaces where we can safely reconnect with the outside world not just for our physical welfare but also our mental well-being.

We all have a role to play to keep these spaces open — not just councils faced with tough decisions. Use the spaces local to you, keep safe distances from others, don’t gather in groups and keep them clean and tidy. When our need is at its greatest, we need our greatest assets the most.
Sir Peter Hendy CBE​, Chairman, London Legacy Development Corporation

Editor's reply

Dear Peter

It’s amazing how much of our city is made up of green space. So there should be room for all of us to get exercise. Rather than close parks, we need rules that work.

What about one-way paths? And what about looking for extra space — some have suggested opening golf courses, but with traffic down there might be room for car-free walking streets, too.

We all need to keep in touch with the outdoors — locking people in their homes will only make the restrictions even harder to enforce.
Julian Glover, Associate Editor

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