Those of you who visit the western side of Richmond Park may be aware that Royal Parks closed the toilets at Ham Gate in November. In conjunction with the local councillors for Ham I objected strenuously to this action and have written repeatedly to Royal Parks in the strongest terms, asking them to reverse this decision. Regular users of the park will know how important toilet facilities are, especially for older and disabled people.

So far Royal Parks has been adamant that the toilets must be shut for budgetary reasons. I understand that they have lost a huge amount of revenue due to the cancellation of public events last year, but I do not think this is the answer. I have joined forces with the local councillors in starting a petition calling on the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to step in and insist that all toilets remain open, especially during lockdown when the park is in such heavy use.

If you are interested in this issue, you can sign our cross-party petition here.